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".