Ian Hunter – ‘Defiance Pt 1’ (Sun Records)

Ian Hunter – ‘Defiance Pt 1’ (Sun Records)

When you want to release your latest solo album and rope in a few pals to give it a little lift, have a browse through your Rolodex and call some randoms. Jeff Beck (RIP) longtime pal Joe Elliott tick, Johnny Depp, why not. Billy Gibbons, Slash and Duff from Guns n Roses and Taylor Hawkins (RIP) thats some friends right there to be getting on with and the list goes on and on to be fair. Hell get Waddy Wachtel on the blower as well. Now before I’ve even heard a note of this album I’m excited. To Be fair Ian Hunter ozzes Rock n Roll anyway so I’m not really worried about how good these songs are gonna be I just hoped it wasn’t overwhelming. Hunter explained it as a fluke yeah right c’mon man you’ve got Ringo on your first single as well as Tom Petty’s six-string slinger.

Anyway, I digress they say people of Hunters age shouldn’t be making records into the twilight of his years and once the needle drops and you hear him make sweet sweet music with a metallica bass player and Slash winding in some cool grooves. You realise the title is a metaphotical finger poking you on the forehead say hey, have it! It’s classic Hunter and his voice sounds fantastic full of coolness and a knowledge that if this was a fluke he’s got the hand of God turning the dials because this is class.

The first single sounds like its been carved from granite of timeless cool laid back Rock n Roll. I love its late evening glass of wine vibe – we’re gonna wind things up gently and before you know it the bottle is empty and you’re on the table – arms aloft singing the chorus.

It’s not an album like ‘Dirty Laundry’ where the band sound like they’ve been partying for seven days but it is a classy slow burner in places like the ‘No Hard Feelings’ with Depp and Beck laying their DNA over the song in a haunting slide heavy slice of balladeering. If you want some boogie woogie you can head straight for ‘Pavlovs Dog’ or ‘I Hate Hate’ featuring Jeff Tweedy. On reflection this album would make a fantastic bed fellow companion to Keith Richards ‘Talk Is Cheap’ album. It has a classy vibe and I guess having so many unique players it has variety with every slice making it a very listenable and varied record.

The classic Hunter big Ballads are here and on songs like ‘Angel,’ he’s turning back the clock to classic Hoople. It’s pretty much what I was hoping for, and I’m delighted to hear how good these songs are. Either dipping in on a mix tape or going for the full playlist this works on every level form is temporary class is permanent and let’s face it Hunter is class and this Defiant little gem is an absolute Banger, the kids should be quaking because this old dog is still learning new tricks and wagging his tail like a puppy who got the cream. Buy it! Fuck RSD get this.

Buy Here

Author: Dom Daley

IAN HUNTER ASSEMBLES HISTORIC LINEUP FOR DEFIANCE PART 1

<strong>IAN HUNTER ASSEMBLES HISTORIC LINEUP FOR <em>DEFIANCE PART 1</em></strong>

ROCK ‘N’ ROLL LEGEND RETURNS WITH STAR-STUDDED NEW ALBUM 
 
DEFIANCE PART 1 SEES COLLABORATIONS FROM LATE, GREAT JEFF BECK, JOHNNY DEPP, JOE ELLIOTT (DEF LEPPARD), BILLY F GIBBONS (ZZ TOP), TAYLOR HAWKINS (FOO FIGHTERS), DUFF McKAGAN (GUNS N’ ROSES), TODD RUNDGREN, SLASH (GUNS N’ROSES), JEFF TWEEDY (WILCO), ROBERT TRUJILLO (METALLICA), WADDY WACHTEL (STEVIE NICKS, KEITH RICHARDS), BRAD WHITFORD (AEROSMITH), 
DANE CLARK (JOHN MELLENCAMP),
BILLY BOB THORNTON & J.D. ANDREW (THE BOXMASTERS) and
DEAN DELEO, ROBERT DE LEO & ERIC KRETZ (STONE TEMPLE PILOTS)
 
FIRST SINGLE, “BED OF ROSES,” FEATURING MIKE CAMPBELL AND RINGO STARR

DEFIANCE PART 1 ARRIVES VIA SUN RECORDS ON FRIDAY, APRIL 21
 
PRE-ORDERS AVAILABLE HERE

Rock ‘n’ roll legend Ian Hunter has announced the release of his landmark new album, DEFIANCE PART 1, arriving via the Sun Records label on Friday, April 21, 2023. Pre-orders are available now HERE. 
 
Easily among the most star-studded original albums ever recorded, DEFIANCE PART 1 sees Hunter joined by the late, great Jeff Beck, Johnny Depp, Joe Elliott (Def Leppard), Billy F Gibbons (ZZ Top), Taylor Hawkins (Foo Fighters), Duff McKagan (Guns N’ Roses), Todd Rundgren, Slash (Guns N’ Roses), JeffTweedy (Wilco), Robert Trujillo (Metallica), Waddy Wachtel (Stevie Nicks, Keith Richards), Brad Whitford(Aerosmith), Dane Clark (John Mellencamp), Billy Bob Thornton & J.D. Andrew (The Boxmasters) and Dean DeLeo, Robert De Leo & Eric Kretz (Stone Temple Pilots).  
 
“It was a fluke,” Ian Hunter says. “This was not planned. Really, I’m serious. I really couldn’t believe some of them. I mean, it’s amazing what’s happened. It’s been such a buzz.”
 
Now in its seventh decade, Ian Hunter’s illustrious career has long been marked by collaboration, from the golden age of Mott the Hoople to his fabled partnership with Mick Ronson and 21st century renaissance with his crack backing combo, the Rant Band. Now, with DEFIANCE PART 1, the legendary singer-songwriter, author, and rock ‘n’ roll star takes creative solidarity to an unprecedented new level with spectacular accompaniment from a truly awe-inspiring roster of special guests, famous fans, and lifelong friends. 
 
The album first came together in early 2020 with the dawn of the pandemic era. An inveterate hard worker, Hunter took the lockdown as a creative opportunity, writing a series of new songs which he tracked in his Connecticut basement alongside his longtime collaborator, guitarist/producer/multi-instrumentalist Andy York. Working with little more than a computer, guitar, V5 piano, and “a very small keyboard,” Hunter and York created a collection of bare bones demos but with quarantine rules still in effect, were unable to flesh them out further by hitting the studio with the Rant Band. Manager Mike Kobayashi and renowned rock ‘n’ roll photographer Ross Halfin suggested reaching out to some of Hunter’s fellow legends who might perhaps use some of their own lockdown to contribute a track or two. To Hunter’s delight, the project quickly escalated, with a galaxy of stars clamoring to be involved. With time on their hands due the pandemic, his fellow musicians took the demos and stems that Hunter and York put together in his basement and added unforeseen power and creativity through their own trademark talents.
 
“Everybody’s sitting around,” says Hunter. “It’s Covid. Nobody’s going anywhere. We started sending them out. Slash started doing something. Robert Trujillo from Metallica. Ringo Starr, Mike Campbell. Joe Elliott is on a few tracks. Johnny Depp said ‘Jeff Beck’s with me and we’d like to do a couple of songs.’ I know Todd Rundgren, I toured with Todd way back, he’s done an amazing job. Billy Gibbons. Billy Bob Thornton and JD Andrew from The Boxmasters. It’s never ending. I mean, every day we’d get a phone call, this guy wants to do it, that guy wants to do it. It was like, I can’t believe this.”
 
Despite its genesis during the pandemic, DEFIANCE PART 1 is remarkably upbeat, ablaze with the life-affirming energy and unbridled passion that has marked Hunter’s music since the start. Indeed, “Pavlov’s Dog” is Hunter at his ferocious best, a snarling rocker featuring the surviving members of Stone Temple Pilots – brothers Dean DeLeo (guitar) and Robert DeLeo (bass) and Eric Kretz (drums). Songs like “I Hate Hate” and the album’s rebellious title track – the latter showcasing the one and only Slash on guitar with Metallica’s Robert Trujillo carrying the groove using the late Jaco Pastorius’ signature fretless bass, the same instrument played by the legendary jazz musician on Hunter’s groundbreaking second solo album, 1975’s ALL AMERICAN ALIEN BOY – offer indisputable evidence that Hunter’s voice remains as uncompromising and provocative as ever before.
 
Having spent the better part of two years on the project, Hunter isn’t done yet. As its title promises, DEFIANCE PART 1 will be followed by the arrival of DEFIANCE PART 2. The second chapter will feature an equally stunning range of special guests while projecting an entirely different thematic approach and songwriting aesthetic. 
 
With the wind at his back, Ian Hunter has somehow managed to pull off something impossible. DEFIANCE PART 1 is a full-speed-ahead rock ‘n’ roll record rarely heard in this day and age, recorded with a crew of irrefutable rock ‘n’ roll all-stars and released on the definitive rock ‘n’ roll label.
 
“There are a lot of reasons for calling this album DEFIANCE,” says Ian Hunter. “It’s like, people my age shouldn’t be making records, blah, blah, blah. But we’ve still got a bit left.”

CONNECT WITH IAN HUNTER
IANHUNTER.COM | FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM | TWITTER | YOUTUBE
 
 

POP CULTURE SCHLOCK at RPM: Exhibit B – Rock On! Annual 1980

POP CULTURE SCHLOCK at RPM: Exhibit B – Rock On! Annual 1980

What’s that musty smell? Ah yes, it’s emanating from the veritable feast of vintage collectables housed in the Pop Culture Schlock archive. For your delectation today I take you back to the Christmas of 1979; a seminal decade of music about to come to an end and give way to the dawn of a more brash, more brazen ten year period…

 

If you were a good, music-loving boy or girl in 1979 and had a.) done well in school, and; b.) not scratched your big brother’s vinyl, then there was a good chance that you’d find the Rock On! Annual 1980 nestled under the Christmas tree in your modest living room.

 

“The Rock What Annual?” I hear you exclaim, and you shouldn’t be embarrassed at your lack of knowledge on this subject because, truth be told, Rock On! magazine was a short-lived, oft-forgotten publication… if you’d ever heard of it at all.

 

Rock On! magazine debuted with an issue cover-dated May 1978. Debbie Harry featured on its cover and the mag – costing a whole 25p – promised a healthy mix of punk, new wave, heavy metal, and prog rock. It kept its promise too as, over the course of seven eclectic issues, Rock On! dished out features and photo spreads on a dizzying cadre of top musical combos; from Status Quo to Sham 69, The Clash to KISS, Rush to The Rezillos. Meat Loaf graced a cover, Ozzy, too, until Issue 7, with Jimmy Pursey as its cover star, and cover-dated November 1978, when Rock On! disappeared from newsagent shelves. The editorial in that final issue wrote of the outrage of cutting off such a desirable publication in its prime but, if anything, Rock On! was a victim of its own blurring of genre lines: readers seemingly wanting specialist publications dedicated to singular strands of the rock ‘n’ roll world rather than this ambitious crossover style.

 

That final editorial, though, did offer some hope for the future; stating that it was the last Rock On! “in its present form”. Fast forward to around a year later and, in the Autumn of 1979, the true final piece of the Rock On! jigsaw arrived in shops and catalogues to complete the punk ‘n’ prog rocking picture.

With a scorching hot live photo of Thin Lizzy’s Phil Lynott on the cover, Rock On! Annual 1980 (price – £2.00) may well have been jostling for attention on the shelves alongside big-hitting television and film spin-off annuals, but it certainly looked the most badass. It was, the cover screamed, packed with pictures, facts, and quizzes on your favourite rock bands. It did not disappoint.

 

The heady mix of photo spreads and more in-depth features on select bands really did make Rock On! stand out from its competitors, and this annual amps that angle right up to eleven. The first photo spread was a “Tribute to Vocal Power!!!” (yes, with three exclamation marks) and featured cool live action shots of Joe Strummer, Johnny Rotten, Cherie Currie, Pete Townsend, Willy DeVille, Graham Parker, Joan Jett, and Mick Jagger. A good start, I’m sure you’ll agree.

Next up, a photo diary detailing a “hard band” going “soft” as The Stranglers met their devoted fans, followed by a quartet of stinging live shots of “the band the critics love to hate”, Status Quo. Rock On!’s attitude to those Quo critics could be “summed up in two fingers” readers were informed.

 

With barely a pause for breath, a six-page A-Z of Heavy Metal feature detailed the prime acts in the genre, from AC/DC to, erm, Wishbone Ash. A-W, then. A few curious names in this run-down, too: Prism, Quartz, and Mahogany Rush rubbing shoulders with the expected likes of Whitesnake, Black Sabbath, Judas Priest, and, a firm favourite on the turntable at RPM HQ, Uriah Heep. A “Heads Down Heavy Metal Quiz” followed: a select question being “On Your Feet Or On Your Knees was a double live album for which heavy metal superstars?”

 

A Ten Years of Genesis feature followed, the first in a series of in-depth essays by John Tobler. His similar two-page spread on the history of Queen followed, as did those dedicated to Thin Lizzy, Blue Öyster Cult, Rush, and KISS. The latter, subtitled “Kings of Shock Rock”, wrote of “the forty foot columns of fire that emit from Gene Simmons’ mouth” and, c’mon, if you were eight years old at Xmas 1979 you had every excuse for then falling head over platform heels in love with the idea of the hottest band in the world.

There was a Rock On! reggae report, a fashion guide of sorts where the Quo’s Rick Parfitt spoke of his love of jeans and Hugh Cornwell of The Stranglers of his love of raincoats (!), a Hi-Fi buying guide, a feature on sound engineers, a top DJ article covering John Peel and Anne Nightingale, plus one-page specials on Peter Gabriel and Ken Hensley of the Heep.

 

A photo spread of Ian Dury swimming (just your seven shots) padded out the pages, but not before an impressive photo set of live Black Sabbath shots appeared, a Star Cars article featuring Steve Jones, Meat Loaf, Midge Ure, and, ominously, Cozy Powell, a “Cult Heroes” feature detailing the likes of Iggy Pop, Nils Lofgren, Todd Rundgren, Tom Petty, and Bruce Spingsteen, and a “Sex ‘n’ Girls ‘n’ Rock ‘n’ Roll” spread featuring Debbie Harry, Joan Jett, Siouxsie Sioux, Linda Ronstadt, Annie Golden, Poly Styrene, Stevie Nicks, and Rachel Sweet.

 

A “That Was The Year That Was” feature dedicated to 1978 was an obvious leftover from the previous year’s magazine and makes for entertaining if a little sombre reading amongst the other genuinely funny articles. Rock On! was a cool magazine, with its tongue firmly in its cheek and its love of a broad range of music at the forefront of any thinking. Your Uber Rocks, your RPMs are all subconscious descendants of Rock On! magazine.

No annual is complete, however, without a pull-out poster section (even if no kid ever dared pull a poster out of an annual!), and Rock On! Annual 1980 does not disappoint in that department. There are pin-ups of the aforementioned Pursey, Rezillos, Dury, Harry, Clash, and Lynott, plus Bob Geldof, Paul Weller, Freddie Mercury, David Lee Roth, Jon Anderson, Elvis Costello, Paul Stanley, and the Buzzcocks. Great photos too.

 

The Rock On! Annual 1980 may well be an uncommon piece in the average music memorabilia collection, but it is certainly a worthy one. Copies turn up on the secondary market relatively cheaply and, yeah, you should pick one up if you get the chance. The Rock On! staff were most certainly music journalist mavericks, and we’ve all tried to go there, right? Search for this precious, rockin’ tome… or you might never know how Rick Parfitt’s aunt ironed his double denim.

 

Thanks for reading, and for the feedback on my first column on the debut Alice Cooper comic. I’ll be back next month with something suitably archaic that the rock ‘n’ roll world tried to forget. Search for Pop Culture Schlock 365 on Instagram, Twitter & Facebook