Ian Hunter & The Rant Band – Just Another Night

 

Picture: C+     Sound: C+     Extras: C     Concert: C

 

 

Ian Hunter was one of the great distinctive voices of Rock in the 1970s, singing lead for the underrated Mott The Hoople on classic hits like All The Way From Memphis and All The Young Dudes.  After his departure from the band in the later 1970s, he continued working, recording and touring.  As a member of the band, the Mott album (their best one) dealt with the burnout at the end of the road.  It has certainly, sadly and painfully caught up with Mr. Hunter.

 

I give him credit for going on, with his voice as shot as Elton John’s had been, covering 21 songs including the above noted hits and even relying more than Howard Jones and his backup singers to cover the majority range of notes he simply cannot hit anymore.  Former bandmate Mick Ralphs even joins him, so I give them points for effort.  If you expect too much, you’ll be disappointed.  Just to revisit with a real Rock star should be sufficient for many, however.

 

The anamorphically enhanced 1.78 X 1 image is on the soft side and though color is not bad, detail is lacking.  The Dolby Digital 5.1 mix has surround information, but is surprisingly unimpactful, soft and held back.  The Dolby 2.0 is even worse, making for an unexciting overall presentation.  Solid text on Hunter, an interview running over a half-hour and a 12 minutes sound check piece are the only extras.

 

 

-   Nicholas Sheffo