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No one could accuse Slade‘s Dave Hill of rushing into this. Dirty Foot Lane, his debut solo album, arrives six months after his 80th birthday and precipitously late in a career during which he was happiest pulling on outrageous outfits to ‘sell’ hits others had written. But now Superyob reinvents his capacity to shock and surprise with this collection of 10 deeply personal and sentimental songs.
In terms of songwriting, other than Slade II’s sole release, Keep On Rockin! (1994’s inglorious attempt to keep the legend alive without Noddy Holder and Jim Lea), Hill credits are rare. He co-wrote a handful of pre-Slade songs by The Vendors and The ’N Betweens
In 1981, his instrumental M’Hat M’Coat graced Till Deaf Do Us Part, over a decade after he’d earned a quarter share of the royalties from Know Who You Are on Slade’s second album Play It Loud (which also brought the first side of Slade Alive! to a riotous close). Dirty Foot Lane, though, is something very different.
Primarily it’s folky, bluesy and mellow, with a handful of gentle rockers on which John Berry, part of Hill’s touring band since 2003, sings. Berry, who also plays bass throughout, handles Back In The Air Again, Reasons To Succeed and Play It To The Crowd. The latter raises a smile as the most Slade-like (and Stonesy) song here, more convincing than when Hill stays at the mic for Dust My Axe and Taking The Fast Train.
The standouts, though, are all the softer songs – even when laced with ear-catching guitar solos – thanks to lyrics that only a man of Hill’s age and experience could write. His voice might be thin, but the sincerity carries the message well enough. Sweet And Tender is a tribute to his mother, Only Fools And Horses recalls his early days in the business, while She Had A Troubled Heart is a sympathetic recollection of a one-sided love affair, featuring cellos and a piano.
The best is probably the mostly spoken-word title track, recalling childhood days on the outskirts of Wolverhampton. Nice song. Shades of Gasoline Alley. But the sweetest is opener Thanks For The Good Times, beginning with an acoustic guitar over which Hill sings an affectionate tribute to his glory days alongside Noddy, Jim and Don.
