Slade - Slayed?
On November 1, 1972, "Slayed?", the third studio album by the band "Slade", was released.
1972 was the year that "Slade" went from a local gigging phenomenon to an unstoppable stadium monster. After years of Sisyphean toil in small clubs and searching for musical direction under the tutelage of manager and producer Chas Chandler, former Animals bassist and the man who introduced Jimi Hendrix to the world, the quartet from the industrial city of Wolverhampton had found their golden formula. The resounding success of their masterful live album "Slade" Alive! in the spring of that year proved that the wild energy of vocalist and rhythm guitarist Noddy Holder, bassist and multi-talented composer Jim Lea, colourful guitarist Dave Hill and powerful drummer Don Powell was an unrivalled force of nature. The task they faced as they entered London's Olympic Studios was clear but daunting: to capture the thunder of their live shows into a tight, chart-topping studio album.
Unlike other artists in the British glam rock scene who cultivated an androgynous and theatrical image, "Slade" came from the working class of the Midlands and maintained a direct, rough and unadorned connection with their audience. The combination of Lee's brilliant melodic writing, which drew direct inspiration from the Beatles and roots rock and roll, with Holder's powerful, scorching throat and the deliberate phonetic spelling of song titles in the local dialect, created a unique musical language. Chandler pushed the band to record in the studio at enormous volumes while maintaining a sharp frequency separation, and thus "Slayed?" was born, an album that perfectly bridges the gap between infectious anthemic pop and thrashing heavy rock.
The album opens without any unnecessary introductions with "How D'You Ride", a racing rock 'n' roll piece written by Holder and Lee and driven by a rolling bass line, cutting guitars by Hill and a heavy drum beat by Powell that immediately puts the listener into the band's electrifying atmosphere. It is immediately followed by "The Whole World's Goin' Crazee", a song written by Holder alone and also released as a flexible, special CD for a British music magazine in October 1972. Here Holder demonstrates his full power as a first-rate rock vocalist, leading a muscular, rough blues-rock groove that sounds like a wild street party gone out of control.
A surprising and captivating turn occurs on the third track, "Look at Last Nite", where the band takes their foot off the gas pedal in favor of a mesmerizing and somber mid-tempo ballad. The song reveals the dark and lonely side of the life of stars on the road, with Holder's soulful vocals and rich vocal harmonies that remind us that behind the wild and loud facade lie sensitive and sophisticated musicians. The pace picks up again with "I Won't Let It 'Appen Agen", a tight composition by Lee that is based on an addictive guitar riff and a complex harmonic structure, before the first side of the record closes with an overwhelming and especially heavy rendition of the Janis Joplin classic "Move Over". The members of "Slade" transform Joplin's vocals into a show of pure hard rock power, with Powell's thunderous tribal drumming and Lee's virtuoso bass work giving the song a whole new life.
The second side of the album opens with one of the greatest high points in the history of British rock of the 1970s, the immortal hit "Gudbuy T'Jane". The song, inspired by an American TV presenter whom the band members met in San Francisco and recorded in just a second take in the studio, is fueled by a hypnotic drum beat, a simple and ingenious guitar riff and a tremendous chorus that catapulted it to number two on the British charts. Immediately following it comes "Gudbuy Gudbuy", a song that continues the melodic and dynamic line of the album with sharp transitions between quiet and restrained verses and overwhelming bursts of energy in the chorus.
The album's pinnacle and "Slade"'s ultimate statement of intent erupts on the eighth track, **"Mama Weer All Crazee Now". The song, released as a lead-off single in August 1972 and storming to number one in the UK charts, was inspired by the sight of thousands of ecstatic fans dancing in concert halls until the floor shook beneath their feet. From Hill's sharp opening chords to Holder's iconic roar on the chorus, the song became the prototype of stadium anthems and was famously covered a decade later by American heavy metal band "Quiet Riot", proving how the British quartet's influence spanned continents and generations.
Towards the end of the album, the band returns to their raw blues and rock 'n' roll roots with "I Don' Mind", a rhythmic and thumping piece that features a tight dialogue between the guitars and Lee's dominant bass. The album is sealed by an energetic and unrestrained string of Leonard Lee's rhythm and blues classics "Let the Good Times Roll" and "Feel So Fine", in which the band sounds liberated and alive as if they were playing on stage in front of an enthusiastic audience at the height of a hot night. The iconic album cover, shot by legendary rock photographer Gered Mankowitz in London with a black and white photo of the band members and the bold pink splash of the album's title, has also become an unforgettable visual symbol of the era.
Upon its release, "Slayed?" shot straight to number one in the UK Albums Chart, where it stayed for thirty-four weeks, and in Australia it even dethroned their previous album "Slade" Alive!" on its way to gold album status. Beyond its enormous commercial success, the album laid the foundations for the punk revolution and the new wave of heavy metal, with artists such as Joey Ramone, Kiss, Oasis and Kurt Cobain citing the energy and directness of "Slade" as a founding inspiration. More than five decades after its release, "Slayed?" remains a masterful, fresh and electrifying rock and roll document that proves that great songs and pure human energy never get old.
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