No. 491: All the Young Dudes

Band: Mott the Hoople
Album: All the Young Dudes
Why Rolling Stone gets it right: At the brink of breaking up due to shiftless sales, Mott the Hoople decided to take a decent cover and a David Bowie song and build an album around them. This is the result.
Why Rolling Stone gets it wrong: Save for those two songs, the album is forgettable.
Best song: Title track. No question.
Worst song: "One of the Boys" stinks.
Is it awesome?: Nope.

Is Mott the Hoople the worst band on the RS 500 list? My first thought is yes, but upon further reflection, Mott isn't the worst thing in the world. The worst artists on the list remain Meat Loaf or Quicksilver Messenger Service (of course, outside of U2 and Springsteen).

Still, "All the Young Dudes" is the second album on this list from the band, on top of six Bowie albums. Mott the Hoople were, essentially, Bowie proteges, and this album has the band's biggest hit. Written originally by Bowie for Mott, the album's title track wasn't even Bowie's first choice to give to the band. In fact, the band rejected the original choice, "Suffragette City" and opted for "All the Young Dudes" instead. Bowie, of course, sang backup on the record and the rest is sorta history.

The song is often misinterpreted as a positive song, though it's mostly about things like suicide, teenage rebellion and the apocalypse. The song dismisses the Beatles and Rolling Stones as, essentially, old people's music while lauding T. Rex. Certainly, an odd choice.

Still, like "Cherub Rock," the song's message is not what makes it fun. Bowie's skill at crafting a melody is evident by the singalong chorus. The song makes for a wonderful singalong -- it's easy to see 30 people crooning along to "carry the news."

But, you know, one song does not an album make. End of the list or not, this record shouldn't really be here.

No. 366: Mott

Band: Mott the Hoople
Album: Mott
Why Rolling Stone gets it right: Boy, I wish I knew.
Why Rolling Stone gets it wrong: Mott the Hoople is, in the grand scheme of things, insignificant. This record is boring and filled with a nasal, awful vocal performance. Ick.
Best song: "Honaloochie Boogie" isn't good, but it is mercifully short.
Worst song: "Ballad of Mott the Hoople (26th March 1972, Zürich)" is just terrible.
Is it awesome?: Nope.

Every band on this list has its ardent supporters. I honestly believe I've met someone who could vociferously sing the praises of any single artist here. Even Barry White and Carole King have their backers.

Even if you don't love an artist, it's hard not to deny the general place in rock histoy of any single artist, for the most part. I'm not a fan of Janis Joplin, but her popularity and mark on music are absolutely undeniable.

But, Mott the Hoople? Mott the goddamned Hoople? Come on.

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I think everyone would agree that David Bowie is the pinnacle of glam rock. In addition to setting style trends, Bowie actually experimented a little with characters and sounds. I prefer T. Rex myself, but to deny Bowie's import on the culture and style would be idiotic.

On some level, though, there's a second level of glam. Sweet, Slade and Mott the Hoople fill this second level and I can't stand them. Glam rock has never been known for its musical stylings and most of the bands were folk bands turned electric or standard rock bands stealing Chuck Berry riffs.

In the case of Mott the Hoople, they were basically David Bowie's mentees and released music that sounded eerily like Bowie's. I don't like Bowie, why would I like a Bowie knockoff?

Even worse is that the record is is far too self-referential. The album opener, "All the Way from Memphis," is a song about a guitar player losing his guitar. Also, "Ballad of Mott the Hoople (26th March 1972, Zürich)" is a song entirely devoted to the band's near breakup. Please.

Mott the Hoople isn't very good without David Bowie writing songs for them ("All the Young Dudes" is a classic).