Mott the Hoople frontman and solo artist Ian Hunter will return on July 21 with Man Overboard, the follow up to 2007’s critically acclaimed Shrunken Heads. That album was the first Hunter solo LP since 2001, and featured guest vocals by Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy.
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“I really had a good time on Shrunken Heads, Hunter tells Billboard.com. “I thought if I could write (another album) quick and do it, the situation will not have changed, so I was able to do that.” Three songs on Man Overboard, including the title track, “The Great Escape” and “Babylon Blues,” date back to the Shrunken Heads sessions.
Explaining his recent productivity, the 69-year-old Hunter says “I’ve noticed that a few (song) writers seem to be doing quick ones now. My only thought is it was kind of a time where (George W.) Bush was coming to an end and we knew (Barack) Obama would get in, and you think, ‘There might not be so much to write about ’cause he seems like he’s a decent guy.’ So people had a lot of songs to get out. I know people who normally take five years to make a record are just getting stuff out there now, or that’s how it seems.”
This October, Mott the Hoople will celebrate their 40th anniversary with gigs at the Hammersmith Apollo in London.
