Sladest
Compilation album by
Slade
Released28 September 1973
GenreGlam rock, hard rock
Length45:47
LabelPolydor (UK), Reprise (US)
ProducerChas Chandler
Slade chronology
Slayed?
(1972)		 Sladest
(1973)		 Old, New, Borrowed and Blue
(1974)

Sladest is a compilation album by the British rock band Slade. It was released by Polydor on 28 September 1973 and was certified UK Silver by BPI that month. It remained in the charts for 24 weeks.[1] The album was certified UK Gold by BPI in November 1973.[2] In America, Sladest was released by Reprise and featured a significantly different track listing. It reached No. 129 on the Billboard 200.[3]

Background

In 1973, Slade were one of the most popular bands in Britain, having achieved two number one singles - "Cum On Feel The Noize" and "Skweeze Me, Pleeze Me" - in three months. Both had entered the charts straight at number one, which was a rare feat at the time and had not been achieved since The Beatles with "Get Back" in 1969. However, soon after the release of "Skweeze Me, Pleeze Me", drummer Don Powell was involved in a near fatal car crash in July 1973. The accident threw the band's future into doubt and despite his critical condition, Powell was able to make a recovery.[4]

While recording their next studio album, Old New Borrowed and Blue, Slade decided to release a compilation album to maintain the band's momentum. Sladest was released in September 1973, on the same day as the band's new single "My Friend Stan". Sladest topped the UK charts and was a success in Europe and beyond too. In its first week of release, it was awarded a UK Silver Disc and in November, it received a UK Gold Disc and was set to surpass 200,000 sales at the time.[5][6] Having remained at No. 1 for its first three weeks of release, Sladest later returned to the top spot in mid-January 1974, following the success of "Merry Xmas Everybody".[1]

Release

Sladest was originally going to be titled "The Best of Slade".[7][8] It contained fourteen tracks and included the band's eight hit singles up to that time, along with six other tracks, five of which pre-dated Slade's commercial breakthrough in 1971. In America, the album was released by Reprise (Warner Bros. Records), and was the band's first release on the label. The release featured ten tracks, including the band's eight hit singles, along with "My Friend Stan" and its B-Side "My Town".

Sladest was first released on CD in Japan in 1988.[9] A UK and European CD release followed in 1993.[10][11] In 2011, the album was remastered and re-issued on CD by Salvo. It included four extra tracks, one of which was a previously unreleased studio version of "Hear Me Calling".[12]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[13]
Christgau's Record GuideB+[14]
Record Collector[15]

Upon release in America, Ken Barnes of Rolling Stone described the album as a "comprehensive collection", providing an "unimprovable perspective on their past successes, as well as some of the wildest all-stops-out rock & roll you'll ever hear". He summarised the album as being "the best rocking album of the year".[16] Robert Christgau felt that although Slayed? was "less tuneful", he preferred the album to Sladest, which contained material which saw "these Anglopop phenoms [turning] into raving maniacs".[17] Billboard felt the album was an "extremely smart maneuver", serving the "dual purpose of introducing them as a singles band as well as giving them an almost fresh start with the American listening public".[18]

In a retrospective review, Paul Tinelli of AllMusic believed the album contained "all of the material that helped the band sell tons of records and fill arenas in the U.K. in the early '70s." He felt that the material straying from their "successful formula of catchy guitar riffs and big choruses tend to fall flat".[13] In 2003, Spin included the album in their "Essential Glam Rock" guide. They noted the material's "wind-tunnel guitar and choruses even the most lager-headed yob could chant", adding "the stadium-stomp anthems collected here run the gamut from dumb to dumberer."[19]

Track listing

Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Cum On Feel the Noize"Noddy Holder, Jim Lea4:29
2."Look Wot You Dun"Holder, Lea, Don Powell2:57
3."Gudbuy T'Jane"Holder, Lea3:31
4."One Way Hotel"Holder, Lea, Powell2:39
5."Skweeze Me, Pleeze Me"Holder, Lea4:35
6."Pouk Hill"Holder, Lea, Powell2:24
7."The Shape of Things to Come"Barry Mann, Cynthia Weil2:17
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
8."Take Me Bak 'Ome"Holder, Lea3:13
9."Coz I Luv You"Holder, Lea3:24
10."Wild Winds Are Blowing"Bob Saker, Jack Winsley2:38
11."Know Who You Are"Dave Hill, Holder, Lea, Powell2:53
12."Get Down and Get with It"Bobby Marchan3:48
13."Look at Last Nite"Holder, Lea3:05
14."Mama Weer All Crazee Now"Holder, Lea3:44

Bonus tracks on the 2011 Salvo remaster

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
15."Hear Me Calling" (studio version)Alvin Lee2:45
16."My Friend Stan"Holder, Lea2:41
17."My Town"Holder, Lea3:06
18."Kill 'Em at the Hot Club Tonite"Holder, Lea3:20

US track listing

Personnel

Slade

Additional personnel

Charts

Certifications

Region CertificationCertified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[32] Gold 100,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. 1 2 "Slade | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". Officialcharts.com. Retrieved 18 October 2017.
  2. ↑ "Home". BPI. Retrieved 10 August 2011.
  3. ↑ "Slade". Billboard. Retrieved 18 October 2017.
  4. ↑ Old New Borrowed and Blue - 2006 Salvo remaster booklet liner notes
  5. ↑ "4562753_orig.JPG (580x800 pixels)". Archived from the original on 14 July 2012. Retrieved 14 July 2012.
  6. ↑ Fan Club Newsletter December 1973
  7. ↑ "2676319_orig.JPG (568x800 pixels)". sladefanclub.weebly.com. Archived from the original on 17 July 2012. Retrieved 3 February 2022.
  8. ↑ Slade Fan Club Newsletter August–September 1973
  9. ↑ "Slade - Sladest (CD) at Discogs". Discogs.com. 25 September 1988. Retrieved 18 October 2017.
  10. ↑ "Slade - Sladest (CD) at Discogs". Discogs.com. Retrieved 18 October 2017.
  11. ↑ "Slade - Sladest (CD) at Discogs". Discogs.com. Retrieved 18 October 2017.
  12. ↑ "Slade - Sladest (CD) at Discogs". Discogs.com. Retrieved 18 October 2017.
  13. 1 2 Paul Tinelli. "Sladest - Slade | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 18 October 2017.
  14. ↑ Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: S". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor & Fields. ISBN 089919026X. Retrieved 12 March 2019 – via robertchristgau.com.
  15. ↑ "Sladest - Record Collector Magazine". Recordcollectormag.com. 26 May 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2017.
  16. ↑ (Posted: Dec 6, 1973) (6 December 1973). "Slade: Sladest : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 6 March 2008. Retrieved 18 October 2017.{{cite magazine}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  17. ↑ "CG: slade". Robert Christgau. 18 April 2006. Retrieved 18 October 2017.
  18. ↑ "Billboard". 13 October 1973. p. 46. Retrieved 18 October 2017 – via Internet Archive. slade sladest American listening public. {{cite magazine}}: Cite magazine requires |magazine= (help)
  19. ↑ "SPIN - Google Books". September 2003. Retrieved 18 October 2017.
  20. ↑ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 277. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  21. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Slade – Sladest" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 22 September 2023.
  22. ↑ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 4947". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 22 September 2023.
  23. ↑ Pennanen, Timo (2021). "Slade". Sisältää hitin - 2. laitos Levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla 1.1.1960–30.6.2021. Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. p. 237. ISBN 978-952-7460-01-6.
  24. ↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – Slade – Sladest" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 22 September 2023.
  25. ↑ "Norwegiancharts.com – Slade – Sladest". Hung Medien. Retrieved 22 September 2023.
  26. ↑ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 22 September 2023.
  27. ↑ "Slade Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 22 September 2023.
  28. ↑ "Cash Box Top 100 Albums: 101 to 175". Cash Box. Vol. 35, no. 28. 24 November 1973. p. 26. ISSN 0008-7289.
  29. ↑ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 30, 2023.
  30. ↑ "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 30, 2023.
  31. ↑ "Top 100 Album-Jahrescharts" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. 1974. Archived from the original on 12 June 2018. Retrieved 2 April 2022.
  32. ↑ "British album certifications – Slade – Slades". British Phonographic Industry.
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