BMG’s deeply impressive series of Slade vinyl reissues continues with two pivotal releases in the band’s catalogue. The first of these, Beginnings (credited to The Ambrose Slade), is the band’s debut, a twelve-track album bearing just four original songs and a host of covers, battered into the Slade mould with somewhat mixed results. The second is the band’s historic Alive at Reading, making its vinyl debut as a complete show.
Beginnings (1969)
Pressed, with typical care, on red and yellow splatter vinyl, the LP is otherwise bare bones, packaged in a plain paper sleeve, with the liner notes reproduced on the reverse of the jacket. Nevertheless, for fans who have worked their way through the series, it certainly looks and sounds the part and, for those who prefer to go the CD route, it comes housed in a fancy media book with a bonus track to boot.
Beginnings kicks off, fittingly, with the thudding bass and howling wind of Genesis, a heavily phased instrumental that sets the scene, without giving away Holder’s vocals too early in the game. The track would later be reworked for Play It Loud, but as an instrumental, it works well, both as an introduction to the album, and to the band. Unfortunately, Steppenwolf cover Everybody’s Next One fails to capitalise on the atmosphere of Genesis, although the layered harmonies work well. Next up, Knocking Nails into My House (a cover of the long forgotten The Idle Race) is part hard rock swagger, part music hall smirk, but it’s soon eclipsed by another band original in the form of Roach Daddy. Things continue to improve with a solid cover of Frank Zappa’s Ain’t Got No Heart, which works really well in the context of the album. The first side concludes with a third original composition, Pity the Mother, which best showcases the verve that Slade would later display. With a mix of acoustic and electric guitar work vying for attention, a crackling solo, and even a turn on the violin from bassist Jim Lea, it’s an incredibly impressive work from a band still finding their feet.
Opening side two, the final original composition of the album (and another instrumental), is Mad Dog Cole, which sets things off nicely with its glam stomp. Next down the path is a cover of The Moody Blues’ Fly Me High, which is a fun, if somewhat whimsical, number delivered with a cheeky grin. On the other hand, the fey If This World Were Mine (Marvin Gaye) stretches Noddy’s voice to its limits, and the results are not great. Then there’s the equally scattershot cover of The Beatles’ Martha My Dear, an unlikely song (and far from the Beatles’ best), recast as a folksy jaunt that is vaguely amsuing, but not something you’d want to hear often. However, Slade soon redeem themselves with Born to Be Wild, a cover that would last the band’s career as a live staple, and a fiery highlight of the album’s second side. It leaves a cover of The Amboy Dukes’ Journey to the Centre of Your Mind to see the album out, which it does in some style, maintaining the pace of Born to Be Wild and giving another tantalising glimpse of the rock ‘n’ roll force waiting to burst forth on Play It Loud.
Like many of their contemporaries, Slade grew out of playing covers, and their debut album is very much the sound of a band fighting against their influences to find their own sound. While, at its worst, it’s Beatles-light (complete with harmony vocals very much of the period), there’s much to enjoy here, not least the astounding Pity the Mother (which, if we’re honest, belongs on a better album), while covers of Zappa’s Ain’t Got No Heartand Stepponwolf’s Born To be Wild both show the heavy jams the band were absorbing. All in all, Beginnings is a decent album, with some cracking tracks, but it only sporadically suggests what Slade would become in just a few years. 6.5/10
Alive At Reading (1980)
Pressed on lovely orange and black splatter vinyl, Alive At Reading is housed in a printed inner sleeve, but sadly offers no liner notes to help place the show in its context, which is a shame when you consider just how important a show it was for Slade. Somewhat more crackly than other efforts in the series, it’s a decent pressing, but you’ll notice some pops during the (very) few quieter moments of this thunderous show. Nevertheless, for fans of the band, this edition looks fantastic and sounds as good as you could hope from what is, essentially, an official bootleg – making it a highly desirable collector’s item – not least because this is its first ever official appearance on vinyl. There is also a CD edition available, housed in a media book, but as the show was appeared on CD in the recent All The World Is A Stage box set, it’s likely that most will prefer the vinyl edition.
It is hard to believe, looking at recent line ups, just what an event Reading was for rock, punk, indie, and metal bands, but from its inception in the early 60s, right through to the midd-00s, it was the festival where the up-and-coming cut their teeth. For Slade, their Reading show in 1980 was something of a make-or-break appearance. Having returned from the US to find themselves displaced by the very punk rock that their hard-hitting sound had (in part) influenced, the band could no longer fill venues, and were slowly sinking back into the club quagmire. It took Ozzy Osbourne dropping out of Reading Festival at the last minute to turn their fortunes around. With the organisers casting around for a replacement, they lighted on Slade, who unleashed a bombastic performance in front of 65,000 baying rock fans. With the show broadcast on the BBC Friday Rock Show (and receiving a rave response), it became the stuff of legend, and it reignited Slade’s fortunes overnight.
Even at this distance, it’s easy to see why the show so entranced the audience. The band positively launch themselves at the gig, kicking off with the blazing guitars of Take Me Bak ‘Ome, Noddy belting out the vocals as the band lay down a clattering backdrop. What an opener – even in an age grown cynical and weary, there’s something electrifying about hearing a band throwing absolutely everything at a show they clearly know to be pivotal. With Noddy playing ring master to the Reading circus, audience interaction starts early, and you can hear the crowd getting firmly into the spirit of things, clearly revelling in the band’s fiery intensity. Cheekily asking the crowd if it’s loud enough, Noddy leads Slade into a raucous When I’m Dancin’ I Ain’t Fightin’, a hard-riffing beast with an insistent, sing-a-long chorus. Keeping things heavy, a ramshackle Wheels Ain’t Comin’ Down is a solid rock song delivered with panache by a band now clearly aware they’ve got the audience on side. In keeping with the attitude of a band trying to cram a lifetime’s music into a short set, Slade unleash a medley, featuring elements of Somethin’ Else, Pistol Packin’ Mama, Instrumental Jam, Keep It Rockin’. It leaves Noddy to lead the audience through Liverpool anthem You’ll Never Walk Alone , and the side rounds out to the roar of the crowd.
Kicking off side 2, Mama Weer All Crazee Now explodes from the speakers, the band clearly having a blast. A blistering cover of Little Richard’s version of Get Down And Get With It acts as a thank you to their fans (it was Slade’s first chart hit), while hearing the crowd serenade the band with Merry Xmas Everybody is surprisingly emotional – a bemused, but clearly delighted, Noddy pointing out it’s only August. With the band on a roll, they close their set with two of their biggest hitters – the unstoppable anthem Cum On Feel The Noize, which turns into a gargantuan sing-a-long; and their cover of Born To Be Wild (harking back to Beginnings), which all but incinerates the festival.
A remarkable set from a remarkable band, albeit not quite up to the quality of the Slade Alive! Release, Slade knew their fortunes were on the wane when they took to the Reading stage in 1980, and they gambled on a hulking great set that took in crowd-pleasing covers, chart-busting singles and insane, violin-fuelled instrumental jams. Listening on vinyl, some forty-odd years later, you can hear the band’s utter commitment to the moment and their equal delight at the crowd’s rapturous response. In one fell swoop, Slade reversed their fortunes and, if any performance ever deserved to catapult a band back into the limelight, it is this one. 8.5/10
To pre-order Beginningsand Alive! At Reading go to: https://slade.lnk.to/aarbegPR
To order other releases in this series of limited edition vinyl reissues and deluxe CDs, including ‘Sladest’, ‘Slayed?’, ‘Old New Borrowed And Blue’, ‘Slade In Flame’ , ‘Slade Alive!’ , Nobody’s Fools andThe Amazing Kamikaze Syndrome go to:https://slade.lnk.to/OfficialStore
Also, available the ‘All The World Is A Stage’ 5 live CD box (reviewed here): https://slade.lnk.to/alltheworldPR
