Ian Hunter – Man Overboard (New West)

Shrunken Heads, IAN HUNTER‘s excellent 2007 album, was such an artistic success that the rock & roll veteran decided to keep the momentum going. Man Overboard arrives a mere two years after Heads, breaking Hunter’s habit of putting five or six years between releases. Like Heads, Man Overboard is a mature collection of tunes from a master craftsman. Hunter marries his straightforward, essentially styleless rock & roll sound (vetted by frequent cohorts ANDY YORK and JAMES MASTRO) to his usual ruminations, which shift between sweet (“These Feelings”) and sour (“Babylon Blues”), wistful (“Arms and Legs”) and wizened (“Flowers”). “Girl From the Office” continues his tradition of subtle commentary on the hubris of the human animal (in this case gossip and busybodies), while the title track explores the desperation of a man trying to survive hard times. Hunter and his band lean towards midtempo balladry here, leaving loud rock like “Up and Running” to occasional moodswings. Frankly, the record could use a few more rockers/anthems, but Hunter’s marble block-solid songwriting chops and burnished singing keep the tracks at the very least interesting, and often compelling. There aren’t that many rockers Hunter’s age (he turned 70 this year) that can still muster up enough inspiration to fill out an entire record, which makes Man Overboard all the more remarkable.

http://www.ianhunter.com
http://www.newwestrecords.com