THE SLADE ARCHIVE REVIEWS THE SALVO RECORDS SLADE REMASTERS / REISSUES SERIES

THE SLADE ARCHIVE REVIEWS THE SALVO RECORDS SLADE REMASTERS / REISSUES SERIES

It's always been a red hot topic among Slade fans for some years that the first CD issues of the Slade albums were a golden opportunity wasted. The CD album track listings exactly replicated those of the vinyl albums and many great Slade songs that were b-sides from the periods in which the original vinyl albums were released remained unavailable on CD. There was never a legitimate b-sides collection to round these up, though one was often called for by fans.

Slade fans (who must be the last people on the Earth to own, retain and regularly use actual record players) grumbled on forums and at conventions and continued to wear out their precious vinyl copies.

As is usual with groups of Slade's stature, fans put together and circulated their own compilations of tracks that were still unavailable on CD. Crackles and pops from 30 year old vinyl singles distracted just about everyone who ever listened to these CD's.

If only a record company had ever had the foresight to do it properly....

In mid 2006, the sudden announcement that Slade's entire back catalogue was to be remastered and reissued was greeted cautiously by
Slade fans. Much heated debate about what may come to pass ensued. Noddy Holder and Jim Lea had never ever deviated from preserving
their back catalogue just as it was originally intended. The news that Tim Turan, who did an astonishingly good piece of work on the recent
Status Quo remasters, was in charge of the remastering process was a shot in the arm to fans and some indication that good things may
actually happen.....

The Slade Archive is extremely pleased to be able to review the Slade CD reissues in the series.


SALVOCD001: BEGINNINGS / PLAY IT LOUD.

The album is attractively packaged in a glossy slipcase featuring both original album covers on the front. Inside is the CD with a 12 page booklet (like the others reviewed on this site) featuring many unseen Gered Mankowitz portaits of the group
from the period, along with a good number of contemporary singles sleeves. The informative sleeve notes covering the Slade story at this point are written by Dave Ling, who is no stranger to Slade.

Comments from the band members cheerfully recount what was going on at the time. The CD label features the portrait photo from the rear of the 'Beginnings' album.

'Beginnings':

Listening to this, the first in the series of the reissues, the difference in sound quality from the Polydor remaster (performed by Jim Lea) is quite noticeable. The sound on the opening song 'Genesis' is certainly very 'live' by comparison. An 'A/B comparison' between this disc and the Polydor version show a marked improvement to the overall sound.... something I wouldn't have believed possible, given the age of the master tapes and the possibility of not being able to actually remix the sound. It's louder and cleaner. The difference is immediately noticeable.

The best way to hear a recording is always at a decent volume through the huge studio speakers when the track has just been mixed. Tim Turan has done a miraculous job in upgrading the end result, so that you get closer to that unique experience.

'Knocking Nails Into My House' just sounds ferocious - a young band with brilliant players let loose in a studio, having a great time and letting rip. The treble is sharpened, giving Noddy Holder's impossibly powerful voice that extra edge and Jim's plummy-sounding Gibson EB3 bass throbs away wonderfully, clear as a bell. Dave's guitar and Don's drums have far more attack than we've heard before. Their version is very faithful to the quite rare and scarcely-heard original by Jeff Lynne's band, The Idle Race.

'Pity the mother' now sounds like the listener is in the room with the band. 'Mad dog Cole' just thumps its way out of the speakers, in a way it hasn't before. The album now sounds far more like a SLADE album, bursting with energy. Tim Turan must have had fun re-mastering this one. 'If this world were mine' - a really soulful moment for Ambrose Slade, is cleaned up significantly and the subtlety and quality of the band's playing comes through loud and clear.

A cleaner, clearer recording always makes for a more lively sound and the remaining tracks sound quite sprightly and less 'dated' than they normally would on an album recorded in 1969. A special mention has to be made of how Don's snare drum on 'Martha My Dear' cracks away like never before.

'Play it loud':

'Play it loud' was the first album recorded as Slade and the first recorded with Chas Chadler at the helm. The production values were much improved on those at the stage of the 'Beginnings album' and the remastering enhances the good work that had gone before. All the tracks sound louder, crisper and cleaner. Drums and percussion come through far more positively than before. You can pick out Don keeping time by clicking sticks together. I hadn't ever noticed that since I picked the original vinyl album up. Handclaps 'crack' rather than 'slap'. cool.

The intricacy of the band's playing is again far more audible. The loud bits are loud, the quiet bits are quieter. Everything seems to have 'more room to breathe'. It's just better than I've heard it before.

The two bonus tracks, 'Wild winds are blowing' and 'Get down and get with it' round off the first in the set of reissues and 'Get down and get with it' in particular leaps out of the speakers and grabs you by the ears and thumps them hard. Hype? No.

I was amazed by what Tim Turan has done to the first album, but nothing on the CD benefits more than this particular track. I have never been that keen on the studio (single) version as it was lacking in comparison to the live version. There is so much energy and presence to the remastered version that I am just astonished.

SALVOCD002 : SLAYED?

Let's be straight about this, 'Slayed?' is my personal favourite Slade album. This CD is going to have to be RIGHT.

For me, Chas Chandler was at his production peak on this album and on the two following two studio sets (Old New Borrowed and Blue and the Flame soundtrack). The sound had a depth and warmth that Slade would never recapture again - an 'in the room' sound that the 'Slade Alive!' album helped shape. Their albums had to sound like that one.

Whoever originally engineered these albums understood exactly how to put microphones on amplifiers and the drum kit. In addition, Chas knew exactly how to set up a great mix. The group were at an early height of their inventiveness and the studio performance on 'Slayed?' has always reflected this.

On listening to the remastered CD and comparing to the previous issue, the disc is again quite a lot louder and clearer. There's a good warmth to the sound, as hoped. The treble bites, whereas before it didn't.The bass depth isn't noticeably increased, as the album was quite bassy enough anyway, but combined with the increased treble, the overall sound is far more punchy and again, the separation is tremendous.

Tracks like 'The whole world's goin' crazee' benefit greatly from this enhacement, as slightly subdued intros are now more immediate. The guitar intro on 'Look at last nite' has an ocatve-up guitar part on the last progression and at last it's quite clear. It's not that much of an exaggeration to say that some sounds on the classic tracks are being heard properly for the first time.

My favourite Slade cover was always 'Move over' and Jim's bass features prominently throughout. The bass sound benefits from a more 'fruity' (that's what they used to call it back then) and rounded sound. Don's snare cracks away nicely and his cymbals wash quite effectively, without everything else being obscured. Again, it's like being in the room with the band.

Sandwiched between the two big hits from the album is the slow, grinding 'Gudbuy gudbuy'. on this edition, the bass throbs away quite purposefully and the good work of whoever is wielding the shaker fits in nicely. Nod's voice cuts through the instruments like a knife through butter, crystal clear.

'I don' mind' sounds like the band are in the room with the listener. Listen for Don's timekeeping with clicked drumsticks. Nod's voice really does the business on this song and hearing the way he sang here (subtly double-tracked in parts), it's a wonder his voice lasted for all the years that it did.

Let the good times roll's bass and drum passages sound sweet and clear. Nod's voice again just sits in the middle of all that's going on, clear as a bell.

As for the five bonus tracks added on the remaster...

'My life is natural'
I'm used to hearing this with the crackle from the vinyl and it's not there. It's great to hear this song sounding much more like it would have done in the studio, when it was just mixed. The acoustic guitar comes over nicely.

'Candidate'
Always a slightly murky production, this is now much cleaner and the guitars are emphasised by some very effective separation. Again, it sounds a little strange to hear a totally clean version without the crackle that generally stopped me getting out the vinyl copies!!! I guess I'll get used to it.

'Wonderin' Y'
Nice to hear this sounding so clean, clear and with such a lovely warm room sound. The backing vocal harmonies come across very well. No wonder this obscure little song is such a favourite among Slade fans.

'Man who speeks evil'
Out come the maracas again. This track sounds like it has really benefitted from Tim Turan's remastering. The guitar parts absolutely shine and the bass is inventive and it's far easier to make out the lyrics at last. The short guitar freak out at the end of the song shows how good Dave Hill was, even back then.

'Slade talk to Melanie Readers'
A nice addition to finish off the disc is this interview disc. It seems to be taken from the cleanest copy of the flexi disc that was available. This will be an especially nice touch for those people who had the disc back in 1972 and would be tempted to buy this album again, so many years later.

Old New Borrowed and Blue

Slade's sound was seemingly very clearly defined by the time their Old New Borrowed and Blue album hit the record shops. So it would come as no surprise to those watching the group most closely at the time that they would start to diversify on this album which, with hindsight, gives a very clear indication of the coming maturity of their later meisterwerk, 'Flame'.

Another tremendous cover, Just a little bit (originally by The Undertakers) starts the album in good style and once again, everything is louder and clearer. Don's hihat, which propels much of the song, hisses brilliantly and Nod delivers one of his best vocals over marvelous unison guitar and bass. This album has always sounded great, so Tim Turan has done a special job to tweeze the sound that bit further. The quieter parts of the first song are great to hear. Another great 'room sound'.

The chiming guitars of 'When the lights are out' ring loud and clear, compared to the muddier version previously on CD.

The album's real oddity is 'Find yourself a rainbow'. Thanks to Tommy Burton, we have a real Slade vaudeville pub singalong. The piano sounds beautiful on this edition and it's a shame Tommy Burton isn't around to hear this.

Miles out to sea' sounds crisp, clear and simply bounces along irresistibly - whatever it's about! Previously obscured piano makes its way into the mix under some of the verses.

The real power rockers on this album have always been 'We're really gonna raise the roof' and 'Do we still do it?' It's hard to say much about these two songs except that they now sound just that bit better. Giving Nod's voice a bit more edge on one of his most shredded vocals is perhaps a dangerous thing to do. Jim will hopefully be pleased with the bass sound on 'Do we still do it'.

'How can it be' sounds (on the quieter parts) like the band are sat around the listener - one of Chas Chandlers great skills. The backing vocals are enhanced on the verses and the guitars are much clearer.

I skipped 'Don't blame me' as I wasn't prepared for the utter onslaught of Nod's voice at this time!!!

The crisp hi-hat driving 'My friend Stan' counterpoints fabulously with Jim's offbeat bass, which sounds spot on. This is possibly one of Jim's best ever bass parts, even if the song is plain daft. Even when Slade got a little bit throwaway lyrically, musically, they always sounded like a top class band.

'Everyday' remains the lovely song it always has been and remains one of Slade's best ever sounding songs. the guitar (and bass especially) sound a little more aggressive. Not a bad thing. The fuzzed-out guitars of 'Good time gals' sit over newly clear drums.

The bonus tracks:

'I'm Mee I'm Now And That's Orl' - even when cleaned up, still sounds menacing and angry. The drums on this edition really do benefit from the Turan treatment.

'Kill 'em at the hot club tonite' remains delightful and it's a joy to hear a good pristine version of this whimsical little song at last.

'The bangin' man' has been added here and it fits in just right. The track seems to have an added presence.

'She did it to me' makes a welcome appearance. This should have been on the original album. Pristine. If I had to single out anything improved on here, again it's the drums and the general clarity of the track. One of Nod's better vocals, too.

To complete the disc, we have the scarce 'Slade talk to 19 readers' flexidisc, where Slade plug the album and Nod makes feeble jokes. Brilliant!

The Slade Live Anthology (2CD)

The immediate thing that strikes me when opening the packaging on this doublepack is that some care has gone into making it a very attractive package to tempt those buyers who may not have all (or any) of Slade's live material. The main artwork emphasis is naturally on the biggest-selling of Slade's live efforts, Slade Alive!

The original album artwork for Slade Alive Volume Two, The Reading EP and Slade On Stage is reproduced on the fragile wrap-around strip that helps keep the package closed and also in minature just inside the booklet. This is a great way to get just about all the live music Slade released in one place.

The booklet contains a series of anecdotes from the band about their live career - the most telling being those grumpily aloof (and totally correct) comments made by Jim Lea about their last minute appearance at 1980's Reading festival, where after being obliged to traipse through the mud from the public car park, carrying their guitars and stage clothes, refusing to move aside for the Rolls Royces of more recent and lesser stars who had written less hits then Noddy Holder and Jim Lea, even when you added them all together.

Enough of the mud, what about the music?

Disc One:

There is little doubt that many of Slade's longest-serving fans believe Slade Alive! to be Slade's finest hour. It is certainly a totally
superb illustration of the very cornerstone of their career - their live act. Slade Alive! has more atmosphere than most live albums that
have been recorded since its release.

'Hear me calling' remained Slade's live show opener for a great many years and that is being despite it being written by Alvin Lee for Ten Years After. Here it is in all its glory, revealing Slade's uniquely powerful live sound and Jim Lea's playful illogical basslines under the solos. It is followed the the best song Slade ever played live, but never committed to a studio version; 'In like a shot from my gun'.
That would have made a superb single, but Slade Alive only gave up one single - and that was a few hundred copies only of a promotional 7" release of 'Hear me calling' that most Slade fans have never even held a copy of.

'Darling be home soon' is another interesting choice for a live album - another cover - this time from the Lovin' Spoonful. The subtlety and melodicism of the band (except for when Nod burps) is astonishing as they power through this quiet little song. Restraint. You can feel the energy being kept in as the band do all but explode towards the end of the song.

'Know who you are' disappeared from Slade's live show soon after the Slade Alive! period, to be replaced by newer material that the group had just written. A pity, because here the song chugs along like a runaway train, the bass going subtlely and deliberately out of rhythm with the guitars under parts of the verses, giving that extra bit of drive and thickening up the sound in a away that made Slade
unique. Dave Hill's lead guitar parts remain a joy to hear.

'Keep on rockin' remained a staple in various rearranged formats throughout their live career and it always worked brilliantly. Lashings of Chuck Berry and Little Richard with no pretension whatsoever. Fantastic.

The live version of 'Get down and get with it' (until the latest remaster came along) always rendered the studio version redundant. It is a truly brilliant performance by a band at one of its many live peaks. The closer, 'Born to be wild' is that most rare of things, a live version of a rock classic, where the group covering the song make it their own.

'Slade Alive Volume Two' captured the band live at a couple of shows from the 1977 and 1978 'Whatever happened to Slade' period tours and first and foremost, the remastered version noticeably corrects a number of mastering errors from the previous CD issue. The guitars sound savage by comparison too. Nod's voice is loud and clear. His rhythm guitar is thick and muscular. Jim's bass throbs and grinds and Dave's guitar sounds just wicked. Don Powell's drums pummel away, and with your eyes shut and with your head firmly wedged between two speakers set to 'stun', it's a bit like being there on the night.

It's great to hear good clear live versions of songs like the sadly under-rated 'Be' and 'One eyed Jacks with moustaches' as well as what sounds like the most heartfelt rendition of 'Everyday' they ever released.

Disc two:

'Slade on stage' sounds crisp, sharp and tight. 'Rock and roll preacher' immediately sets the energy level for the whole set with Dave Hill's guitar coming across far more clearly than before. The guitars and bass are mixed far more to the fore on this CD, which when the band were playing unison riffs (like on 'Take me bak 'ome') goes to show how well-drilled a machine the band was.

Jim Lea gets an extraordinary bass solo and violin solo spot during the Rainbow-esque 'A night to remember'. How this man is not regarded as one of the bass playing greats, I will never figure out. I've never heard anyone but John Entwistle do anything that compared.

A number of old favourites that Slade played on the tour captured here lose none of their vitality, as the band were truly giving every song their all. 'Gudbuy T'Jane' always sounded like a new song when Slade played it.

The Reading EP's:

The 'Merry Xmas Everybody' that appears on disc two is the crowd singalong from the 1980 Reading Festival, not the 'Live and kicking' version. But that doesn't matter when it's surrounded by goodies like 'Somethin' else' and 'Get down and get with it'. The inclusion of Slade's version of the 'Okey cokey' was a bit of a strange thing for them to do at the time, but it fitted in with the overall party mood of the Reading EP's, so here it is again.