The Slider
The Slider is the seventh studio album by English rock band T. Rex, and the third since abbreviating their name from Tyrannosaurus Rex. It was released on 21 July 1972 by record labels EMI and Reprise. Two number-one singles, "Telegram Sam" and "Metal Guru", were released to promote the album. Issued at the height of the band's popularity, The Slider received acclaim from critics, and reached number 4 in the UK charts and number 17 in the US. Recording and production On the recommendation of Elton John, The Slider was recorded outside of Paris at Château d'Hérouville to avoid British taxing laws. Production started in March 1972 and the basic recordings were completed in Strawberry Studios in five days. One of the songs recorded at Chateau was "Metal Guru". Bolan described the song as a "festival of life song", and that he related "Metal Guru" to "all gods around... someone special, a godhead. I thought how god would be, he'd be all alone without a telephone". Further recording was done at the end of March in Rosenberg Studios in Copenhagen, Denmark. The backing vocals by Flo & Eddie were recorded at Elektra Studios in Los Angeles, in April. Like all previous T. Rex albums, The Slider was produced by Tony Visconti. Album cover The album notes credit Ringo Starr with the front and back cover photographs. The photographs were taken the same day that Starr was filming the T. Rex documentary Born to Boogie at John Lennon's estate, Tittenhurst Park. Producer Tony Visconti, however, disputes that Starr took the photograph, stating "Marc [Bolan] handed me his motorized Nikon and asked me to fire off two rolls of black and white film while we were on the set of Born to Boogie. Ringo, the director of the film, was busy all day lining up shots. But Marc apparently saw a photo credit opportunity and gave Ringo the credit for the photos." The iconic grainy image is due in part to how the film was processed. The film from the Born to Boogie shoot was couriered to Robert Horner Photography in Kensington. A young darkroom technician – a fan of T. Rex, keen to see the pictures – developed the four rolls of black and white 35mm film. The developing chemical, Kodak D76, was heated to a temperature far higher than recommended, shortening the processing time. However, the stop bath chemical, used to prevent the film from developing further prior to fixation, remained at the lower regular temperature. This resulted in reticulation of the film emulsion, adding a subtle but interesting effect to the image. Although Guns N' Roses covered Bolan's "Buick Makane" (featured on a Rhino reissue of The Slider), the cover was not an influence on the top hat worn by GNR guitarist Slash. "People always ask me that because of the Slider cover," he remarked. "But, no, that had nothing to do with it." Release Two singles were released to promote The Slider. The first was "Telegram Sam" which