One of the great untold Mott stories is the sad tale of how the band dissolved after a series of disastrous shows in Switzerland in 1971. Mott bassist Overend Watts called David Bowie to inquire about a job when the band returned to London, and Bowie was astonished to hear that they had broken up. He convinced them to hang together long enough to get their affairs in order, and had them come to the studio to hear a song that he had written for them specifically, something that he called "All the Young Dudes." Thus began the resurrection of Mott the Hoople.

This oft-bootlegged live document from 1972 finds Mott at an interesting crossroads, not quite elevated to the stratosphere of fame that "Dudes" would provide for them, and not quite reconciled after their quarrelsome breakup. This concert at the Tower in Philadelphia was recorded when Mott opened for Bowie on his American tour, and actually features Bowie introducing the band (presumably to get the audience's attention) and actually singing along on "All the Young Dudes" later in the set.

Because this show predates the band's wide-ranging acclaim, the title of Greatest Hits Live is something of a misnomer, as only "Dudes" and Mott's cover of Lou Reed's "Sweet Jane" approach the status of hits. The other anamolies of the recording are the fact that it's 1972 and the technology of the time is fairly crappy, and that Mott is spectacularly sloppy at times during the show. The band's rendition of Mick Ralphs' "Ready for Love," which was later appropriated by Bad Company when Ralphs moved there, shows just how important a lead singer can be, as pipesman extraordinaire Ian Hunter takes a break and yields to Ralphs, whose vocals can only be described as thin.

On the plus side is the "Ready for Love" segue into "Afterlights," fabulous slow jam, followed by Mott's workout of "Sweet Jane." Their electrifying take on "One of the Boys" is followed by a weaker "All the Young Dudes" (but featuring Bowie on vocals for the excitement factor) and finishes with a hot-and-cold version of "Honky Tonk Women." The bonus track on Greatest Hits Live is a decent version of Sonny Bono's "Laugh at Me," recorded in Sweden the previous year. While there are flashes of true brilliance throughout, in the end, Mott the Hoople's Greatest Hits Live is a wonderful addition to the true fan's collection, an opportunity to legitimize an old bootleg copy, and little more. It's not always pretty, but it is a fascinating look at one of the most important bands in history in transition nearly three decades ago. - BB

BIG KAT (Hershey)

The Kit Kat bar is made by Hershey's but it's not actually a Hershey invention. Fact is, Rowntree MacIntosh PLC, the British candy company that licensed the Kit Kat to the Hershey Corporation for distribution in the US, was adamant that their original recipe was followed to the letter by Hershey. They were concerned when Hershey mentioned the idea of changing the chocolate coating to reflect "American tastes." Americans prefer Hershey chocolate over any other brand but this is not a taste that is reflected in any other part of the world. Hershey chocolate is known in the confectionery industry as "barnyard chocolate" (i.e. it's more sour and gritty than other chocolates) and Rowntree insisted that Hershey could not deviate from the original formulation. Hershey chocolate, like the American taste for peanut butter, is an acquired taste, worldwide. Rowntree thought the Kit Kat was perfect as is. They may be right. You only have to look at Hershey's Whatchamacallit bar to see how badly they do coating. Great bar- bad coat. I'm just sayin'. While the Kit Kat bar was at one time the best selling candy bar in the world (it has since been surpassed by Mars' Snickers bar,) it's debatable whether it's really a candy bar. I mean, come on, most Girl Scout Cookies have as much chocolate on 'em as a Kit Kat has. If you're gonna call a Kit Kat a candy bar then what the hell is a Keebler Fudge Stick or a Little Debbie Nutty Buddy etc. etc. etc.? Kit Kats are delicious, yes. But they're cookies. It's a wussy candy bar- it's a terrific cookie. There are many unpleasant truths in the world. This is just one of them. Get over it. I don't care if two of the largest candy manufacturers in the world call it a candy bar. It's a damn cookie. Well, it WAS a damn cookie. But Kit Kats aren't just for breakfast anymore now that Hershey has given us the Big Kat (although Kit Kats are still a perfectly acceptable breakfast.) The Big Kat bar ain't just baked goods with chocolate cover. The Big Kat is a big thick shell of chocolate- like a gigantic chocolate overcoat, like a luxurious confectionery mink, like a big sweet velvety James Brown cape, like a...well, you get the drift- it's a bigass brick of chocolate that surrounds an extra big stack of crispety wafers. It's more like a chocolate bunker that protects the cookies. It's less like a stack of cookies wearing a Columbia hiker's windbreaker of chocolate. The result is amazingly good; hard to bite, hard to put down, and very much a candy bar. Now if Hershey could only do this with the Whatchamacallit (I love them things.) They could call it the WhatInTheFuck bar or the SayWhat? bar. I guess they aren't gonna be doin' that any time soon. But the Big Kat is pretty cool. --HM

H.CHINASKI
Smaller-Sized Jar With An Idea
(Doubleplusgood)
I'll admit it. I first judged this album by it's cover. A tight Marxist solidarity fist is raised to the air with a red-star in the background. The animation has a touch of Soviet-style propaganda color and hue from the post-Bolshevik revolution phase. I can't help it, I'm sensitive to leftist politics and I couldn't help but notice at the bottom right hand corner that mysterious "OBEY" tag that you see accompanying the equally mysterious Andre the Giant posters on walls around industrial areas in heavily populated urban regions. What's going on? Anyway, when I finally popped this into my player I didn't get what I bargained for. These guys aren't political! They have feelings and they want you to know that they hurt. Screeching vocals accompany lyrics like "I've been saving up all of my bottle caps for my very own flying saucer". These guys reminded me of that S.F. based band A Minor Forest with that clean, unaltered guitar sound and "slick hands on the ass bass", and those unforgettable angst filled earth spattering primal screams. For all of its hair splitting spew, I must say I got into this band's mini songs and especially liked the painful harmonics on "Lucky". (P.O. Box 18721 Minneapolis, MN 55418)--JA

EVEL INCARNATE by Steve Mandich 242 pages (Sidgwick & Jackson)

If you've ever seen the the excellent style and work put into Monorail or Heinous magzines, you've no doubt witnessed the impressively detial-oriented approach taken by Seattlite Steve Mandich. In Heinous, Steve often referred to and wrote about the daredevil-supreme. Here he packs all of his obsessive knowledge into one volume; suitable for plane travel or riverboat gambling excursion. From the big hits (Snake River, Ceaser's Palace) to modern day, all the way back to his youth, Mandich compiles what can best be described as a deifinitive document on the American phenomenon known as Evel Knievel.
The book is Loaded with pictures, bad "Evel" puns and vicious quotes like this one: "You son-of-a-bitch! I want your ass out of this town by sundown. Don't Ever let me see your face in a town where I'm working again!" If you were alive in the '70s, you no doubt remember the hoopla this guy created. Everyone knew his name. He was Muhammad Ali and Mike Tyson all in one. Evel Incarnate brings all the track to this Hot-Wheels party. (www.panmacmillan.com--(HS)

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