Slade Smashes!

Slade Smashes
Compilation album by Slade
Released 1 November 1980
Genre
Label Polydor
Producer Slade
Slade chronology
Return to Base
(1979)		 Slade Smashes!
(1980)		 We'll Bring the House Down
(1981)

Slade Smashes was a compilation album by the British glam/hard rock group Slade. It was released 1 November 1980 and reached number 21 on the UK charts.

The album was issued in the wake of the band's new-found success following their appearance at the annual Reading Festival, filling in for Ozzy Osbourne. The album featured most of the band's big hits from their early and mid 1970s heyday in the UK as well as less successful tracks from the band's "down period" in the late 1970s. This collection, alongside the band's subsequent release We'll Bring the House Down, further cemented Slade's comeback in the UK and Europe (and shortly afterwards, newfound success in the United States).

The compilation was created by Polydor and did not feature much input from the actual band. According to the Slade January–February 1981 fan club magazine, Polydor spent £250,000 on promotion for the compilation.[1]

The album was certified UK Gold by BPI in December 1980, selling 200,000 copies.[2][3]

In a 1980 fan club interview, Noddy Holder was asked why Polydor were releasing a compilation now. He said:

It's not been the Reading Festival that has prompted the release of the Hits album – they had already made plans to release the album before we decided to do the show.[4]

In a November 1980 Sounds magazine interview, Holder was asked if he was at all depressed at this preoccupation with past glories. He replied:

Depressed? No. This compilation will be great for the fans, a chance to get all the hits on one record. But we don't relate to them in the same way any more, the way we play them now is bugger all like the records anyway.[5][6]

The album was released because all Slade's singles were deleted except for "Merry Xmas Everybody".[4]

Some songs on the album were slightly remixed in the studio to give a more "1980's feel".[4]

In December 1984, guitarist Dave Hill had sold his personal UK Gold Disc award for 250,000 sales of "Slade Smashes!" for charity, which sold for a total of £385 at the time. This was shown on the UK show Saturday Starship.[7]

Track listing

  1. "Cum on Feel the Noize" (Holder/Lea) UK #1
  2. "My Friend Stan" (Holder/Lea) UK #2
  3. "Far Far Away" (Holder/Lea) UK #2
  4. "Coz I Luv You" (Holder/Lea) UK #1
  5. "Everyday" (Holder/Lea) UK #3
  6. "Gypsy Roadhog" (Holder/Lea) UK #48
  7. "Thanks for the Memory (Wham Bam Thank You Mam)" (Holder/Lea) UK #7
  8. "The Bangin' Man" (Holder/Lea) UK #3
  9. "In For a Penny" (Holder/Lea) UK #11
  10. "Skweeze Me Pleeze Me" (Holder/Lea) UK #1
  11. "Mama Weer All Crazee Now" (Holder/Lea) UK #1
  12. "Look Wot You Dun" (Holder/Lea) UK #4
  13. "Take Me Back 'Ome" (Holder/Lea) UK #1
  14. "Let's Call It Quits" (Holder/Lea) UK #11
  15. "Give Us a Goal" (Holder/Lea) Did Not Chart
  16. "Merry Xmas Everybody" (Holder/Lea) UK #1
  17. "How Does It Feel" (Holder/Lea) UK #15
  18. "My Baby Left Me – "That's Alright Mama" (Crudup) UK #32
  19. "Get Down and Get With It" (Bobby Marchan) UK #16
  20. "Gudbuy T'Jane" (Holder/Lea) UK #2

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[8]
Sounds[9]
Record Mirror[10][11]

Upon release, Record Mirror wrote "People keep telling me there's a Slade revival going on, but it's hard not to laugh. It's more than interesting to watch those who've seen them live attempt to convert those who keep their look of bemusement and incredulity intact during the discourse. It's also funny to watch the curious become fervent disciples whose faces light up at the mention of Slade. They're the ones who stumble across the truth, via the experience, that there is no Slade revival. The word revival always implies that the band were redundant for a period between their 'hey-day' and their current 'resurgence' but Slade have remained constant throughout. They slogged up and down the toilets and flea-pits of this country for five years before their first hit 'Get Down And Get With It' gave everybody the opportunity to realise that they are one of the best live attractions in this land. Their aggressive, energetic and enthusiastic stage show was successfully translated into a string of raucous singles that celebrated the mythical rock 'n' roll spirit with a vengeance. Songs like 'Mama Weer All Crazee Now', 'Cum on Feel The Noize', 'Take Me Bak 'ome', 'Gudbuy T' Jane' and the others contained on this 20 track precis of the time when Slade and the record buying public connected are the best reminders of the power some felt and others ignored. Those who have realised the power of Slade will already have the majority of the songs on this collection. Those who have only recently caught up with the fact that Slade have remained constant and those that have reconnected with a fundamental lynch-pin of that mess we call rock 'n' roll will find this set a useful but ultimately unsatisfying reminder of the joy and exuberance of the Birmingham quartet of Noddy, Jimmy, Don and Dave. Those who have yet to find out had better start here and then grasp the opportunity to 'feel the noize' at the first chance."[12]

Sounds Magazine wrote "We've been treated to re-issues of some of the old time heroes who made my own teeny weeny days go with a grin and mucho din...Big Gal Glitter, the soon-come Judge Dread double and now this mighty meaty big and bouncy collection of twenty timeless Slade faves. For once I'm speechless, well almost anyway, and it's only with near superhuman self-restraint that I prevent these perspiring pinkies from tapping out the full horrorshow history of my Slade memories, from that initial encounter on the Eammon Andrews Show blistering through 'Get Down And Get With It' with cropped-head conviction, through hundreds of backing track adolescent adventures, right up to undoubted chart supremacy and Earls Court mayhem with, I must confess, silly hat and cape flying in the wind. All I'm gonna say is that as far as I can see this collection is a perfect reminder of the glories that were, marrying raucous rock and singalong pop in a superb celebration of unpretentious goodtimes. They're all here, the rowdy faultless chart-toppers 'Coz I Luv You', 'Take Me Bak 'ome', 'Mama Weer All Crazee Now', 'Skweeze Me, Pleeze Me', 'Merry Xmas Everybody' – ten silver discs, two gold discs, one platinum. There's the mighty scarf-waving anthem 'Everyday' too, and the similarly moving homesick howsyafarver 'Far Far Away', not to mention the pre-Rejects football fave 'Give Us A Goal', then the r 'n' r circus medley 'My Baby Left Me. That's Alright Mama', the stompin' stormer 'Get Down And Get With It', and even, whisper it, one or two I ain't so fond of like 'Thanks for the Memory' which makes me think maybe, just maybe, the rot was setting in even before the American failure. But they're just the exception that prove the proof of the pudding washes whiter. Because what we're talking about here then, men, is a near miraculous disc that every home should have. And what's interesting is that recent live performances indicate that the band, despite their methusela-like antiquity still rock like good'uns and Noddy is still the same colourful clown with the prime primal power-lung scream, so maybe there's a chance that Slade'll become heroes for a new generation... For the moment, however, I don't give a monkey's toss about speculating and such like, all I wanna do is put this on again full blast and dodge the missiles from the ignorant barbarians who I'm forced to share this under-paid under-staffed office with."[13][14]

Chart performance

Chart (1980) Peak
position		 Total
weeks
Australia ARIA Albums Chart 33 ?
UK Albums Chart[15] 21 15

Personnel

References

  1. ↑ "Slade International Fan Club newsletter January-February 1981". Sladefanclub.weebly.com. Retrieved 10 August 2011.
  2. ↑ Slade, We'll Bring The House Down remastered album booklet.
  3. ↑ "Home". BPI. Retrieved 10 August 2011.
  4. 1 2 3 Slade International Fan Club newsletter November-December 1980
  5. ↑ "Related Links". Timesup.dsl.pipex.com. 29 October 2005. Retrieved 10 August 2011.
  6. ↑ 15 November 1980 Sounds Magazine Interview – Back From The Dead – Steve Keaton meets Noddy Holder and Jim Lea of Slade
  7. ↑ Slade International Fan Club newsletter January–February 1986
  8. ↑ "Slade Smashes – Slade". AllMusic. Retrieved 10 August 2011.
  9. ↑ "Slade Smashes review". Sladeinengland.co.uk. Retrieved 10 August 2011.
  10. ↑ "Related Links". Timesup.dsl.pipex.com. Retrieved 10 August 2011.
  11. ↑ Record Mirror – 27 November 1980
  12. ↑ Record Mirror – 27 November 1980
  13. ↑ "Related Links". Timesup.dsl.pipex.com. Retrieved 10 August 2011.
  14. ↑ Sounds – 29 November 1980
  15. ↑ "Slade – Slade Smashes". Chart Stats. Retrieved 10 August 2011.
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