Back in February, I bumped into Steve Holly at New York’s Fest for Beatle Fans. Holly has the distinction of being an ex-drummer for Wings along with his current membership in Ian Hunter’s Rant Band. I got around to asking him how the recording for Hunter’s new album was coming. He answered by saying: “As good as Defiance Part 1 was, part two maybe even better.” He couldn’t have been more spot-on!
The “Part 1″ Holly mentioned was a reference to Ian Hunter’s 2022 album Defiance Part 1, which hit the public like a bolt of sunny lighting at the end of our pandemic darkness. Hunter has had a lot to strive toward to outdo that great collection of songs. To that point, the new album, Defiance Part Two: Fiction, doesn’t disappoint.
Just like Part 1, this effort is chock-full of famed musicians that make the album so special. Beyond members of Hunter’s Rant Band (Mark Bosch, Paul Page, James Mastro, and Holly) a bumper crop of superstars crackle throughout the album: Rick Nielsen, Robin Zander, Tom Petersson (Cheap Trick) Joe Elliott, and Phil Collen (Def Leppard), guitar greats Brian May and Waddy Wachtel, Dean Deleo, Eric Kretz and Robert DeLeo (Stone Temple Pilots), the late Jeff Beck (in his last recorded track), the late Taylor Hawkins, Dane Clark (drummer for John Mellencamp’s band) Morgan Fisher and Dennis DiBrizzi (past members of Mott The Hoople), Lucinda Williams (herself), Benmont Tench (Tom Pettey’s Heartbreakers), and a pair of actor-musicians; Billy Bob Thornton and Johnny Depp who also painted the cover for the album.
Initially, I was a bit leery of the star-heavy lineup, but co-producer Andy York calibrated the right mix to capture individual talents without having the cup run over with an ego-driven sound. The result is that Defiance 2 does not have a single weak track.
Although Hunter’s writing doesn’t break new ground, this is solid rock & roll with meaning. Hunter has said this album is not as optimistic as Part 1. In recent media interviews, he described that when he created Part 1 he didn’t “want to annoy people during COVID. So this one (Part 2) is a bit more serious, (it’s) my take on what is going on now.”
The album’s stories differ; from a song of societal permission (“Weed”) to a track about lost love (”Third Rail”) which features Jeff Beck tastefully playing along (but not soloing).
Next up, Hunter tackles misinformation on the track “Fiction.” “A few of the songs also seem to refer to the divide between people, which seems to be increasing over time.” Hunter explained in recent media interviews, “Where people are talking to each other separately in their own bubble and then throwing things across. Yes, I think we’re going the wrong way. I think AI, the internet, all this stuff is causing more trouble than it’s worth. There’s good points and there’s bad points.”
An outstanding song with the most musical personality is “Precious.” Upon listening, every rock fan will recognize Brian May’s harmonized guitar riffs that come shining through the album’s catchiest tune like golden rays of sunshine. May also plays bass on the track.
Hunter’s history with Queen goes way back to the early 70s. He said in recent interviews, “Mott was the only band they (Queen) ever supported. They opened for us in England and then they opened for us in the States. They pretty much shot upright from there. The next thing we knew, they were headliners. They were great people!”
The album was listed as recorded at Hobo Sound in Hoboken NJ. Hunter is a Connecticut resident (and naturalized American citizen), so the studio makes sense for managing the sound files coming in from all parts of the world. Hunter has battled a few health problems in the past couple of years and has said that the short commute (along with the studio’s sound) was what made him certain that Defiance Part 2 was going to be successful.
Back to my February chat with Steve Holly, he shared with me that a tour would not be in the works to support the new album. “Ian is thinking about doing some acoustic shows at best.” The world waits to hear if that will come to fruition. Or will Ian Hunter be “defiant” once more?
-Steven Valvano
Fair use image from Defiance Part 2
Nice review.
Thank you Mr. E!!
SV
Had the pleasure of having lunch with Mr. Hunter while he was promoting “Rant” in 2001. Not only is he a “proper” rock star and amazing songwriter, he’s also a thoroughly nice bloke.
Mark, that’s great to hear… never met the man but I observe a sincere human in a crazy world! -SV
Let’s hope Ian writes his memoirs because his 1976 book, Ian Hunter, Reflections of a Rock Star, may be the best book about rock n’ roll that I have ever read.