Personnel: Mick Ronson (vocals, various instruments); Sham Morris (vocals, acoustic guitar, keyboards, bass, programming); Keith Scott (guitar); John Webster (keyboards); Rene Wurst, Peter Kinski (bass); Martin Barker, Mick Curry (drums); John Deacon, Peter Noone, Martin Chambers, Phil Collen, Chrissie Hynde, Ian Hunter, David Bowie, Brian May, Joe Elliott, Roger Taylor, John Mellencamp.
Producers: Mick Ronson, Sham Morris, Bruce Fairbairn.
With Ronson's untimely 1993 death, an era of British rock went with him. Few other guitarists were so influential on the glam rock sound that infiltrated the records of the early 1970s. His weepy intro to "All The Young Dudes" or the brilliant riffage seeping out of Bowie's ZIGGY STARDUST will perpetually immortalize Ronson to the ranks of guitar god.
His swan song, HEAVEN AND HULL, is a veritable glam rock family reunion, boasting cameos from the performers who brought his guitar playing to international attention. To Ronson's own disciples, HEAVEN AND HULL is a tasteful goodbye from a true originator.
To his credit, there is no hierarchy given to the guest performers on the album. Def Leppard's Joe Elliot has as many vocal contributions as David Bowie, and even sings along with the era's anthemic "All The Young Dudes." It is Ronson's guitar work, however, that makes the album shine. After years of being overshadowed by the singers he worked with, HEAVEN AND HULL was Ronson's time in the sun.
The gorgeous "Trouble With Me" finds Chrissie Hynde wrapping her delicious vocals around a song which plays better than half of her new album. Similarly, Joe Elliot's contributions are stronger than most of Def Leppard's recent material. And to prove that Ronson was a guitarist's guitarist, and not just a scenester, the acoustic instrumental, "You And Me," sets the pace. HEAVEN AND HULL lovingly says goodbye to a guitarist who shaped the guitar sound of the early 1970s, and does so with joy, not tears.
- Format: Vinyl
- Genre: Rock
