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Label: Mason Records
Before they became Slade, the Wolverhampton band recorded their debut album as Ambrose Slade. Beginnings is a very different record from the loud, stomping glam-rock hits that would make them famous only a few years later. Here the group are still working in a late-1960s psychedelic and hard-rock setting, mixing original material with bold covers of songs by Steppenwolf, The Beatles, The Moody Blues, Frank Zappa and The Amboy Dukes.
The album is especially interesting because the classic Slade line-up is already in place: Noddy Holder, Dave Hill, Jim Lea and Don Powell. The sound is rawer, more exploratory and less instantly recognisable than their later work, but the energy is there, and tracks such as Genesis, Roach Daddy, Pity The Mother and Born To Be Wild show a band still searching for its identity. For Slade collectors, this pre-fame chapter is essential.
Track listing