Slade on Stage

by Geoff Ginsberg Believe it or not, Slade on Stage is the most intense recording Slade has ever made. That's heavy. This live album, recorded circa Till Deaf Do Us Part, shows the band playing faster, harder, and better than ever. Slade on Stage contains five of the band's new songs and four of their classic hits, along with an audience singalong to end the show. The first three songs set the stage. Slade comes out of the gate so fast with "Rock and Roll Preacher," "When I'm Dancin'," and "Take Me Bak Ome" that if they didn't follow those three up with a ballad, you'd almost have to take the record off. It's that intense. During "Preacher," Noddy Holder leads the crowd when the music quiets down, "I see the light -- GLORY HALLELUJAH, baby I'm on fire!" And the band explodes with wailing guitar and lead bass that sounds like licks by Ron Asheton of the Stooges -- when he's playing guitar! "Take Me Bak Ome" is simply pummeling, as drummer Don Powell pounds the skins like a madman. Check that -- a madman wouldn't be able to create and maintain a pocket like this. "Everyday," the ballad that hit number two in 1974, follows and gives the listener a chance to catch a breath. The boys ratchet it up again with "Lock Up Your Daughters" and the perfect audience participation number, "We'll Bring the House Down." "A Night to Remember" is next and includes Jim Lea's solo spot where he plays "Purple Haze" on the bass and then drives the crowd into a frenzy with his fiddle playing. The race to the finish line includes "Gudbuy T' Jane" and "Mama Weer All Crazee Now." Once again, faster and tighter than you've ever heard 'em. Anyone who saw Slade during this era would tell you -- it was heart-stopping good, and heartbeat-regulating loud. This is the tightest, hardest, and best you will ever hear Slade (or just about any other hard rock band) play. The material is the cream of the crop (minus "Cum on Feel the Noise," which at this point Slade happily considered a Quiet Riot song), and the recording is a killer. This album's only downside is that it only has nine real songs. But judging the platter by what's on there rather than what's not -- it's a monster.