A Benediction of Noize

I visited the temple today, did an act of contrition and received four benedictions for my evening meditation and contemplation of Noize. O yes, it's SLADE Day again! There they were in the 'new' rack waiting to be harvested, four lovely re-mastered CDs. And they seem to be pre-programmed to automatically set the volume dial to 11... That's a good thing, by the way.

First up is 'Whatever Happened To SLADE', their 1977 album on return from a couple of years in America and the last SLADE album I got straight away when it was released. So I did the same thing today. I still think Nod looks like a thug on the cover in his skin photo but there's a lovely photo of him inside to make up for that. And the music? Clear as a bell, lovely to hear the guitar and bass lines rather than a mess of loudnosity. It's full of wild guitars and some virtuoso riffs,a tight sound from a band that knows what it's doing and is doing it loudly.

There are 11 tracks on the original record plus 9 bonus tracks on this re-released version, covering all the singles and 'B' sides over 1977 and 1978. A hard rockin' collection if ever there was one and it includes the magnificent 'It's Alright Buy Me'.

Next up is 'We'll Bring The House Down', SLADE's 'come back' album celebrating their success at the Reading Festival in 1981. It's made up of the tracks from the 1979 album, 'Return To Base' and the newer songs that made Reading a triumph and the start of their second life. I didn't see them at Reading but I did see them in Cardiff later that year (when Dave offered me a tab... sigh... and I declined - how can one accept a tab from a god?).

The record is full of relatively short rockers, all two or three minute gems (the longest track on the record is 'Sign Of The Times at 3.58 minutes). This album is slightly less relentless then 'Whatever Happened' and sounds more relaxed, well, that is, if a SLADE record can sound relaxed ...

What makes this record quite special is that it includes some songs I haven't heard before. This is obviously a failing in me, not having tracked them down before, but it's wonderful to hear new songs! I love 'I'm Mad' and the rockabilly-esque '9 To 5'

Then comes 'Till Deaf Do Us Part' with my least favourite SLADE cover (the previous version of this album just had a photo of the four Lords but this is the original cover). There's a great photo of Dave on the back cover standing on a platform on stage, arms raised and the hordes of Reading going back into the distance as far as you can make out, and him conducting them all singing along to his music - such a classic photo and what a fantastic memory for him.

The record opens with 'Rock 'n' Roll Preacher', a classic SLADE opener with Dave and Jim singing, 'Hallelujah' in the chorus. It then launches into 'Lock Up Your Daughters', 'Till Deaf' and 'Ruby Red', a great collection of tracks that gets the album off to a roaring start. This is classic SLADE, with the tender finger picking on 'A Night To Remember' with Don's drums pounding in and Jim on the organ. It also includes Dave's solo extravaganza 'M'hat M'coat' that adds some gravitas to the album. This is a truly great rock album.

The last of the SLADE benedictions is the new double compilation, 'Rockers'. I'm not entirely sure what this record is for other than as a showcase for SLADE the rock band rather than the pop group of the hits. It's a selection of some of their rockier tracks between 1969 and 1987, from the studio version of 'Born To Be Wild' (I think I'd rather have had the live version from 'SLADE Alive') to the wonderful 'You Boyz Make Big Noise' in 1987 (I love the ending of this song, a perfect ending to any SLADE album). The blurb on the back of the CD pack reads, 'An unbeatable collection documenting one of the UK's greatest bands doing what they do best - rockin' and rollin'!'. How true. Few bands can rival SLADE in their element, which is on stage with amps turned to 11. It's nicely packaged in bright red to complement the red of 'SLADE Alive!'.

Of course, as a compilation, everyone will have a different track listing - with such a tremendous back catalogue there's bound to be one or two personal classics missing but I can live with that. This is a *good* selection and if you like hard, guitar-driven rock songs, then this is the album for you. Buy it. Now.

I am sated. For the time being. More to come over the summer!