Begining as Ambrose Slade...

ArtificeThe British music scene of the '60s had as many stars as over here in the States. Each group had some unique flavor while still borrowing liberally from American blooze and RnB. No matter, the music worked. And even if the early '60s only yielded some sugary love songs, the latter portion of the decade was rife with hits. Unfortunately, some of these chart toppers are all but forgotten today. Regardless of their current standing in the history of pop music here or in the UK, Slade - or on their first album Ambrose Slade - was able to rave up simple blues, get into spacey Pink Floyd territory and even cover a song by Zappa.

The band's background doesn't have anything to do with London, so when Ambrose Slade found Chas Chandler - former bass player for the Animals - and convinced him to manage them, he figured that the big city was the place for them to be. Chandler was instrumental in assisting the band finding its image as well - which to a certain extent points to Ambrose Slade being a construction of some sort as opposed to an organic group. But during the late '60s, the skinhead movement was garnering press on a daily basis - so the boys bought boots and braces.

It wasn't the most preposterous move and probably afforded the group a wider audience than before, but not everyone was happy with the artifice. And really, the early work of Ambrose Slade sounded as affected as any combination of Canterbury psych and dainty folk singers set atop an electric backing. None of this, however, hinted at the direction that the group would follow musically, image wise or other wise. And for that reason, Ambrose Slade can be seen as a group being directed as much from the outside as the inside.

Beginnings (or Ballzy as it was titled for the US release), while jammed full of covers, amply displays the personality of the band as well as where it's musical allegiances lie. The lead off instrumental begins with an odd space ship noise - and predates the oddities that Bowie would include in his glam outings while incorporating that aforementioned Floyd influence. That track and its follow up - a Who style jam - finds the band still working to figure out who it is and what it should do. Strangely enough, it seems that whatever approach to rock Ambrose Slade took, they were more than capable of tackling it. That doesn't mean that the album holds together perfectly, just that the individual songs are pretty decent.

Unfortunately, the inclusion of a Marvin Gaye track - "If This World Were Mine" - proves that Noddy Holder's vocals weren't up to the every challeng. It's a brief reminder that these folks weren't yet a primed and ready machine. But as the album comes to close and Slade attacks the Amboy Dukes' "Journey to the Center of Your Mind," it would appear that they had figured a musical approach in which there would be no chance of failure. And as the '60s ended, Slade trafficked in revved up rockers aimed at party goers. That might not be overtly obvious here, but if you pay close enough attention, you can hear the '70s.