Slade: "Get Yer Boots On" for a new U. S. anthology
Written: Apr 12 '04 (Updated Mar 27 '07)
Product Rating:
Pros: Hits:"Cum On Feel The Noize,""Mama Weer All Crazee Now,""Run Runaway,""My Oh My"...
Cons: None (okay, English teachers will hate that Slade misspelled their song titles on purpose...)
The Bottom Line: An inexpensive 2004 U.S. release featuring 16 of Slade's Top 20 British hits, including "Cum On Feel The Noize," "Mama Weer All Crazee Now," "My Oh My" and "Run Runaway."
Don_Krider's Full Review: Get Yer Boots On: The Best of Slade by Slade
Quiet Riot became huge stars in the USA in the early 1980's with a pair of singles, "Cum On Feel The Noize" and "Mama Weer All Crazee Now," but it may come as a surprise to learn that the songs were written by the British band Slade, who scored # 1 hits with the tunes in the early 1970's in their native land.
Slade scored a string of Top 10 albums in England and 17 Top 20 singles in England between 1971 and 1991. In the U. S., despite six Billboard Top 200 charted albums, the band managed only two Top 40 hits, both in the 1980's, with "Run Runaway" and "My Oh My."
The American public may not have noticed the band, but musicians sure did.
As Gene Simmons of the rock group Kiss tells it, "Slade was certainly our biggest influence, not only in the crafting of rock songs but also as performers... There probably would never have been us without them."
Simmons and Kiss bandmate Paul Stanley ("...they were the British version of us...") rave about Slade's music in the official Kiss book biography, "Kiss: Behind The Mask" by David Leaf and Ken Sharp.
Others who have raved about Slade's music as influential include guitarist Ritchie Blackmore (Deep Purple, Rainbow), who once said, "Bands like Slade really inspired me to get back to my root of inspiration: heavy, intelligent but fun rock and roll."
Even the late Joey Ramone raved about the group, saying, "I spent most of the early 70's listening to 'Slade Alive' thinking to myself, 'Wow! This is what I want to do. I want to make that kind of intensity for myself.'"
For years Slade's music has been the subject of compilation CDs in Europe that are expensive imports for fans in the United States (such as "Wall Of Hits," which I reviewed at http://www.epinions.com/content_115527356036), but now the folks at Shout! Factory Records in the U.S.A. have released a comprehensive, inexpensive ($13.99 list) U. S. anthology of the band's biggest hits called "Get Yer Boots On: The Best Of Slade."
The album:
"Get Yer Boots On: The Best Of Slade" is a 2004 release from the folks at Shout! Factory (apparently hit by Slademania, they have also just released a DVD of Slade's 1975 British film, "Slade In Flame," which I reviewed at http://www.epinions.com/content_136061881988).
The last U. S.-released greatest hits compilation was "Sladest" in 1973 on vinyl, so the unexpected CD release of a new anthology is something to celebrate, even if school teachers will be upset by the deliberately misspelled song titles (the band's trademark, if you will).
"Get Yer Boots On: The Best Of Slade" offers 16 of the band's 20 British Top 40 hits (including the U. S. Top 40 hits, "Run Runaway" and "My Oh My," and all six of Slade's # 1 British chart hits). Included are such gems as Slade's # 1 British hits "Mama Weer All Crazee Now" and "Cum On Feel The Noize," both later covered for U. S. hits by the band Quiet Riot (others covering Slade tunes over the years include The Runaways (with Joan Jett) and Oasis).
The sound has been digitally reproduced from the original master recordings for a clear, crisp sound, so you'll hear every foot stomp and hand clap in Slade's arsenal of musical, melodic, rocking anthems.
The CD booklet:
Written by Dan Epstein with song-by-song commentary from Slade's lead singer/songwriter Noddy Holder, the 12-page booklet is a photo-packed gem (including photos of the picture sleeves of the singles featured in the compilation and shots of the band performing).
The tracks (note: all title misspellings are courtesy of the band's songwriters):
The 16 tracks on a single CD are: "Get Down And Get With It" (a remake of a Little Richard classic that was the band's first Top 20 hit in England in 1971), "Coz I Luv You," "Look Wot You Dun," "Take Me Bak 'Ome," "Mama Weer All Crazee Now" and "Cum On Feel The Noize" (when the tune hit the charts in 1973 in England, it was the first single since The Beatles' "Get Back" four years earlier to enter the charts at # 1).
Also, ""Skweeze Me, Pleeze Me," "My Friend Stan," "Merry Xmas Everybody," "Everyday," "Bangin' Man" (the group's tribute to ZZ Top, whom Slade toured with in the '70's), "Far Far Away," "How Does It Feel," "Run Runaway" and "My Oh My."
Recommendation:
Fans of power pop, glam rock and classic rock will probably enjoy this hit-packed collection.
"Get Yer Boots On: The Best Of Slade" is a fine introduction to the band's music and features the band's biggest hits. Slade was a band that played music for fun, with witty, sarcastic lyrics and a strong sense of melody amid their power chords, mirrored hats and platform boots.
The best songs:
"Cum On Feel The Noize":
In the CD booklet's liner notes, Holder says the original title for the song was "Cum On Hear The Noize," but he changed the song's title "because we were an incredibly loud band live - you were feelin' us as well as hearin' us."
The idea came to Holder as the band played a California stadium as the opening act for Humble Pie in 1972, because "the crowd was bouncing off the walls, and the cheering and stomping actually bounced back into our bodies."
To recreate the effect of a good-time live performance, Holder opens the tune singing "baby, baby, ba-by" and the song fades out to foot stomping as the song plays.
"Cum On Feel The Noize" features backup vocals that seem to "echo" on the chorus and is propelled by a treble-boosted lead guitar. Drummer Don Powell is on fire here, a muscular drum-beater with a strong sense of rhythm.
Holder sings:
"...so you think my singing's out of time / well it makes me money / and I don't know why / ... / so cum on feel the noize..."
The tune peaked at # 1 in England in 1973 for Slade (peaking at # 98 in the U. S.).
"Mama Weer All Crazee Now":
From its aggressive, power chords to Holder's fire-breathing, ragged vocals, "Mama Weer All Crazee Now" grabs the listener.
The song title is an accident: Holder was going to call the tune "My My, Weer All Crazee Now," but when he played a demo tape of the tune for the band's manager/producer Chas Chandler (formerly bassist for The Animals and one-time manager of Jimi Hendrix), Chandler thought Holder was singing "Mama" instead of "My My," something Holder decided he liked much better, so he changed the words:
"I don't want to / drink my whiskey like you do / I don't need to / spend my money but still do / don't stop now, c'mon / another drop now, so c'mon / I wanna lot now, so c'mon / that's right, that's right / I said mama, weer all crazee now..."
The tune hit # 1 in England in 1972. In the U. S., it struggled to # 76 that same year.
"Run Run Away":
The song that finally gave Slade a Top 20 U. S. hit was "Run Runaway." The Scottish castle-themed, goofy video directed by Tim Pope (director of the film "The Crow: City Of Angels") for the song was in massive rotation in the U. S. on both MTV and VH-1.
Holder marvels about the video in the CD booklet, "For some reason, the Scottish thing was something Americans seemed to relate to."
Interestingly, the bagpipe-sound in the song was not done with bagpipes, according to Holder, "it wasn't bagpipes - we played the riffs in harmony on the guitars."
"Run Run Away" peaked at # 20 in the U. S., while going to # 7 in England that year.
The tune opens with a bright, distorted guitar intro which leads to Jim Lea's fiddle-playing as the song fairly dances along on its central guitar riff:
"...if you gotta crush / don't beat around the bush / when I gotta crush / run run away / see the chameleon / lying there in the sun / all things to everyone / run run away..."
"My Oh My":
One of the prettiest ballads of the '80s, "My Oh My" offers a different side of Slade. The piano-based tune features a soulful Noddy Holder on lead vocals, complete with gorgeous orchestration and what sounds like an "angelic choir," but it's just another Slade studio trick Holder tells us in the CD booklet, "It sounds like a choir, but it's actually us, doing harmonies and everything."
It also includes intelligent lyrics:
"I believe in woman, my oh my / I believe in lovin', my oh my / don't a woman need a man / try and catch one if you can / I believe in woman, my oh my / ... / we all need someone to talk to, my oh my / you need a shoulder to cry on / call me, I'll be standing by / ... / you've got troubles of your own / no need to face them all alone / we can all swing together, my oh my..."
"My Oh My" went to # 2 in 1983 in England, while peaking at # 37 in the U. S. in 1984.
"How Does It Feel":
One of the band's two Top 20 hits from their only motion picture, "Slade In Flame," "How Does It Feel" is a lovely ballad.
"How Does It Feel" features gorgeous piano with rich orchestration and a gorgeous flute solo. Holder's voice cracks with genuine emotion as he sings:
"...do you know, know, know what it's like to be searching in your own time? / ... / to be searching and suddenly find / all your illusion, all your confusion, all left behind / how does it feel turning away? / and how does it feel facing another day? / 'cos many years from now there will be newer poisons and new horizons / how does it feel?"
"How Does It Feel" hit # 15 in England in 1975, but failed to chart in the U. S.
"Skweeze Me, Pleeze Me":
In 1973, Slade entered the British charts with back-to-back # 1 singles, something not seen in England since the days of The Beatles. Following "Cum On Feel The Noize" to the top spot was "Skweeze Me, Pleeze Me," a tune about a guy who thinks "when a girl's meaning yes, she says no," a politically incorrect song for a politically incorrect time.
"Skweeze Me, Pleeze Me" features wild power chording and exhausting drum work from the start to the finish of the song's four minutes and 30 seconds (an unusual running time for a chart hit in those three-minute-song hit days, too, I must add).
"...you got rude talk / you got one walk / all your jokes are blue / you've got long nails / you tell tall tales / some you think are true / and there's nowhere to go you won't go / if there's nowhere to run you go slow / if you move up to me then I'll show you the way / then you'll know..."
"Far Far Away":
Another Top 20 British hit from the film "Slade In Flame," "Far Far Away" is Noddy Holder's personal favorite of the tunes he wrote with Jim Lea. Best of all, he wrote it during a U. S. tour in a Memphis hotel room.
It seems Holder was sitting on a hotel balcony in Memphis, drinking alcohol, when he saw "a paddle steamer coming down the river, all lit up, and the first three or four lines just came out of my mouth."
When Holder rushed to tell his producer, Chas Chandler, about those lyric lines, Chandler made him go to his room and complete the song while the idea was still fresh, lest he forget the song with the next morning's hangover.
The result is a sweet, acoustic ballad, that is perfect for Holder's voice (which is somewhere between John Lennon's (a fan of Holder's, by the way) and Rod Stewart's voices).
"Far Far Away" becomes the tale of Slade's travels around the world (with a nod to Holder's idol, Elvis Presley, and admission that life for an Englishman on the road means missing the motherland):
"I've seen the yellow lights come down the Mississippi / I've seen the bridges of the world and they're for real / I've had a red light off the wrist without me even gettin' kissed / it seems so unreal / I've seen the morning in the mountains of Alaska / I've seen the sunset in the east and in the west / I've sang the glory that was Rome / and passed the hound dog singer's home / it still seems for the best / and I'm far, far away / with my head up in the clouds / and I'm far, far away / with my feet in the crowds / lettin' loose around the world / but the call of home is loud, still as loud..."
"Merry Xmas Everybody":
Recorded at New York's Record Plant in the Summer of 1973, "Merry Xmas Everybody" was just what Britain needed in the Christmas season when it was released as a single that Fall. England was in an economic depression at the time (strikes by electrical workers seeking raises had television stations shutting down at 10 p.m. at night in Britain at the time).
Along comes Slade's single, an "antidote" to depression, as Holder tells it. "Every pub, every dance hall, every store, everywhere you went, that record was playing over Christmastime," Holder says. "It was just a phenomenon of its own." That phenomenon has re-charted during several Christmas seasons since then in England.
It was also Slade's third # 1 single in England in 1973 (it had no chart impact at all in the United States).
"Merry Xmas Everybody" is the strangest of Christmas tunes --- no sleigh bells, no church chorus and no Vienna Boy's Choir; just four guys singing an uptempo pop tune that asks the musical question, "What will your daddy do when he sees mama kissin' Santa Claus?"
It's a cheerful tune, full of Christmas memories and a New Year's hopefulness (and a nod to their own album, "Slayed?", in the lyrics):
"...are you hanging up a stocking on the wall? / are you hoping that the snow will start to fall? / do you ride on down the hillside in a buggy you have made? / when you land on your head then you've been slayed / so here it is Merry Christmas / everybody's having fun / look to the future now / it's only just begun..."
On the web:
"Beginnings/Play It Loud" combines two early Slade LPs onto a single CD with bonus tracks. The 26 tracks have a total running time of over 77 minutes: http://www.epinions.com/content_338701356676
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