ALBUM: “You’re Never Alone With a Schizophrenic” (1979)
MVC rating: 4.0
Hey, who am I to call out anyone for not being politically correct about a brain disorder. But the album title did kind of make me wince. And wouldn’t it be ‘funnier’ if it was ‘You’re Never Alone When You Are a Schizophrenic.”
Ian Hunter, lead singer of the sturdy, straight-head Mott the Hoople, puts out his fourth solo record here (1979).
This is a good album, that I have neglected playing for years. Backed by members of the Bruce Springsteen’s E-Street Band, Hunter dishes some radio-friendly rock and roll.
Guitarist Mick Ronson is reasonably understated throughout most of the record. No major show-off solos in songs that had more of a Bowie/Jagger vibe. Ronson likely helped create that sound.
In “Just Another Night,” Hunter does an exaggerated, on-purpose, Mick Jagger vocal. On ‘Wild East,’ Hunter enjoys hanging out in a bad neighborhood.
And then there’s ‘Cleveland Rocks’ who many remember was a theme song for “The Drew Carey Show,’ — a rendition by The Presidents of the United States. It’s an anthemic rocker with some of those 80’s gratuitous synthesizer warbles and whoops.
‘Ships’ is the radio ballad, and it is syrup, topped off by a disturbingly bland cliche’. And so it didn’t surprise me that Barry Manilow covered this with some success. (The chorus cliche’? We’re just two ships that pass in the night.)
Live song below where Queen’s Bryan May jumps in.