All The Young Dudes

mott the hoople were the most influential and most under-rated band in the history of rock. in 1973, the members of mott the hoople were tired. island records had dropped the band after three albums, as sales were low and audience interest was almost non-existent. but the band had a famous fan in david bowie, who offered to write them one single to give them a leg up. that single was the chart-topping 'all the young dudes,' a glitter-era wink-wink celebration of male bonding that name-checked chart-toppers t. rex and repositioned the once-laddish band as glammy, androgynous scenesters. obviously, an album was called for. produced by bowie and opening with a smoking cover of 'sweet jane' that played a major role in raising public awareness of the velvet underground, 'all the young dudes' is a brassy, loud, obnoxious - in the best possible sense - rock and roll album. 'sucker' and 'one of the boys' recall the hit, while 'jerkin' crocus' and 'sea diver' are as odd as the band's earlier material. an amazing mid-career transformation. this reissue comes with 7 bonus cuts, a demo of 'one of the boys' , 'momma's little jewel' , 'sea diver', the 45 version with david bowie's lead vocals on his penned 'all the young dudes', the 45 of 'one of the boys' and 2 live cuts from the hammersmith odeon.