491: Mott the Hoople - All the Young Dudes

Year: 1972

01. Sweet Jane
02. Momma's Little Jewel
03. All the Young Dudes
04. Sucker
05. Jerkin' Crocus
06. One of the Boys
07. Soft Ground"
08. Ready for Love/After Lights
09. Sea Diver

RollingStone Says:
Mott the Hoople were a hard-rock band with a Dylan fixation until David Bowie got ahold of them and turned them into glam rockers. He penned the androgyne title track and had Mott cover Lou Reed's "Sweet Jane." Mott would sound more soulful but never more sexy or glittery.
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Adam Says:
I was pretty much interested in this right when I saw that David Bowie essentially produced this record. I love Bowie, and I figured at the very least it would be an interesting listen. Oddly enough it isn't nearly as interesting as the band name, or the Bowie collaboration would lead you to believe. The Bowie influence is clearly evident in the albums sonic blueprint. It's just that it's the more tame David Bowie we're hearing here, not the off the wall, man from space character that he would grow legendary for. In truth there's nothing wrong with this, because in all fairness this isn't a David Bowie record. It's just with all the hoopla surrounding his involvement in this, I expected some mind blowing, epic backdrops.

What we get is a fairly straightforward rock record, and very good one at that, even if it is a bit traditional. Nothing done here is going to blow your mind, but it is very polished and well thought out. Not a single one of the 9 tracks is wasted, and Bowie brings a cohesive sound to the album that ties everything together rather nicely. The song writing is also fairly solid, though none of it matches the single Bowie contribution (the title track). It's a great glam-rock record though, even if I was somewhat surprised by how tame the "glam" in it was.

Overall - 4/5
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Dan Says:
This is good glam rock. David Bowie both helped write and fully produce this album, saving the band from an imminent breakup. I thoroughly enjoyed listening to this record. It has some really interesting mix features with the left-right panning. I also wanted to say that I know when we write reviews we mostly talk about the music. But I also wanted to say that I absolutely love the album cover! The art gives ambiance to how the record feels. Definitely recommend giving it a listen.

Overall - 4/5