Whatever Happened to Slade (1977)
Whatever Happened to Slade is Slade's seventh studio album, released by Barn Records on 21 March 1977 and produced by Chas Chandler. The album failed to chart, leaving Slade's popularity to continue waning as punk and disco became the two new music trends of the time. The glam rock movement, of which Slade were associated, had largely died by this point.
With Whatever Happened to Slade, the band stood their ground as a straight rock group, largely removing their "glam" statements from earlier in the decade. Although it was met with support from the English punk uprising, the album's commercial failure saw the band's financial woes continue.
Background
By 1975, Slade felt their commercial success had peaked in Great Britain and Europe. At manager Chas Chandler's suggestion, the band agreed to move to the United States, the only major territory that the band had yet to crack. The band held out in the US for almost two years, recording the soul-influenced Nobody's Fools (1976). Although the band did not achieve significant airplay and record sales in the US, their reputation as a reliable and exciting live rock act was enhanced and the band felt rejuvenated.
Slade returned to the UK in August 1976 to face the UK music business much changed from when they had left. Punk rock had now exploded and had become the dominant influence on youth culture and the music press. Despite Slade's reputation as one of the great high energy bands of their day, in this environment Slade were considered unfashionable. Regardless, the band were determined that they were now a better live act than ever and refused to call it a day. Recording of their seventh studio album began in August. As reported in a fan club magazine of the time, the band hoped to record a total of sixteen tracks and pick the best to release on the album.
In January 1977, the band released the album's only single "Gypsy Roadhog". However, after performing the song on the children's television show Blue Peter, complaints about the song's drug references led to the record receiving little play on BBC Radio 1. As a result, the single stalled at No. 48, while Whatever Happened to Slade failed to chart when released in March. The album's title had been suggested by Chandler after he spotted some graffiti on a London bridge. Don Powell told Record Mirror in 1977: "It was a tongue in cheek thing. When we got back to England, that's what people kept saying to us, so we thought we'd use it on the album." Despite its lack of commercial success, the album was later cited as having an impact on the grunge and alternative rock genres, with both Billy Corgan of The Smashing Pumpkins and Kurt Cobain of Nirvana citing the album as influential.
Recalling the album in the 1984 biography Feel the Noize!, Jim Lea said: "It was a heavy metal album. It was a mistake and I was against that title." Noddy Holder said in his 1999 biography Who's Crazee Now?: "Whatever Happened to Slade was much rockier than Nobody's Fools. It was a return to our original sound". In a 2009 interview answering fan questions, Don Powell was asked which Slade album he would recommend to a new listener as the "definitive Slade studio album". He said: "Whatever Happened to Slade because at that particular time we had nothing to lose."
During a 2017 live question and answer event with Lea at the Robin 2 club, Lea spoke of the album: "The Whatever Happened to Slade album came out of us touring in America. There were a lot of bands over there that had got this guitar identity. There was the Allman Brothers with Duane Allman, there was ZZ Top coming along, and the guitar player was a big thing. So we started coming up with Whatever Happened to Slade and I thought it was important we had the guitar breaks. I worked them out and then we went through it. Dave did all the playing on the record."
Critical reception
Contemporary reviews
Retrospective reviews
Song information
Track listing
1. Be (Noddy Holder, Jim Lea) - 3:55
2. Lightning Never Strikes Twice (Holder, Lea) - 3:14
3. Gypsy Roadhog (Holder, Lea) - 3:24
4. Dogs of Vengeance (Holder, Lea) - 2:49
5. When Fantasy Calls (Holder, Lea) - 3:24
6. One Eyed Jacks with Moustaches (Holder, Lea) - 3:21
7. Big Apple Blues (Holder, Lea) - 4:37
8. Dead Men Tell No Tales (Holder, Lea) - 3:39
9. She's Got the Lot (Holder, Lea) - 4:34
10. It Ain't Love but It Ain't Bad (Holder, Lea) - 3:10
11. The Soul, the Roll and the Motion (Holder, Lea) - 4:36
2007 Salvo remaster bonus tracks
12. Forest Full of Needles (Holder, Lea) - 3:30
13. Burning in the Heat of Love (Holder, Lea) - 3:36
14. Ready Steady Kids (Holder, Lea) - 3:22
15. My Baby Left Me: That's Alright (Arthur Crudup) - 2:24
16. O.H.M.S. (Holder, Lea) - 2:41
17. Give Us a Goal (Holder, Lea) - 2:50
18. Daddio (Holder, Lea) - 2:34
19. Rock 'n' Roll Bolero (Holder, Lea) - 4:06
20. It's Alright Buy Me (Holder, Lea) - 3:23
Personnel
Slade
Additional personnel
With Whatever Happened to Slade, the band stood their ground as a straight rock group, largely removing their "glam" statements from earlier in the decade. Although it was met with support from the English punk uprising, the album's commercial failure saw the band's financial woes continue.
Background
By 1975, Slade felt their commercial success had peaked in Great Britain and Europe. At manager Chas Chandler's suggestion, the band agreed to move to the United States, the only major territory that the band had yet to crack. The band held out in the US for almost two years, recording the soul-influenced Nobody's Fools (1976). Although the band did not achieve significant airplay and record sales in the US, their reputation as a reliable and exciting live rock act was enhanced and the band felt rejuvenated.
Slade returned to the UK in August 1976 to face the UK music business much changed from when they had left. Punk rock had now exploded and had become the dominant influence on youth culture and the music press. Despite Slade's reputation as one of the great high energy bands of their day, in this environment Slade were considered unfashionable. Regardless, the band were determined that they were now a better live act than ever and refused to call it a day. Recording of their seventh studio album began in August. As reported in a fan club magazine of the time, the band hoped to record a total of sixteen tracks and pick the best to release on the album.
In January 1977, the band released the album's only single "Gypsy Roadhog". However, after performing the song on the children's television show Blue Peter, complaints about the song's drug references led to the record receiving little play on BBC Radio 1. As a result, the single stalled at No. 48, while Whatever Happened to Slade failed to chart when released in March. The album's title had been suggested by Chandler after he spotted some graffiti on a London bridge. Don Powell told Record Mirror in 1977: "It was a tongue in cheek thing. When we got back to England, that's what people kept saying to us, so we thought we'd use it on the album." Despite its lack of commercial success, the album was later cited as having an impact on the grunge and alternative rock genres, with both Billy Corgan of The Smashing Pumpkins and Kurt Cobain of Nirvana citing the album as influential.
Recalling the album in the 1984 biography Feel the Noize!, Jim Lea said: "It was a heavy metal album. It was a mistake and I was against that title." Noddy Holder said in his 1999 biography Who's Crazee Now?: "Whatever Happened to Slade was much rockier than Nobody's Fools. It was a return to our original sound". In a 2009 interview answering fan questions, Don Powell was asked which Slade album he would recommend to a new listener as the "definitive Slade studio album". He said: "Whatever Happened to Slade because at that particular time we had nothing to lose."
During a 2017 live question and answer event with Lea at the Robin 2 club, Lea spoke of the album: "The Whatever Happened to Slade album came out of us touring in America. There were a lot of bands over there that had got this guitar identity. There was the Allman Brothers with Duane Allman, there was ZZ Top coming along, and the guitar player was a big thing. So we started coming up with Whatever Happened to Slade and I thought it was important we had the guitar breaks. I worked them out and then we went through it. Dave did all the playing on the record."
Critical reception
Contemporary reviews
- Sheila Prophet of Record Mirror felt the album was "worth giving a spin" and said: "This is their comeback album - the one that'll make 'em or break 'em. It features "Gypsy Roadhog" and most of the other tracks are in the same vein - solid, rocking numbers, but just not quite distinctive enough to make it in the same way as "Cum On Feel the Noize" or "Coz I Luv You" did. Part of the problem is that they seem to be trying too hard - laying everything on, instead of sticking with simplicity. The result is that it sounds, heavy, cluttered, even, a bit old-fashioned. Noddy's voice still sounds great, and Dave turns in some pretty nifty guitar, but there's just too much of everything. In the old days, lyrics weren't too important to Slade, but now they're writing songs with meaning."
- Pete Makowski of New Musical Express wrote: "The band were always on form when they worked within the most basic of formats. Rock and Roll! This album is high energy on a primeval scale. It's got all the ball bustin' riffs you'll find nestling comfortably alongside yer ZZ Tops and Nugents. It's got the same suicidal pace of the Aerosmith Rocks album. It's packed with strong tunes, lotsa potential singles and the lyrical content is more interesting."
- Daily Mirror stated: "Well, they've spent the last months creating one of the most arresting albums they've put together in a long time. Noddy Holder's voice as pronounced as ever."
- Peter Trollope of Liverpool Echo wrote: "I'm afraid there's not much to offer on this album. The American style of living has had its impact on their songwriting. Musically they are much the same as ever and can still belt it out with the best of them, but I'm afraid they are nowhere near par for the course on this album. "Gypsy Roadhog" is the single and is the best track."
- Carol Clerk of Acton Gazette stated: "This album [is] all unpretentious rock 'n' wallop with plenty of vocal and instrumental repetition in each number to make sure it grinds its way through the skull. Holder's vocals are as raucous as ever; Lea and Powell are still bashing out basic, steamroller rhythms; you can almost imagine the inane grin on Hill's face as he makes a great show of twisting out the most elementary of riffs. In short, it's the same old Slade. If you liked them then, you'll like them now and you'll like this album."
- Peter Barnett of the East Kent Times considered the band were "back on the scene with a winner". He commented: "Whatever Happened to Slade shows the band have learned a lot from their exile and the music is much tighter, sounding more like they did before the rot set in. All the songs are simple but clever. The melodic structure of some of the slower songs sound like Beatles riffs from the mid '60's. All in all the eleven tracks make pretty powerful listening."
- Dave Murray of the Reading Evening Post stated: "Slade return with their usual hard, pulsating rock. There are a couple of reasonable tracks but most of it sounds as though Slade are stuck in their own time-warp, unable to come to terms with the latest punk rock, and at the same time unable to pull themselves free from their early riff-laden sound, which made them so popular in the early 70s."
- Wishaw Press and Advertiser wrote: "Unfortunately [the album] doesn't contain enough good material to justify top priority listening. Slade don't have a great deal to offer on this album. Tracks like "Be", "Dead Men Tell No Tales" and "Gypsy Roadhog" are just average and easily forgettable attempts at rock and roll."
- Tony Ciarochi of Fairbanks Daily News-Miner (of Alaska) said: "...their latest album definitely packs the kind of punch that would get that kind of reaction from a crowd of concert goers. Although it is fairly basic rock 'n' roll, the British humor and sarcasm with which it is presented make it a refreshing chance from some of the more bland sledgehammer rock grounds dominant in America."
- American music industry trade magazine Record World commented: "The answer to the question asked by the album's title is that they've reverted to the tough, boisterous rock of their roots in keeping with today's musical climate. "Be", "Lightning Never Strikes Twice" and "It Ain't Love but It Ain't Bad" are among the most unrelenting."
Retrospective reviews
- Geoff Ginsberg of AllMusic wrote: "Whatever Happened to Slade is the band's extremely loud reply to the news that they were has-beens. Whereas Slade had been a huge influence on Kiss, the favor was now returned, as Whatever has a bit of the Hotter Than Hell, early-Kiss sound, which the band has acknowledged. It's still pure Slade, though. The songs and playing here are pretty much out of sight, with monster riffs and a different production style. For the Slade fan, this is a great record, and one you probably never heard. Rectify that."
- Joe Geesin of Get Ready to Rock! said: "...legendarily titled after a genuine piece of graffiti, the album is a return to the band's skinhead roots. Some rough Slade style rock'n'roll, but gone was the glam (largely) and the kitsch. Still very much Slade, but if you're only familiar with the early 70s hits this is a very different beast. There's some great rough guitar."
- In 2010, Classic Rock considered the album "superior: reputation cementing" and wrote: "Viewed with hindsight as the band's 'lost' album, Whatever Happened to Slade was buried by punk, yet praised by many punk musicians. But however marginalised, a world-beating band doesn't become shit overnight, and Whatever Happened to Slade tempers their established qualities with righteous indignation."
- Colin Harper of Record Collector said: "Returning from their lengthy attempt to crack America, Whatever Happened to Slade showed muscle, but the prime influence was US stadium boogie, paired with Noddy's least charming lyrics."
- In 2016, Nicholas Pell of LA Weekly ranked the album at No. 14 on his "20 Greatest Classic Rock Albums" list. He summarised: "This isn't just the template for grunge, it's everything good about hair metal 10 years early." He added that "Gypsy Roadhog" and "One Eyed Jacks With Moustaches" as "undeniable rock ragers", while he felt "Dogs of Vengeance" is "what is missing from classic rock radio".
Song information
- "Be" became a popular addition to Slade's live sets and featured on the band's subsequent live album Slade Alive, Vol. 2 (1978). In a 1979 fan club interview, Jim Lea spoke of the track, saying "Songs like "Be" are hardly concise, they're clever, but hardly the sing-along down at the pub type song."
- "Gypsy Roadhog" is a tale of the exploits of an American cocaine dealer and features slide guitar.
- "Dead Men Tell No Tales" has a slower tempo to most of the album's other tracks. Its lyrics are based on the 1949 gangster film White Heat, starring James Cagney.
Track listing
1. Be (Noddy Holder, Jim Lea) - 3:55
2. Lightning Never Strikes Twice (Holder, Lea) - 3:14
3. Gypsy Roadhog (Holder, Lea) - 3:24
4. Dogs of Vengeance (Holder, Lea) - 2:49
5. When Fantasy Calls (Holder, Lea) - 3:24
6. One Eyed Jacks with Moustaches (Holder, Lea) - 3:21
7. Big Apple Blues (Holder, Lea) - 4:37
8. Dead Men Tell No Tales (Holder, Lea) - 3:39
9. She's Got the Lot (Holder, Lea) - 4:34
10. It Ain't Love but It Ain't Bad (Holder, Lea) - 3:10
11. The Soul, the Roll and the Motion (Holder, Lea) - 4:36
2007 Salvo remaster bonus tracks
12. Forest Full of Needles (Holder, Lea) - 3:30
13. Burning in the Heat of Love (Holder, Lea) - 3:36
14. Ready Steady Kids (Holder, Lea) - 3:22
15. My Baby Left Me: That's Alright (Arthur Crudup) - 2:24
16. O.H.M.S. (Holder, Lea) - 2:41
17. Give Us a Goal (Holder, Lea) - 2:50
18. Daddio (Holder, Lea) - 2:34
19. Rock 'n' Roll Bolero (Holder, Lea) - 4:06
20. It's Alright Buy Me (Holder, Lea) - 3:23
Personnel
Slade
- Noddy Holder - lead vocals, rhythm guitar
- Dave Hill - lead guitar, backing vocals
- Jim Lea - bass, backing vocals
- Don Powell - drums, percussion
Additional personnel
- Chas Chandler - producer
- Paul Hardiman - engineer
- Gered Mankowitz - photography
- Wade Woode Associates - artwork
- Jo Mirowski - art direction