Review: Ian Hunter – Defiance Part 2 Fiction

Sun Records (April 19^th 2024)

Reviewer: Chris O’Connor

When I was either eight or nine years old, I met a friend called Simon Ford (who to this day remains my oldest friend. Simon is responsible for everything I have done with music over the decades, and it’s a debt of gratitude I can never repay. Simon introduced me to ‘real music’, starting with Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Gene Vincent, and Eddie Cochrane, then moving on to The Rolling Stones, Jimi Hendrix, and Black Sabbath.

As that young kid, Simon and I went to what was affectionately known as ‘The Junk Shop’ at the top end of Sutton Coldfield, adjacent to the Holy Trinity church. It was a place that sold everything from instruments (I had my first ‘Zenta’ electric guitar from there), to mopeds, to toys, to antiques, to clothes, to sports stuff, to comics … and all points in between. It was at this self-same shop that in one memorable morning I bought my first three albums: The Rolling Stones ‘High Tides & Green Grass’, The Grateful Dead ‘Live Dead’, and Mott The Hoople ‘Rock & Roll Queen’.

The stones album I already knew from borrowing it from Simon, and as much as I would love to tell you I knew about the other bands, but I was a naïve kid, and all I know was I was drawn to the album covers. In retrospect, it would be a few years before I would grow to appreciate the Dead, I mean come on – really? The Mott album though – with its sort of Marilyn Monroe meets Art Deco cover? I instantly ‘got’ their music … and Ian Hunter became a lifelong hero to me. One of my most treasured possessions, is an electric guitar signed by the great man, and he remains probably my greatest musical icon, a living, breathing legend, and is the absolute epitome of what Rock ‘n’ Roll is all about.

So, now in 2024, at the age of 84, the still fantastically sprightly Ian has released his 17^th studio solo album, and just like its predecessor ‘Defiance Part 1’, the album is rammed with special guests, all paying homage to the man in the shades by adding their own magic to his music. ‘Defiance Part 2’ features: Joe Elliott, Phil Collen, Jeff Beck (RIP), Johnny Depp, Brian May, Taylor Hawkins (RIP), Billy Bob Thornton, Lucinda Williams, Benmont Tench, Waddy Wachtel, Eric Kretz, Dean DeLeo, Robert DeLeo, and finally Cheap Trick! What more could you possibly ask for?

The album is everything you could hope and wish for, being a wonderful musical mural of sounds and styles, from the very opening barres of ‘People’, it’s classic Hunter through and through. This is not the sound of an artist resting back on his laurels, there is still a genuine hunger and urgency to his music. The opener could only be Cheap Trick backing him, and it’s a perfect combination. ‘Fiction’ is Hunter at his most caustic, his lyrical venom counterpointed by a sweet string section, it’s as if this is Hunter fronting ‘70’s ELO.

‘The 3^rd Rail’ is a slower, more reflective number, featuring some tastefully languorous guitar interplay between the late great Jeff Beck and Johnny Depp, it is an almost dreamy piece, simple yet hugely effective and memorable. ‘This Ain’t Rock ‘n’ Roll’ is pureblood Mott The Hoople, Phil Collen turns in a very pleasing performance, while Hunter fairly roars vocally, it’s a boogie number that rocks along with swaggering ease. Next up is ‘Precious’, which features the late lamented Taylor Hawkins, Joe Elliott and Brian May. I may sound like a stuck record here, but it’s another classic Hunter track, it could really only ever have been penned by him.

‘Weed’ features a sombre riff, with a gloriously pointed and eloquent lyric from the great man, here he is accompanied by the three ‘musical’ members of Stone Temple Pilots, who play their part to perfection. It’s followed by ‘Kettle Of Fish’, which is another sullen feeling song. Taylor Hawkins and Cheap Trick back him here, and it’s another number with a powerful lyrical message – on this occasion about the perils of modern life. ‘What Would I Do Without You?’ is a lusciously tender number, with Ian and Lucinda Williams duetting beautifully, with Benmont Tench adding his own wonderful touches musically.

‘Everybody’s Crazy But Me’ finds Hunter playfully revisiting ‘Once Bitten’ lyrically, here is ably supported by Taylor Hawkins, Waddy Wachtel and (again) Benmost Tench. This is Hunter doing rock ‘n’ roll in his own unique way, and is perfect because of it, it’s a rambunctious romp of a song. The album closes with ‘Hope’, which given this is (probably) Taylor Hawkins’ last recorded work, is suitably thoughtful Joining Hunter are Lucinda Williams and Billy Bob Thornton. It’s a lovely song, full of yearning and passion, and is absolutely the perfect way to end such a sublime album.

I’ve loved the music and lyrics of Ian Hunter for fifty years now, I have no idea how many albums the legend has left in him, but ‘Defiance Part Two: Fiction’ shows a man still at the peak of his powers, with his fire undiminished, and a drive to keep creating timeless music, that leaves me speechless with admiration. It may be a cliché, but Ian Hunter has always been a one off, and once he’s gone, there will never be another like him. My advice to you? Treasure the man, revel in his wonderful music, and be thankful that we were around during his majestic tenure. Ian Hunter, proudly defiant and unbroken … gotta drink to that! Yeah!

Tracklist: 

1. People
2. Fiction
3. The 3^rd Rail
4. This Ain’t Rock ‘n’ Roll
5. Precious
6. Weed
7. Kettle Of Fish
8. What Would I Do Without You?
9. Everybody’s Crazy But me
10. Hope

Official Website

Facebook

Twitter / X

Instagram

YouTube