Brian
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Post by Brian on Dec 28, 2022 0:00:04 GMT -8
For four years, I've been reading for clues about Ian's next album in his monthly Horse's Mouth on Ian Hunter Dot Com, following its progress from the songwriting through the recording sessions delayed by the pandemic to hints of a release in 2022. Along the way, we learned that Ian has enough songs for two albums and that he signed with the legendary Sun Records in Memphis, although Ian's name has yet to appear on its website. The first album, "Defiance I," will instead come out in 2023 "in all formats," and Ian expects to release three singles early in the year. So watch this space!
By the way, I found two websites selling the 180-gram vinyl on preorder. They call the album "Defiance Part 1." No cover art or release date, but they'll take $26 per LP now. I imagine that the long standing, industry-wide vinyl record manufacturing backlog is responsible for the delay of the CD, download and presumably the cassette, a format that's trendy and profitable again. I signed up on Sun Records' e-mail list.
Let's close with "Flowers," Ian's anti-war masterpiece from 2009, in honor of the Marine who died last week in Iraq. Here's Ian and the Rant Band performing the song on Jools Holland's show way back then:
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Post by Brian on Jan 23, 2023 0:00:36 GMT -8
Wow! I haven't been this excited anytime in the past six and a half years -- that is, since Ian Hunter released his last album, which came four years after his previous record in 2012. "Bed of Roses" -- featuring Ringo Starr on drums and Mike Campbell on acoustic and electric rhythm guitars, steel guitar and mandolin -- is the first single from "Defiance Part 1," coming out April 21 on Sun Records. In the song, Ian reminisces about his days playing in the same Hamburg clubs a couple of years after the Beatles did. For me, it was love at first spin. This webpage on Ian Hunter Dot Com outlines the new album: ianhunter.com/new-album-defiance-part-1-coming-april-21-first-single-bed-of-roses-featuring-ringo-starr-mike-campbell-out-now/That's a lot of information. Reading through the Horse's Mouth every month for the past few years, I've gathered that Ian and Andy York, his producer since "Rant" in 2000, recorded the new songs via the internet because of the pandemic. But I couldn't glean how involved the members of the Rant Band were. Turns out not much: besides the band's current and former touring keyboardists, Dennis Dibrizzi and Andy Burton respectively who play on multiple tracks, guitarist James Mastro and bassist Paul Page only play on one song each. And guitarist Mark Bosch and drummer and vocalist Steve Holly, who's been with Ian since 1989, are missing entirely. But the list of guest musicians -- many of whom have collaborated with Ian onstage and in the studio in the past -- is stellar but way too long to reproduce here. Sadly two of them, Jeff Beck and Taylor Hawkins, have passed away.
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Brian
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Post by Brian on Feb 20, 2023 0:00:25 GMT -8
Another reason why the Montrose Peace Vigil message board is the best place to look for Ian Hunter news on the internet: Here's the second single from Ian's forthcoming new album, released just three days ago and yet to be touted on his official website. "I Hate Hate" -- an anthem disguised as a piano rocker -- offers more proof (when no more is necessary after a 54-year career) that Ian Hunter is one of our greatest living songwriters.
I hate hate 'cos it's out of date...Wouldn't it be great if we ran out of hate?
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Post by Brian on Mar 18, 2023 23:00:22 GMT -8
"Pavlov's Dog," the third single from Ian's forthcoming album "Defiance Part 1," was released last Thursday night. Musicians on the track include drummer Eric Kretz, multi-guitarist Dean DeLeo and bass player Robert DeLeo from the Stone Temple Pilots. So far, the new songs don't sound like the Rant Band -- but I live for the night I get to hear those guys playing them onstage. The more I listen to this song, the more I like it:
This time I learned about the single's release from a Sun Records e-mail blast Friday morning, bless them. But why hasn't the label offered a CD for preorder at this late date?
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Post by Brian on Jun 13, 2023 0:36:19 GMT -8
Ian Hunter's website hasn't been updated since "Defiance Part 1" was released on April 21 and Sun Records doesn't even sell its own CD, but Ian's You Tube channel put out a lyric video of the title track and the album's leading song, an instant classic. "Defiance" features Slash on three of the four guitars, the other one guided by Ian, with Robert Trujillo playing Jaco Pastorius' fretless bass (something old Ian fans appreciate):
Slash and Ian go way back. I saw Slash take the stage with Ian and Mick Ronson in Hollywood for "All the Young Dudes" more than three decades ago.
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Post by Brian on Jun 16, 2023 0:07:22 GMT -8
Ian talks about "Defiance" in this one minute video from his home in Connecticut:
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Post by Brian on Feb 22, 2024 0:00:23 GMT -8
I've been playing "Defiance Part 1" constantly for the past ten months. The album is clearly among Ian Hunter's very best in his 49-year solo career but I feel like I'd need another year at least to rate it within his rich canon. Last week, I pre-ordered "Defiance Part 2: Fiction," which comes out on April 19. Ian's website has a wealth of information and links about this release: ianhunter.com/ian-hunter-returns-with-defiance-part-2-fiction-new-song-precious/That's "Precious" -- the first single -- with the late Taylor Hawkins on drums, Brian May on electric rhythm and lead guitars and bass, Joe Elliott on background vocals, James Mastro of the Rant Band on "sax abuse" and Ian on piano. I have boycotted Amazon for a decade, so I had to buy "Defiance Part 1" from Barnes & Noble. Oddly, Ian's new label Sun Records only sold the LP, not the CD. I'm happy to report that "Defiance Part 2: Fiction" is available on CD from Sun, Ian's Official Store, linked below. The CD costs $12.98, or $23.10 with shipping and sales tax. store.sunrecords.com/dept/ian-hunter?cp=110846_112418_113226
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Post by Brian on Apr 16, 2024 23:00:25 GMT -8
By this time next week, I hope to get my "Defiance Part 2: Fiction" CD in the mail. Meanwhile, Ian Hunter's people have uploaded the second single from the album on his You Tube channel. "People" -- an old fashioned glam rocker and the leadoff track on the new album -- features Rick Neilsen, Tom Petersson and Robin Zander from Cheap Trick:
Also uploaded last month was a nine-minute video of Ian answering questions about the album -- and saying he's thinking of mounting an acoustic tour with new and old songs where he'll talk with the audience:
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