Mick Ronson Albums (4)
'Hard Life'
Release Date 4/22/2003
Tracks 10
Label Universal International
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
One more in the shamefully scrappy sequence of "new" Mick Ronson albums uncovered in the decade following his death, not one of which adds anything more to his memory than another disc to play once, then file. Except Hard Life doesn't even merit that consideration, as it eschews the archive in favor of compiling 10 tracks from past collections just in case you missed them.The performances themselves are fair enough. Live takes on "White Light White Heat", "Sweet Dreamer" and "Slaughter On 10th Avenue" date from Ronson's 1989 reunion with Ian Hunter, and remind us just how under-rated the latter days of that partnership were. Other tracks are drawn from solo Ronson sessions in the mid-1970s and early 1980s (including the so-called Indian Summer soundtrack), and are each pleasant enough, without ever touching the heights that Ronsons fans expect of him - and which he, himself, aspired towards.No, what galls is the insistence that this material somehow represents an aspect of Ronson's career that deserves, even demands, to be heard. It really doesn't, as he himself admitted. After all, there's a reason why this stuff was never released at the time.... ~ Dave Thompson, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Rightly hailed as David Bowie's high-flying guitar ace, the self-effacing Ronson had been recording only his third solo album in a 30-year career when he died of liver cancer in 1994. Undaunted, his surviving colleagues completed the project, which stands as a forceful reminder of his wide-ranging talents. Ronson's gleeful, anything-goes eclecticism holds true here. The recipe extends to bluesy pop ("When the World Falls Down"), brooding soundscapes ("You and Me"), an unlikely rearrangement of Giorgio Moroder's "Midnight Love," and even rock-funk ("Colour Me"). Aficionados of Ronson's strangled, Jeff Beck-style string-bending won't be disappointed -- especially on the thunderous "Don't Look Down" and on "Life's a River," where he squarely addresses his imminent mortality. Not surprisingly, every track boasts a different lineup, yet two key factors provide continuity. Ronson writes or co-writes five of the ten songs. Additionally, guitarist-keyboardist Sham Morris -- like his famous collaborator a native of the English industrial city of Hull -- provides key instrumental and production support. The all-star lineup attests to Ronson's appeal and influence. Old co-conspirator Bowie lends suitably jittery vocals to a giddy trashing of the Bob Dylan standard "Like a Rolling Stone." Additional reinforcement comes from Def Lepperd vocalist Joe Elliott, Pretenders singer-guitarist Chrissie Hynde, and rustic rocker John Mellencamp -- whose 1982 hit, "Jack and Diane," benefited from Ronson's arranging prowess. The closing spot naturally falls to ex-Mott the Hoople frontman Ian Hunter, Ronson's longest-serving partner during the 1970s and 1980s. Hunter leads a rousing take on "All the Young Dudes," the Bowie-penned number that his band made famous. The latter track hails from Ronson's last major public appearance, at the 1992 all-star tribute to Queen's late vocalist, Freddie Mercury, which closes the circle nicely. The back cover features a shot of the Humber Bridge, in Ronson's hometown of Hull. Part of the proceeds were intended for the T.J. Martell Foundation, to help the fight against cancer. ~ Ralph Heibutzki, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Reflecting, a decade after the fact, on his launch as a solo rock & roll superstar, Mick Ronson shrugged indifferently, as though he'd really had no say in the matter. David Bowie had just "retired" and, in the absence of the singing sensation with whom Ronson had already risen to unexpected heights, manager Tony DeFries was anxious to keep at least one of his many pots boiling. "Tony said to me, 'okay, we can make you a big star, get you a deal with RCA, all that.' So I said 'wonderful,' and went off to make my own record." Was there ever a launch like the one which awaited Mick Ronson? For a few weeks through the early spring of 1974, you couldn't turn around without his blonde tresses and sad doe eyes staring out from the video still selected to represent his solo career: "Slaughter on 10th Avenue," a histrionic guitar rendition of the Richard Rodgers movie classic, was an inspired choice, and the accompanying video -- Ronson watching helplessly as his girl is gunned down on the street -- remains one of the unseen classics of the genre. No mere miming potboiler for this Kid -- Ronson got the full Hollywood treatment. The same can be said for the accompanying album. Slaughter on 10th Avenue remains a startling achievement, however it is viewed. Guitar gods, after all, were ten-a-penny through the 1970s. But could Ritchie Blackmore sing? Jimmy Page? Robin Trower? Ronno's voice wasn't strong, but with sensitive material and lyrics he could get behind, he was unbeatable. A deliciously Pelvis-less "Love Me Tender" opens the album with warm depth and sparkling cadences; "Only After Dark," co-written with one-time SRC main man Scott Richardson, proved he hadn't left the hard riffing behind. The watchword throughout was variety -- from the proto-Springsteen-esque "Growing Up and I'm Fine" (the first and only Bowie/Ronson composition to be publicly acknowledged) to the chest-beating Euro-angst of "Music Is Lethal" -- all were a showcase for Ronson the performer, rather than the man who garroted Gibsons for fun, and initial reviews of the album made that point. Of course, the guitar didn't get off scot-free. The scorching ARP/guitar duel which concludes "Hey Ma, Get Papa" and, of course, the title track itself were evidence of Ronson's love for his day job, but today, it is the absence of screeching, squealing, neck-twisting frenzy which has ensured that Slaughter on 10th Avenue remain so much more than just another guitar picker's solo record; that the album does, in fact, stand alongside any of Bowie's own, immediately post-Ronson albums as a snapshot of a special time, when the triple disciplines of glam, rock and "Precious Art" slammed into one another without a care in the world. [Reissued with bonus live tracks.] ~ Dave Thompson, All Music Guide
