Day 18: Countdown No. 2, The Hoople (1974)

"Hear me swear, hear every word. I ain't just a number, I wanna be heard." -- Crash Street Kidds (1974)

I always considered this possibly the most theatric album of the early 1970s. It has such a showy feel to it, from the MC's introduction of the first track, through the operatic "Marionette" and the barroom sounds at the opening of "Pearl N Roy," and ending with the chat sequence and soaring guitars on "Roll Away the Stone."

I think it is underappreciated by fans who missed the old, raw MTH and also by fans who missed Mick Ralphs.

I understand the shortcomings. It's dominated by Ian Hunter's songwriting, with the only exception being the rush-job "Born Late '58" (which I love regardless). There is little guitar presence, with keyboards dominating. It's poppy. The one track that hearkens back to vintage MTH, "Crash Street Kidds," is somehow wimpy, with an out-of-place musical interlude at its core and poor effects on the machine gun fusillade that ends the track.

But it has so many guilty pleasures. "Pearl N Roy" is such a fun song, with great political lyrics. "Alice" is a neglected gem, one I know I'll never hear live because there's no way Ian Hunter will remember all the words. "Through the Looking Glass" -- my interpretation of it -- is inspirational, with its message to not fear looking at oneself. I was outraged when the profanity-laced out-take of this song was included in the MTH retrospective collection of the 1990s. Why spoil a beautiful track? It irritated the band as well.

And this is before you consider the masterpieces -- "Golden Age," "Marionette" and "Roll Away the Stone."

It's an unloved stepchild among many fans, but this is the only MTH alnum on which I love every track.

SONG RATINGS (OUT OF 5)

The Golden Age of Rock N Roll (5)
Marionette (5)
Alice (4.5)
Crash Street Kidds (3.5)
Born Late '58 (4)
Trudi's Song (3)
Pearl N Roy (England) (5)
Through the Looking Glass (4)
Roll Away the Stone (5)