MUSIC REVIEWS

IAN HUNTER'S RANT

For those readers who wish for a return to the 1970s, with the high platform shoes and imitation leather coats and pants, a quick trip to any mall or middle school would serve to prove that styles keep coming around again. If you are nostalgic for the music of the 70s have I got a CD for you! The CD is Ian Hunter's Rant. That's right, the front man for Mott the Hoople is back with a new CD that is modern but reminiscent of the glory days of the "Glitter Rock" of the 70s.

Rant is a 12 cut CD that moves the listener though a series of emotions and responses from enthusiasm to anxiety from elation to depression and from glory days to melancholy reminiscences of the past. The first cut, Still in Love with Rock and Roll, contains that Ian Hunter piano lead in that he made famous with Mott the Hoople. As the name of the song implies the artist is reminding the listener that rock and roll is still alive and well. This song will remind the listener of Mott's All the Way from Memphis. The third cut on this CD, The Death of a Nation, is done in a style that reminds the listener of Bob Dylan. The song blends guitar, harmonica, and somber lyrics as Hunter describes the demise of a great nation in the 21st Century. The seventh song on the CD, Dead Man Walking, is a Ian Hunter-style ballad that brings the listener a sense of awareness and concern that only a few recording artists can manage to achieve. Other great songs on this CD include Knees of My Heart, American Spy, and Purgatory. Other artists on Rant include Andy York on organ, keyboards and mandolin, John Conte on bass, and Steve Holly on drums. This is a very good CD.

Ian Hunter has a best of CD out there, Once Bitten Twice Shy, which contains 38 Hunter songs, including the title track. Also available on CD you can find Mott the Hoople's Greatest Hits, and most of their albums have been redone in CD form including Wildlife and Brain Capers. Most of Ian Hunter's solo albums are also available on CD through the on line music stores.

Paul McCartney's new CD, Driving Rain, released in late 2001, is a fairly typical McCartney release. While this CD has no annoying cuts like most of his releases (although Magic and the title cut, Driving Rain, come close), there are no real outstanding songs on this CD either. The songs From a Lover to a Friend, Tiny Bubble, Your Way, Heather, and Back in the Sunshine Again, are good solid songs, while Riding into Jaipur, which includes sitar music, helps give the CD strength. Most of the strong songs are at the end of this 12 cut CD. It is not Sir Paul's best, but it is a good I'm back release after the recent tragedy in his life. McCartney fans will find this CD acceptable.