Slade – ‘Beginnings’/’Alive! At Reading’ (BMG Records)

By Jim Rowland

This month, BMG Records continue their series of limited edition splatter vinyl reissues and deluxe CDs from Slade, with the release of ‘Beginnings’ and ‘Alive! At Reading’, representing two distinctly different eras for the hard rocking glam rock gods.

Originally released in 1969 under their original name of Ambrose Slade, ‘Beginnings’ is essentially Slade’s debut album. They would shorten their name to Slade in time for the following year’s ‘Play It Loud’ album.

‘Beginnings’ is a mixture of four self-penned songs and a diverse range of cover versions, including two tracks by Steppenwolf (‘Born to Be Wild’ and ‘Everybody’s Next One’), Ted Nugent & The Amboy Dukes’ ‘Journey to the Centre of Your Mind’, The Mothers of Invention’s ‘Ain’t Got No Heart’, The Beatles’ ‘Martha My Dear’ and ‘If This World Were Mine’ by Marvin Gaye. Some work better than others, but all are decent efforts.

The four self-penned tracks are very decent too, especially when you consider these are Slade’s first efforts at self-written material. The album’s opening cut, ‘Genesis’, is particularly good – a rousing psyche-rock instrumental that would re-emerge in rearranged form with lyrics as ‘Know Who You Are’ on the next album ‘Play It Loud’. ‘Roach Daddy’ leans in a much more straight blues direction, ‘Pity The Mother’ is a nice little psyche-pop gem and ‘Mad Dog Cole’, another instrumental, hints at the stomping vibe the band would develop in the next few years.

Very much of its time, ‘Beginnings’ is just that – a band still finding their feet and learning their trade. The best was yet to come for Slade, but this is a decent album in its own right, and definitely worth adding to the collection for any Slade fan – this is probably the one album missing from many fans’ collections. It’s not really the place to start if you want to start exploring Slade though. ‘Beginnings’ is issued here in yellow and red splatter vinyl as well as a deluxe digibook CD with the rather fine early single ‘One Way Hotel’ added as a bonus track. Both have the original ‘Ambrose Slade’ cover artwork restored too.

From those humble ‘beginnings’, Slade would explode onto the scene in the early Seventies and enjoy huge success both in the charts and as a live attraction. Certainly for the first half of the seventies, there weren’t many bigger bands in the ÜK. As the second half of the ’70s progressed though, Slade started to experience diminishing returns, finishing the decade at quite a low ebb, despite continuing to produce quality albums like ‘Nobody’s Fools’ and ‘Whatever Happened to Slade?’

As has been well documented though, salvation came via an appearance at 1980’s Reading Festival when the band were drafted in at the last minute to replace Ozzy Osbourne. They went down a storm and the performance reignited their career, albeit in a more metal-leaning guise, through the best part of the ’80s, once again as a major live attraction and with significant chart success.

An EP of some of the Reading set was released at the time, but this full extended recording of the set was released for the first time last year on the excellent ‘All The World Is A Stage’ live CD box set. Here it gets a first ever vinyl release, on orange and black spatter vinyl, along with a standalone CD release. It sees Slade on explosive top form, making the most of the opportunity and banging out a mixture of old classics like ‘Take Me Bak ‘Ome’, ‘Cum On Feel The Noize’ and ‘Mama Weer All Crazee Now’ with then brand new tracks like ‘When I’m Dancin’ I Ain’t Fightin’ and ‘Wheels Ain’t Coming Down’, along with some carefully chosen good time covers. A prime example of Slade back to their best.

‘Beginnings’ and ‘Alive! At Reading’ are both released this Friday (15 September).

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