BMG’s reissue campaign for Slade has been deeply impressive in terms of the quality and care put into each package, albeit a little confusing in terms of chronology. Last year, the label dropped four releases: Nobody’s Fools, The Amazing Kamikaze Syndrome, Beginnings, and Alive At Reading (one of three unreleased shows included in the excellent All The World Is A Stage CD box set). Now, they appear to be filling in the gaps with Till Deaf Do Us Part, the band’s tenth album, and Live At The New Victoria, another excellent live show from the box.
The Package
Issued, as is now customary, on limited edition splatter vinyl (this time round an attractive blue and white), Live At The New Victoria comes housed in a gatefold sleeve. It features a band photo on the front, while the plain back cover offers only the track listing and copyright warning. Inside, are two more photos and additional track information. No liner notes are included, which is a shame because a little context would have been welcome, and the platters themselves are housed in plain paper sleeves. As such, it is an attractive offering and fans who have been following the series until now will be eager to grab the limited splatter disc to add to their collection, but it does feel as if the label could have tried a little harder in terms of notes or additional photos.
The Album
Recorded the year after 1974’s In Flame was released, Live In Victoria finds Slade somewhat defiant, having failed to crack the American market. Recorded at the New Victoria Theatre, London, on April 25th, 1975, the band’s twelve track set includes a number of cuts from In Flame although, somewhat oddly, the band aired only four songs from the UK version of the album, with an additional two taken from the US variant. Alongside the newcomers were a number of longstanding classics, including Goodbuy T’Jane and Mama Weer All Crazee Now although, impressively, Slade avoided any duplication of material on Alive!, which was released three-years prior.
Side 1
Starting as they mean to go on, Slade tinker with In Flame’s running order and kick things off with a rampant Them Kinda Monkeys Can’t Swing. With its rolling thunder intro and slide guitar, it’s a monumental hard rocker and a fantastic show opener, although the drums feel a little tinny during the first half as the sound engineer gets the levels right. Nevertheless, it’s a surprisingly clear mix, with solid separation between instruments and plenty of space right down the middle for Noddy’s acid-etched vocals, and it sets an impressive pace for the show. While The Banging Man may come from the US version of the album, the roar that greets it suggest that the audience were nonetheless familiar with it (or are, at least, having too much of a good time to care), and the band deliver it with a bluesy flair reminiscent of The Stones. With Noddy playing up his role as arch showman, his between-song raps are as much panto as they are rock ‘n’ roll, but they do the job, winding up the audience to fever pitch before the first side is rounded out with the heavy glam of Gudbuy T’Jane.
Side 2
Opening side B, Noddy introduces the whimsical pop of Far Far Away by referencing the film, and it sounds absolutely great in its live incarnation. Next up, and introduced with a cheeky swipe at the BBC’s censorship policies, non-album single Thanks For The Memory (Wham Bam Thank You Mam) is another track that appeared on the US album release. It suffers here from an over-amped electric piano, which threatens to overwhelm the mix, but things soon get back on track as the band segue straight into the pop-infused How Does It Feel, which neatly rounds out side 2 with a mix of Beatles-esque melody and heavy duty riffing.
Side 3
With Noddy declaring “we’ll get ‘em moving”, the band proceed to do exactly that with the heavy riff of Rosco Gordon’s Just A Little Bit, a song that goes a long way to explaining why heavy metal fans hold the band in high regard – it’s an absolutely scorching song. Opening as a sing-along, with a strong McCartney vibe, Everyday soon evolves into a bludgeoning ballad, delivered with heart, and all the subtlety of a power-drill trepanning. Getting the audience to stand up (“but don’t get on the seats, alright”) and driven by cowbell, OK Yesterday Was Yesterday rounds out side 3, with the band firing on all cylinders, that powerful slide guitar back again, underpinned by some great rock ‘n’ roll riffing and humungous bass.
Side 4
The home run includes a surprising dip into the band’s b sides collection for Raining In My Champagne, the flip side to Thanks For The Memory, which pays homage to Twist And Shout with its call and answer chorus, before the band cheekily interpolate Day-O (The Banana Boat Song). R& B duo Shirley and Lee get the Slade treatment next, as the band tear through Let The Good Times Roll, throwing hulking great bass and a crunchy riff at it with glorious abandon. A toe-tapping monster, it damn near rips the roof off the New Victoria, and then it’s time for Mama Weer All Crazee Now to finish the job, leaving the audience screaming into the night as the band exit the stage, the applause ringing in their ears.
Conclusions
Live At The New Victoria is a cracking set from a band reasserting themselves after a difficult venture overseas. Offering an incredible set list, and one that is markedly different from any other Slade live offering, it’s a must for fans, even if it does have its limitations. With occasional mix issues (most notably on the opening track and Thanks For The Memory), and lacking even the most elementary liner notes, it feels rather more like an official bootleg than a commemorative release. However, this is offset by the beautiful splatter vinyl and the quality of the pressing, which is more than worth belting out loud. Not the best Slade live album perhaps, but certainly the most unique, Live At The New Victoria is of interest to anyone who digs hard rock and essential for fans of the band. 8/10
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