Ian Hunter and the Rant Band w/Bob Delevante

Of all the rock ’n’ rollers who dragged the 1960s into the ’70s — I could mention David Bowie, Big Star and Funkadelic, and I’m sure you have your own candidates — Mott the Hoople may be the most lovable. Mott frontman Ian Hunter’s writing on their “All the Way From Memphis,” “Honaloochie Boogie” and “Saturday Gigs” described what seemed like the vast span of years between 1967 and the early ’70s. The band’s classically restrained style was an unshowy analog to Hunter’s plainspoken insights about the lure of rock ’n’ roll and the passage of time. Now 77, Hunter remains one of the great English rockers, and his new full-length Fingers Crossed, recorded with The Rant Band, is autumnal music that finds him paying tribute to Bowie on “Dandy” and navigating through rock history on “Ghosts.” Fingers Crossed is one of Hunter’s best albums — he continues to explore what it means to rock in the face of certain doom. EDD HURT