''Slaughter on 10th Avenue'' is the debut album by English guitarist

Mick Ronson Michael Ronson (26 May 1946 – 29 April 1993) was an English musician, songwriter, arranger, and producer. He achieved critical and commercial success working with David Bowie as the guitarist of the Spiders from Mars. He was a session music ...

, then-guitarist of

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...

's backing band

the Spiders from Mars The Spiders from Mars were rock singer David Bowie's backing band in the early 1970s, and initially consisted of Mick Ronson on guitars, Trevor Bolder on bass guitar, and Mick Woodmansey on drums. The group had its origins in Bowie's earlier ba ...

. It was released in February 1974 by

RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also A ...

. For inspiration, Ronson relied on

Annette Peacock Annette Peacock is an American composer, musician, songwriter, producer, and arranger. She is a pioneer in electronic music who combined her voice with one of the first Moog synthesizers in the late 1960s. Biography Annette Peacock was writing ...

's 1972 album '' I'm the One''; he used the title track and her arrangement of

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

's " Love Me Tender". Two songs were co-written by Ronson with Scott Richardson, who had been involved in the

Ann Arbor Anne, alternatively spelled Ann, is a form of the Latin female given name Anna (name), Anna. This in turn is a representation of the Hebrew Hannah (given name), Hannah, which means 'favour' or 'grace'. Related names include Annie (given name), ...

music scene since the mid-'60s and came to prominence as lead singer of the SRC. Richardson was brought into the Bowie camp by

Angie Bowie Angela Bowie (born Mary Angela Barnett; September 25, 1949) is an American model, actress, and journalist. Alongside her ex-husband David Bowie, she influenced the glam rock culture and fashion of the 1970s. She was married to Bowie (whom she a ...

, who met him through

Ron Asheton Ronald Franklin Asheton (July 17, 1948 – c. January 6, 2009) was an American musician , who was best known as the guitarist, bassist, and co-songwriter for the rock band the Stooges. He formed the Stooges along with Iggy Pop and his brother, ...

of the Stooges. During the recording of the album, Ronson considered putting together a new band with Richardson,

Aynsley Dunbar Aynsley Thomas Dunbar (born 10 January 1946) is an English drummer. He has worked with John Mayall, Frank Zappa, Jeff Beck, Journey, Jefferson Starship, Nils Lofgren, Eric Burdon, Shuggie Otis, Ian Hunter, Lou Reed, David Bowie, Mick R ...

, and

Trevor Bolder Trevor Bolder (9 June 1950 – 21 May 2013) was an English rock musician, songwriter and record producer. He is best known for his long association with Uriah Heep and his tenure with the Spiders from Mars, the backing band for David Bowie, a ...

, to be called the Fallen Angels, but plans fell through. "

Only After Dark "Only After Dark" is a song by English guitarist, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, arranger, and producer Mick Ronson. Co-written with Scott Richardson, it was on Ronson's 1974 debut solo album '' Slaughter on 10th Avenue'', released shortly ...

", one of the two tracks co-written by Ronson and Richardson, was later covered by the original lineup of pioneering British electronic band

The Human League The Human League are an English synth-pop band formed in Sheffield in 1977. Initially an experimental electronic outfit, the group signed to Virgin Records in 1979 and later attained widespread commercial success with their third album ''Dare' ...

in 1980. Their version was intended as the second single from their second album ''

Travelogue Travelogue may refer to: Genres * Travel literature, a record of the experiences of an author travelling * Travel documentary A travel documentary is a documentary film, television program, or online series that describes travel in general or t ...

'', but their label

Virgin Records Virgin Records is a record label owned by Universal Music Group. It originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman. It grew to be a worldwid ...

shelved it in favour of a reissue of the track "Empire State Human" (from their first album) and the pressings of "Only After Dark" were given away as a free bonus single with the official single, a move that greatly angered the group, and contributed to their subsequent split. The song was also covered by British heavy rock band

Def Leppard Def Leppard are an English rock band formed in 1976 in Sheffield. Since 1992, the band has consisted of Rick Savage (bass, backing vocals), Joe Elliott (lead vocals), Rick Allen (drums, backing vocals), Phil Collen (guitar, backing vocals), a ...

, and was issued as the B-side of their 1992 hit single "

Let's Get Rocked "Let's Get Rocked" is a 1992 single by English hard rock band Def Leppard from their multi-platinum album '' Adrenalize''. The song peaked at number one on the ''Billboard'' Album Rock Tracks chart, number 15 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, n ...

Promotion and live shows

Mick Ronson's debut concert came at the

Rainbow Theatre The Rainbow Theatre, originally known as the Finsbury Park Astoria, is a Grade II*-listed building in Finsbury Park, London. The theatre was built in 1930 as a cinema. It later became a music venue. Today, the building is used by the Universa ...

, London, with a pair of shows on 22–23 February 1974. His band consisted of Mark Carr-Pritchard on second guitar, Trevor Bolder on bass,

Mike Garson Michael David Garson (born July 29, 1945) is an American pianist, who has worked with David Bowie, Nine Inch Nails, St. Vincent, Duran Duran, Free Flight and The Smashing Pumpkins. Early career Garson went to Lafayette High School in Broo ...

on keyboards and Ritchie Dharma on drums. The band were augmented by

Thunderthighs Thunderthighs (also known as "Thunder Thighs") were a British backing vocal group, who became artists in their own right. Career The female trio, consisting of Karen Friedman, Dari Lalou (American) and Casey Synge, provided the backing vocals ...

on vocals, a five-piece horn section and the

London Symphony Orchestra The London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London. Founded in 1904, the LSO is the oldest of London's orchestras, symphony orchestras. The LSO was created by a group of players who left Henry Wood's Queen's ...

. This was followed by a 13 date tour in April 1974 without the orchestra.

Reception

Dave Thompson of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

praised the album, putting it on par with "any of Bowie's own" and describing it as a "snapshot of a special time, when the triple disciplines of glam, rock, and 'Precious Art' slammed into one another." According to journalist

Jim Irvin Jim Irvin is an English singer, songwriter, music journalist and podcast host. Early life Born James Lawrence Irvin and raised in west London. Career Furniture Irvin was the singer in the English new wave band Furniture, who released singles ...

, "Ronno's best-selling solo set of '74 has exclusive Bowie songs, a cracking band and engaging ideas. But the mixes are odd, some tracks don't lift-off and his vocals lack a distinctive persona." ''

Classic Rock Classic rock is a US radio format which developed from the album-oriented rock (AOR) format in the early 1980s. In the United States, the classic rock format comprises rock music ranging generally from the mid-1960s through the mid 1990s, primar ...

'' reviewer finds the album "a mixed blessing" too. Some songs sound dated and overblown, but Bowie's penned tracks are "slices of old-school camp given a no-nonsense twist."

Track listing

All credits adapted from the original liner notes. ;Side one # " Love Me Tender" (

George R. Poulton George Rodway Poulton (bapt. 16 October 1828 – 1867) was an English-born American musician and composer. He was born in Cricklade, near Cirencester, Wiltshire, England in 1828 to Charles Poulton and Hannah Rodway Poulton. He was baptised in St ...

Ken Darby Kenneth Lorin Darby (May 13, 1909 – January 24, 1992) was an American composer, vocal arranger, lyricist, and conductor. His film scores were recognized by the awarding of three Academy Awards and one Grammy Award. He provided vocals for ...

) – 4:50 # "Growing Up and I'm Fine" (

) – 3:10 # "Only After Dark" (Mick Ronson, Scott Richardson) – 3:30 # "Music Is Lethal" (

Lucio Battisti Lucio Battisti (5 March 1943 – 9 September 1998) was an influential Italian singer-songwriter and composer. He is widely recognized for songs that defined the late 1960s and 1970s era of Italian songwriting. Battisti released 18 studio albums ...

, English lyrics by Bowie) – 5:10 ;Side two # "I'm the One" (

) – 5:03 # "Pleasure Man / Hey Ma Get Papa" (Ronson, Richardson, Bowie) – 8:55 # "

Slaughter on Tenth Avenue ''Slaughter on Tenth Avenue'' is a ballet with music by Richard Rodgers and choreography by George Balanchine. It occurs near the end of Rodgers and Hart's 1936 Broadway musical comedy ''On Your Toes''. ''Slaughter'' is the story of a hoofer who ...

" (

Richard Rodgers Richard Charles Rodgers (June 28, 1902 – December 30, 1979) was an American Musical composition, composer who worked primarily in musical theater. With 43 Broadway musicals and over 900 songs to his credit, Rodgers was one of the most ...

) – 4:41

Bonus tracks on selected CD editions

# "Solo on 10th Avenue – solo guitar sections" (Richard Rodgers) – 2:07 # "Leave My Heart Alone" (

Craig Fuller Craig Lee Fuller (born July 18, 1949) is an American musician and songwriter. Fuller was the co-founder of Pure Prairie League, along with John David Call and George Powell. Fuller wrote and sang their first hit "Amie". He departed the band i ...

) – 4:32 (Live 22–23 February 1974 at the

, London) # "Love Me Tender" – 4:43 (Live 22–23 February 1974 at the Rainbow Theatre, London) # "Slaughter on Tenth Avenue" – 4:35 (Live 22–23 February 1974 at the Rainbow Theatre, London)

Charts

Personnel

– guitar, piano, vocals, arrangement, conductor *

– bass, trumpet,

trombone The trombone (german: Posaune, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the Brass instrument, brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's vibrating lips cause the Standing wave, air column ...

– drums, percussion *

– piano,

electric piano An electric piano is a musical instrument which produces sounds when a performer presses the keys of a piano-style musical keyboard. Pressing keys causes mechanical hammers to strike metal strings, metal reeds or wire tines, leading to vibrations ...

, organ *

David Hentschel David Hentschel (born 18 December 1952) is an English recording engineer, film score composer and music producer who engineered on George Harrison's ''All Things Must Pass'' and Elton John's ''Goodbye Yellow Brick Road'', as well as for such a ...

– ARP on "Hey Ma Get Papa" *Margaret Ronson – backing vocals *Dennis MacKay – engineer, backing vocals *Sidney Sax – strings *

Leee Black Childers Leee Black Childers (July 24, 1945 – April 6, 2014) was an American photographer, writer and rock music manager, who "recorded the legacy of a theatrical cross over between rock music and gay culture". Born Lee Black Childers in Jefferson Count ...

– cover

References

{{Authority control 1974 debut albums Mick Ronson albums Albums produced by Mick Ronson RCA Records albums Albums recorded at Trident Studios