Ian Hunter Defiance Part 2: Fiction LP (Red Vinyl)

Defiance Part 2: Fiction sees Ian Hunter following 2023's critically acclaimed Defiance Part 1 with a second collection of mighty new songs as impassioned and powerful as anything in his landmark hall of fame-worthy canon.

Like its predecessor, the new album boasts one of the most dazzling all-star lineups ever committed to record, including such close friends and lifelong fans as Robin Zander, Rick Nielsen, and Tom Petersson (Cheap Trick), Brian May (Queen), Lucinda Williams, Dean DeLeo, Robert De Leo, & Eric Kretz (Stone Temple Pilots), Joe Elliott and Phil Collen (Def Leppard), Johnny Depp, Billy Bob Thornton and J.D. Andrew (The Boxmasters), Benmont Tench (Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Bob Dylan), Waddy Wachtel (Stevie Nicks, Jackson Browne), David Mansfield (Bob Dylan, T Bone Burnett), Tony Shanahan (Patti Smith), Steve Holley (Wings), Morgan Fisher (Mott the Hoople), and – in what proved among their final studio recordings – the late, great Jeff Beck and Taylor Hawkins (Foo Fighters).

Defiance Part 2: Fiction – which features an original cover painting by Depp – includes the electrifying first single, "Precious," featuring Taylor Hawkins on drums, Joe Elliott on background vocals and instantly identifiable guitar from longtime mate Brian May (who began his own road to superstardom when Queen supported Mott the Hoople on their blockbuster 1974 tour of the UK and North America).

"We got on really well with Queen," Hunter says. "When you're in a band you can get really bored with each other but they were just normal blokes, it was like being on the road with nine guys instead of just five. Freddie was hilarious and I've kept up with Brian to this day."

Ian Hunter has stood in the spotlight for nearly seven decades, from fronting Mott the Hoople and his renowned partnership with Mick Ronson to his internationally lauded 21st century renaissance with the Rant Band. The Defiance project came together in 2020 as Hunter worked on new songs in his Connecticut basement alongside his longtime collaborator, guitarist/producer/multi-instrumentalist Andy York. With quarantine rules in effect, longtime manager Mike Kobayashi and famed rock 'n' roll photographer Ross Halfin suggested Hunter reach out to some of his friends and fellow artists to fill in the tracks. A spectacular selection of stars immediately agreed, building out Hunter's demos with their trademark talents.

Hailed by Classic Rock Magazine as "a collection of brilliant, swinging rockers," Defiance Part 1 proved among the most critically lauded collections of Hunter's brilliant career, named by Classic Rock Magazine among "The 50 Best Rock Albums of the Year," by Ultimate Classic Rock as one of "Top 30 Rock Albums of 2023," and by MOJO as one of "The 50 Best Albums of 2023," the latter declaring it "one of those rare all-star affairs that transcended the sum of its parts. A crunchy reiteration of rock'n'roll's foundational allure, from one who'd been there, done that and, of course, wrote the book."

...filled with barbed rockers, wry commentary, and unabashedly sentimental ballads....The fact that Hunter can sound this tuneful, sharp, and engaged when he's well into his eighties is a triumph worth celebrating.