Tracks from my Past: 1 The Myzterious Mizster Jones – Slade

“He’ll wanna read you palm
And keep you calm
Gotta Voodoo head on a lucky charm
With a snake tatoo
Going down his arm
The myzsterious mizster Jones”

Verse 1 The Myzterious Mizster Jones – Written by Noddy Holder and Jim Lea

The 1985 track Myzterious Mizster Jones by British Glam Rockers Slade has been for as long as I can remember been one of my all time favourite tracks. I first heard it back when I was a wee nipper in the early 90’s, via the vinyl single that, is still in my Dads record collection. As an aside I always liked looking through his collection, just looking at the pictures on the covers, one that has always stuck with me is Tarkus by Emerson, Lake and Palmer; though I don’t think I’ve ever listened to the album it’s self!

The Myzterious Mizster Jones was another record I always had a good look at when thumbing through the collection, I loved the image of the band in their 1930’s style suits with the tommy guns.

The song it’s self is just really catchy in my opinion, with great production and what feels like a really energetic performance from the band. The lyrics conjure up an interesting image of what this character Mizster Jones with his “ice cold diamond in in his tooth” is like and they’ve always left me wanting to hear about his story in more detail.

As I’ve got older though and as I started to play guitar there was a new joy to be found in the track for me, and that is the awesome guitar solo by Dave Hill. It’s short but perfectly formed, and there is a bend at 2:38 which is just sublime. I have to listen to this track loud these days, it’s a song that deserves to be listened to loud 🙂

Now enjoy this ace video of the band miming the track on a German TV show back in 1985!

Featured image from: http://www1.wdr.de/kultur/musik/noddy-holder-130.html

The Myzterious Mizster Jones – Written by Noddy Holder and Jim Lea, Produced by John Punter and released on RCA Records on the 11th March 1985