On October 24, Universal U.K. will board the Mental Train for a trip back with some really young dudes.  Mott the Hoople's new 6-CD box set Mental Train: The Island Years 1969-1971 revisits the band's earliest, pre-glam years in deluxe fashion.  The set includes remastered and expanded versions of all four original Island releases; an entire disc of unheard and unreleased material; and a full disc of live and BBC performances.

Ian Hunter, Mick Ralphs, Verden Allen, Pete Watts, and Dale Griffin debuted with 1969's Mott the Hoople (so named for the title character of Willard Manus' 1966 novel), featuring both original songs and covers (Sonny Bono's "Laugh at Me," The Sir Douglas Quintet's "At the Crossroads," The Kinks' "You Really Got Me").  Critics took notice of the band's fusion of Dylan-esque folk-rock and brawny Rolling Stones-style hard rock, but the album got no higher than No. 66 in the U.K. and No. 185 on the U.S. chart. 1970's Mad Shadows, produced like its predecessor by band manager Guy Stevens, introduced Hunter as the primary songwriter.  It fared slightly better with a No. 48 U.K. placement, but the band sensed it was time to part ways with Stevens.  1971's Wildlife was primarily self-produced, with Stevens having production or co-production credits on just three songs.  The LP included four Mick Ralphs compositions three from Hunter, and two covers: one of Melanie's "Lady Down (Candles in the Rain)" and a live oldies medley built around Little Richard's "Keep A-Knockin'."  Wildlife's No. 44 perch in the U.K. was the band's highest at Island.  Mott finished their Island tenure later in 1971 with Brain Capers, which failed to dent either the U.K. or U.S. charts.  Guy Stevens was back on board for a set featuring covers of Dion ("Your Own Backyard") and The Youngbloods ("Darkness, Darkness") as well as originals penned by Hunter, Ralphs, Allen, and Stevens.  Following the album's release, Mott the Hoople would extricate themselves from Stevens' company, and align with David Bowie's manager Tony DeFries.  Glam rock success was just around the corner.

Each of the original albums on Mental Train: The Island Years 1969-1971 has been expanded by 8-9 tracks including single versions, demos, alternate takes, and more.  The fifth CD, The Ballads of Mott the Hoople, is subtitled Unheard and Unreleased Music from the Island Archive.  Its twelve tracks include a fragment of Dylan's "Like a Rolling Stone," a rehearsal of "I'm a River," and BBC performance of "The Original Mixed-Up Kid."  The sixth and final disc, It's Live and Live Only, boasts seven tracks from Croydon's Fairfield Hall recorded on September 13, 1970 and five BBC tracks recorded at the Paris Theatre for Radio One on December 30, 1971.

Andy Pearce has remastered all tracks from the original tapes where available.  Kris Needs provides the new liner notes in the 50-page booklet, and the whole package has been designed in Universal U.K.'s "shoebox" style by Phil Smee.  This set celebrating the birth of the beloved band is due on October 24.  You'll find the track listing and pre-order links below!

Mott the Hoople, Mental Train: The Island Years 1969-1971 (Island/UMC, 2018) (Amazon U.S. Link TBD / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Link TBD)

CD1 - MOTT THE HOOPLE (Island Records ILPS 9108, 1969)

1. You Really Got Me
2. At the Crossroads
3. Laugh at Me
4. Backsliding Fearlessly
5. Rock and Roll Queen
6. Rabbit Foot and Toby Time
7. Half Moon Bay
8. Wrath and Wroll

Bonus Tracks

9. If Your Heart Lay with the Rebel (Would You Cheer the Underdog?) (Instrumental Take 2)
10. Rock and Roll Queen (Single A-side)
11. Road to Birmingham (Single B-side)
12. Road to Birmingham (Guy Stevens Mix)
13. You Really Got Me (Complete take)
14. You Really Got Me (Vocal mix)
15. Rock and Roll Queen (Guy Stevens Mono Mix)
16. Rock and Roll Queen (Kitchen Sink Instrumental)
17. Little Christine (2 Miles)

CD2 - MAD SHADOWS (Island Records ILPS 9119, 1970)

1. Thunderbuck Ram
2. No Wheels to Ride
3. You Are One of Us
4. Walking with a Mountain
5. I Can Feel
6. Threads of Iron
7. When My Mind's Gone

Bonus Tracks

8. Thunderbuck Ram (BBC Session)
9. Thunderbuck Ram (Original Take with Organ)
10. No Wheels to Ride (Demo)
11. Moonbus (Baby's Got a Down on Me)
12. The Hunchback Fish (Vocal Rehearsal)
13. You Are One of Us (Take 9)
14. Going Home (2 Miles)
15. Keep A-Knockin' (Studio version)

CD3 - WILDLIFE (Island Records ILPS 9144, 1971)

1. Whiskey Women
2. Angel of Eighth Avenue
3. Wrong Side of the River
4. Waterlow
5. Lay Down
6. It Must Be Love
7. The Original Mixed Up Kid
8. Home Is Where I Want to Be
9. Keep A-Knockin' (Live)
10. Midnight Lady (Single A-side)
11. The Debt (Single B-side)
12. Downtown (Single A-side)
13. Brain Haulage (Whiskey Woman)
14. Growing Man Blues (Take 10)
15. Long Red (Demo)
16. The Ballad of Billy Joe
17. Lay Down (Take 8)

CD4 - BRAIN CAPERS (Island Records ILPS 9178, 1971)

1. Death May Be Your Santa Claus
2. Your Own Backyard
3. Darkness, Darkness
4. The Journey
5. Sweet Angeline
6. Second Love
7. The Moon Upstairs
8. The Wheel of the Quivering Meat Conception
9. Mental Train (The Moon Upstairs)
10. How Long? (Death May Your Santa Claus)
11. Darkness, Darkness
12. Your Own Backyard (Complete Take)
13. Where Do You All Come From (Backing Track)
14. One of the Boys (Take 2)
15. Movin' On (2 Miles)
16. Black Scorpio (Mommas Little Jewel)

CD5 - THE BALLADS OF MOTT THE HOOPLE: Unheard & Unreleased Music from the Island Archive

1. Like a Rolling Stone (Fragment)
2. No Wheels to Ride (1st House)
3. Angel Of 8th Avenue (Tape 816)
4. The Journey
5. Blue Broken Tears (Tape 816)
6. Black Hills (Full Ralph's Version)
7. Can You Sing the Song That I Sing (Full Take)
8. Till I'm Gone (2 Miles)
9. The Original Mixed Up Kid (BBC Session)
10. Ill Wind Blowing (2 Miles)
11. I'm A River (Vocal Rehearsal)
12. Ride on The Sun (Sea Diver) (2 Miles)

CD6 - IT'S LIVE AND LIVE ONLY

1. Rock and Roll Queen
2. Ohio
3. No Wheels to Ride / Hey Jude
4. Thunderbuck Ram
5. Keep A-Knockin'
6. You Really Got Me
7. The Moon Upstairs
8. Whiskey Women
9. Your Own Backyard
10. Darkness, Darkness
11. The Journey
12. Death May Be Your Santa Claus

Tracks 1-7 recorded at Fairfield Hall, Croydon, 13 September 1970
Tracks 8 to 12 recorded at Paris Theatre, London, BBC Radio One, In Concert, 30 December 1971