I love Ariel Benders (Luther Grovsner) playing ! Mick is great also but to me Ariel is the BOMB ! Ian's flat ? Oh come on that's the charm.
I have to second the initial opinion. Ariel Bender/Luther Grosvenor is no Mick Ralphs or Mick Ronson. There is an album version of I believe Roll away the Stone (or another single of theirs) with Mick Ralphs playing a nice melodic solo and a single version with Ariel supplying a barrage of squeals which sounds like he caught a cat in the studio, miked it and then proceeded to yank away at its tail. And an unmusical cat at that.
Even Ian Hunter is on record for saying that Ariel was a mistake musically and that Mick Ralphs' departure to Bad Co led to the demise of Mott the Hoople because, while looking great on stage, Ariel could not cut it in the studio, something Hunter realized quickly, but unfortunately not quickly enough. I saw Ariel when he was Luther again with Widowmaker, he was less than impressive and some of his solos were even mocked/pastiched by Ted Nugent that evening who was headlining.
Ralphs left in part out of frustration that his songs were rejected by Ian Hunter who found it hard to sing in the keys Mick preferred. The opening riff of Bad Co's "Can't get enough of your love" also graces an older Mott the Hoople track (though the verse chords are different) and while I prefer Hunter to Rodgers as a lyricist, frontman and for his sheer attitude, it is obvious that Rodger's range took the riff (which uses open tuning) to another level.
BTW, Ian Hunter, for all his qualities (and I have a dozen solo albums of the man), was never about
not singing flat.
