NOW!I dont miss you…
When I’m President may be Ian Hunter’s best solo album since his first. It’s a bold return to brash rock, but you never lose the sense that the onetime frontman of the greatest show on earth quit writing for an audience decades ago. Still, there’s not a writer who speaks for us all more eloquently. He might write in a dark room sans shades, but when he sings we listen.
Ian Hunter’s voice is one of the most intensely loved instruments in rock history. Maybe not loved by countless millions, but deeply loved by those that count – the real lovers of rock. The voice is still in fantastic shape, and he’s stretching his vocal cords out more on this record than he has in ages. The Rant Band is one fire, providing the strongest backing Hunter’s had in decades. Guitarist Mark Bosch joins the celebrated corps of six stringers (The Micks – Ralphs and Ronson, Luther Grosvenor/Ariel Bender, and Andy York) who have always kept Hunter more in the realm of rock star than singer/songwriter. His sharp, melodic soloing is riveting, and there’s more great guitar work here than we’ve seen on a Hunter disc in ages.
At 73, Hunter would be forgiven for not going full stop, but if anything, he sounds decades younger than his age. He’s still pulling out new tricks, and the band sounds like it’s trying to keep up with their leader more than the other way around.