THE SINGLES :

'GUDBUY T'JANE' : Sure is not their best song but, Merry Xmas aside, Gudbut T'Jane remains their best single. It's a fantastic song, time proof, and its loose feeling it's unique. The instruments are quite well played, with guitars better than ever, Don Powell right foot/bass drum kicks ass!! Great production. Sometimes I believe ZZ TOP found here a lot of inspiration. If you use your headphones, loud as usual, it sounds like the band is playing in your living room…………….it's allright, allright, allright!!!! [Lusitanian Express]

' MAMA WEER ALL CRAZEE NOW' : Even though 'cum on feel the noize' really got me into Slade, I still think 'Mama wer all crazee now' really summed Slade up a powerful intro, uplifting verses and a bollock-shattering chorus, absolutely brilliant especially live!  Excellent Slade website!!! [Tony Garrett]

Cum on feel the noize' .....although all it got me was the cane. I remember as a Slade fan at school sitting at the back of the class with old transistor radio listening to the charts whilst hiding from teacher, unfortunately my excitement got me somewhat carried away when I heard the BABBYYYY and realised they entered at number 1, I shouted "yes!!", got six of the best - which of course they later used as a label. Just to balance it out, always thought 'My friend Stan' was a mistake, still I bought everything they have done, and still hope for maybe that live DVD we all yearn for..... KOR [Martin Moran]

'Cum on feel the noize' : I have memories of lying in bed late at night as a teenager with the small mono transistor in 1973 listening to this song on the radio. Not that you got a lot of Slade on Brisbane radio then or now. This song is still not only my favourite, but that of my children aged 11 and 8. Whenever I have the radio on in the car, they say "put on the Slade CD !". Keep on Rockin' !!! Regards, [Mark Lendich]

'Far Far Away' : A single that conjures up many images. It obviously makes you think of the film 'Flame' but also proved that Nod and Jim could put a story into a song without it becoming slush. Nods favourite and one of mine. [BaldFatBloke]

' My friend Stan' : Hi Ian, I'm fan from Slade since the beginning (late sixties). Until now (in 2004) the influence of Slade in my live is still very deap and great. At school my vriends gave met the nick-name "Stan" as I was a big fan of "My friend Stan". From 1979 until 1986 , I was a dj on a local radio and my name on the air was "DJ STAN" I played only hardrock en classick rock and Slade was almost weekly on the air.

In 1992 during my wedding in the church , they played on in the church "Everyday". In 1993 I had a dag namde "NODDY." And in 1994 I gave my first born son the name "Stan". This year my son wil be 18 years old and one of his favorite CD's is "The Best of Slade". So my favorite song will be "my friend Stan" and "Thanks for the memory" By Rie Van den Brandt

Thanks for the memory :  What better line than "Have a love smell on your sheet"?   [Phil]

'Okey Cokey' : Definitely the worst and most needless singles release Slade have ever done. Thank God 'When I'm dancin' I ain't fightin' was on the Reading Live EP to save the day for our Superyobs! [BLAKEY]

'My Oh My' : ..... proved that Slade were far from a spent force, kept off the number one spot by the Flying Pickets, it reached number 2. A different approach from Slade and yet distinctive as well. This song came with a good video that sadly was never really shown that much. The intro to this song was different at live gigs and often took people by surprise. The beginning of what I would call Slade's sing-a-long songs. [BaldFatBloke]

THE ALBUMS :

The Amazing Kamikaze Syndrome
So what do you do when you go from chunking out fifteen top twenty hits during a period of four years, to not even getting airplay in the seediest of radio stations for another four years? That's what happened to Slade after they had ignored the UK for a while in an attempt to break through in the American market. Slade wasn't just a part of the glam wave. They caused it. They were a pure through and through rock'n roll band that would give any rock band of today a run for their money, and you would be hard pushed to find a rock artist of the 70s, 80s or early 90s who won't list them as an influence.

After struggling from 1977, Slade were ready to call it quits when out of the blue they got a gig as one of the headliners at the Reading festival in 1980. Ozzy Osbourne had to cancel at the last minute, and when asked who should replace him, he answered: “Get someone good, get Slade.” Slade, who had to carry their own instruments and even enter the festival through the audience entrance, was a sensation. Def Leppard even to this day talks about the thankless job they had in coming on after Slade. The gig resulted in a contract with RCA, and in the next three years they built up their audience again. And then this gem was released.

The good
Slade's return in the 80s was marked with a new sound. They still rocked like crazy (or crazzeee as they would say) but now they had a harder edge to their sound that bordered on heavy metal. You certainly get this in abundance on this album. The opening track “Slam the Hammer Down” is so in your face that it will put your headphones on fire. Noddy Holder's voice, sounding something like a razor blade would sound like if it could sing, literally shouts at you to play it loud. And you should.

The album heralded two worldwide hits, “My Oh My” and “Run, Runaway.” The latter is a pure rip off of Big Country, but Big Country are pussies, so you really don't mind. With the former Slade decided to show the beginning hair metal movement how a power ballad is supposed to be done.

Slade wrote their one and only epic for this album as well, the four part “Ready to Explode” is a story about a man driving a race car, and it sounds like they want to drive away with your stereo in what is probably their heaviest moment ever.

The bad
The two things that keeps me from giving this album ten out of ten are: The track "C'est La Vie" is so out of place compared to the rest of the material, that I really don't know why they included it. It's not that great either as it sounds like a desperate attempt to be Queen. The other reason is that the sound, while not exactly polished, doesn't sound as raw as you would expect with the kind of material that's on it. It's somewhere between and that makes it lack the final punch. On the other hand, if this album had more punch you most likely go deaf.

Summary:
A monster of a rock'n roll album. This is how it's done, period! Listening to this it's no wonder hearing stories about the chart toppers of 1980 gathering around Slade at the Reading festival to get their autographs, or that Gene Simmons has time and time again stated that without Slade there would've been no Kiss. And if you think my judgement of this album is biased because of the wonderful memories I have of the summer of 1984, I can only say this: Play it, and play it loud!

Rating:
9/10

Tracks:
*= Standout tracks
1. Slam the Hammer Down *
2. In the Doug House
3. Run Runaway *
4. High and Dry
5. My Oh My *
6. Cocky Rock Boys (Rule Ok)
7. Ready to Explode: *
   a) The Warm Up
   b) The Grid
   c) The Race
   d)The Dream
8. (And Now the Waltz) C'est la Vie
9. Chep'n'Nasty Luv
10. Razzle Dazzle Man *

That review written by Elf - it's on his site at http://www.elfworld.org/marble/show_review.php?id=5

CRACKERS :
A terrible embarrament of mickey mouse party songs that should never have been released. This album should be kept right at the back of your collection out of view.  [BLAKEY ]

A related release :

'SLADE REMADE'
Bought a copy of the Slade remade CD. Predictable track listing, some poor versions some good ones. A missed opportunity for a group of good musicians to put their own slant on Slade songs, Instead of trying to record the usual list of songs in exactly the same way that Slade recorded them. If you want a CD of Slade songs with this track listing you might as well buy Slade's greatest hits. [Dave Parker, West Yorkshire]

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