''Wildlife'' is the third

album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

by the British band Mott the Hoople. The album was originally released in 1971; in the UK by

Island Records Island Records is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded in Jamaica by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in 1959, and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, another ...

(catalogue number ILPS 9144) and in the US by

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over the course of its first two decades, starting from the release of its first recor ...

(cat. no. SD 8284). It was subsequently re-released by Angel Air in 2003 SJPCD159. It reached No. 44 in the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is the United Kingdom's industry-recognised national record chart for album, albums. Entries are ranked by sales and audio streaming. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the O ...

in April 1971.

Recording

The album was recorded in November and December 1970 at Island Studios in London. It was produced by

Guy Stevens Guy Stevens (13 April 1943 – 28 August 1981) was a British music industry figure whose roles included DJ, record producer and band manager. He was influential in promoting R&B music in Britain in the 1960s, gave the rock bands Procol Harum ...

and Mott the Hoople. The engineers were

Andy Johns Jeremy Andrew Johns (20 May 1950 – 7 April 2013) was a British sound engineer and record producer who worked on several well-known rock albums, including the Rolling Stones' '' Exile on Main St.'' (1972), Television's '' Marquee Moon'' (1977), ...

, Brian Humphries, and

Phill Brown Phill Brown (born 1950) is an audio engineer who has worked with a number of well-known musicians, including: Traffic, Led Zeppelin, David Bowie, Cat Stevens, Bob Marley, Babasonicos and Talk Talk. He is also the younger brother of Terry Bro ...

Release

The album was released on vinyl in 1971; in the UK by

and in the US by

. It was subsequently re-released on CD by Angel Air in 2003. It was the band's third album since their debut, '' Mott the Hoople'', in 1969.

Reception

Ben Edmonds, reviewing for ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' in June 1971, felt that the band and singer Ian Hunter had moved on from the

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan; born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Described as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture over his nearly 70-year ...

comparisons of the first two albums, and had added a

country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

influence, to produce an album with "more than enough solid music" to warrant some attention in America. The album reached No. 44 in the

in April 1971.

Legacy

Stephen Thomas Erlewine Stephen Thomas Erlewine (; born June 18, 1973) is an American music critic and former senior editor for the online music database AllMusic. He is the author of multiple artist biographies and record reviews for AllMusic, as well as a freelance ...

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

gave the album four stars out of five and stated:

Track listing

;Side one # "Whisky Women" (

Mick Ralphs Michael Geoffrey Ralphs (born 31 March 1944) is an English retired guitarist, vocalist and songwriter, who was a founding member of rock bands Mott the Hoople and Bad Company. Though not a constant member, he appeared on every studio album b ...

) – 3:34 # "Angel of Eighth Avenue" ( Ian Hunter) – 4:25 # "Wrong Side of the River" (Ralphs) – 5:14 # "Waterlow" (Hunter) – 3:00 # " Lay Down" (

Melanie Safka Melanie Anne Safka Schekeryk (February 3, 1947 – January 23, 2024), professionally known as Melanie or Melanie Safka, was an American singer-songwriter. Melanie is widely known for the 1971–72 global hit " Brand New Key", her 1970 version o ...

) – 4:02 ;Side two # "It Must Be Love" (Ralphs) – 2:15 # "Original Mixed-Up Kid" (Hunter) – 3:35 # "Home Is Where I Want to Be" (Ralphs) – 4:07 # " Keep a Knockin'" (live at

Fairfield Halls Fairfield Halls is an arts, entertainment and conference centre in Croydon, London, England, which opened in 1962 and contains a theatre and gallery, and a large concert hall regularly used for BBC television, radio and orchestral recordings. F ...

, Croydon, 13 September 1970) (

Richard Penniman Richard Wayne Penniman (December 5, 1932 – May 9, 2020), known professionally as Little Richard, was an American singer, pianist, and songwriter. He was an influential figure in popular music and culture for seven decades. Described as the "Ar ...

) – 9:50* * *This track is a rock and roll medley that, in addition to "Keep a Knockin'", includes snippets of "

I Got a Woman "I Got a Woman" (originally titled "I've Got a Woman") is a song co-written and recorded by American R&B and soul musician Ray Charles. Atlantic Records released the song as a single in December 1954, with " Come Back Baby" as the B-side. Both ...

" (by

Ray Charles Ray Charles Robinson (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential musicians in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Gen ...

), "

What'd I Say "What'd I Say" (or "What I Say") is an American rhythm and blues song by Ray Charles, released in 1959. As a single divided into two parts, it was one of the first soul songs. The composition was improvised one evening late in 1958 when Charl ...

" (Charles) and "

Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On" (sometimes rendered "Whole Lot of Shakin' Going On") is a song written by Dave "Curlee" Williams and sometimes also credited to James Faye "Roy" Hall. The song was first recorded by Big Maybelle, though the best-k ...

" (

Jerry Lee Lewis Jerry Lee Lewis (September 29, 1935October 28, 2022) was an American pianist, singer, and songwriter. Nicknamed "The Killer", he was described as "rock 'n' roll's first great wild man". A pioneer of rock and roll and rockabilly music, Lewis m ...

). On the recording, singer Ian Hunter incorrectly introduces "What'd I Say" as being written by Jerry Lee Lewis. ;2003 CD bonus tracks #

" It'll Be Me" (

Jack Clement Jack Henderson Clement (April 5, 1931 – August 8, 2013) was an American musician, songwriter, record producer, film producer and music executive. He was producer and engineer for Sam Phillips at Sun Records in its early days, discovering ...

) – 2.58 # "

Long Red "Long Red" is a song recorded by Leslie West for his first solo album ''Mountain'' (1969). He performed it with his band Mountain at Woodstock in 1969, which was later included on '' Live: The Road Goes Ever On'' (1972). The drum break from this v ...

" (

Leslie West Leslie Abel West (born Weinstein; October 22, 1945 – December 23, 2020) was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. He was the co-founder, guitarist and co-lead vocalist of the rock band Mountain. West was named the 245th greatest guit ...

Felix Pappalardi Felix Albert Pappalardi Jr. (December 30, 1939 – April 17, 1983) was an American music producer, songwriter, vocalist, and bass violin, bassist. He is best known as the bassist and co-lead vocalist of the band Mountain (band), Mountain, whose ...

, John Ventura, Norman Landsberg) – 3.47 ;2018 CD bonus track In 2018, as part of a boxed set of Island era material, "Whiskey Women" was issued under its original title of "Brain Haulage". This is an unedited take, with the guitar power-chords mixed higher. It's heavier, and closer to the live versions of the song.

Personnel

;Mott the Hoople * Ian Hunter –

lead vocals The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of the ...

(tracks 2, 4, 5, 7, 9), and

backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are us ...

rhythm guitar In music performances, rhythm guitar is a guitar technique and role that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse (music), pulse in conjunction with other instruments from the rhythm section (e.g., d ...

piano A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...

–

lead guitar Lead guitar (also known as solo guitar) is a musical part for a guitar in which the guitarist plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs and chords within a song structure. The lead is the featur ...

, lead vocals (tracks 1, 3, 6, 8), backing vocals *

Verden Allen Verden Allen (born Terence Allen, 26 May 1944, Crynant, Neath, Wales) is a Welsh organist and vocalist best known as a founding member of 1970s rock band Mott the Hoople. Before that band formed, he had in the mid-1960s been in a rhythm and ...

–

organ Organ and organs may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a group of tissues organized to serve a common function * Organ system, a collection of organs that function together to carry out specific functions within the body. Musical instruments ...

, backing vocals * Pete "Overend" Watts –

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...

, backing vocals * Dale "Buffin" Griffin –

drums The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...

, backing vocals ;Additional personnel * Jerry Hogan –

steel guitar A steel guitar () is any guitar played while moving a steel bar or similar hard object against plucked strings. The bar itself is called a "steel" and is the source of the name "steel guitar". The instrument differs from a conventional guitar i ...

on "It Must Be Love" and "Original Mixed-Up Kid" *

Jess Roden Jess Roden (born 28 December 1947) is an English rock singer, songwriter and guitarist. Biography Roden's first band was The Raiders followed by The Shakedown Sound which also included the guitarist Kevyn Gammond, and keyboard player August Ead ...

– background chorus on "Lay Down" * Stan Tippins – background chorus on "Lay Down" * Michael Gray – string arrangements and conductor on "Waterlow" * Jim Archer –

violin The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...

on "Angel of Eighth Avenue" ;Technical *

, Brian Humphries,

–

engineers Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, build, maintain and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials. They aim to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while consider ...

* Brian Cooke –

photography Photography is the visual arts, art, application, and practice of creating images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. It is empl ...

Charts

References

{{Authority control 1971 albums Mott the Hoople albums Albums produced by Guy Stevens Island Records albums Country rock albums by English artists