Raise the Roof: 1974

Slade's Album Assessment in Melody Maker

The review in Melody Maker (February 2, 1974) of Slade’s album (titled “Old New Borrowed Blue”) weighed up the band’s assets and defects in their third year as Britain’s most popular act. It acknowledged Noddy Holder’s good rock and roll voice and Jimmy Lea’s knack for catchy pop singles, but questioned whether their musicianship was more than rudimentary or their songs sustained interest across an album. The reviewer concluded Slade were a phenomenon but not a musical one, so objective criticism was superfluous — they existed for hits, not growth. The audience was seen as the band itself, with limitations that implied, and the onus was on Slade to keep anticipating public taste. The album was deemed no better or worse than their previous work, with rabble-rousing lyrics, borrowings (Beatle touches in “How Can It Be,” Bolan’s “Jeepster” riff in “Don’t Blame Me”), and a good stage song in “We’re Really Gonna Raise The Roof.” The reviewer planned to look in again next year.

Article Overview

Publication Details

Magazine: Melody Maker (UK).

Date: February 2, 1974.

Format: One-page album review.

SLADE: "Old New Borrowed Blue" (Polydor).

The title, of course, refers to the record's content, though there's not much that's old only the Undertakers' rave-up, "Just Want A Little Bit," and the last but one Slade hit, "My Friend Stan."

Yet some of the songs are slow enough to

be conceivably called "blue," and certainly there's a good deal about Slade that's borrowed. So with this album the band. enters its third year as Britain's most popular arti fact, and maybe it's a good time to weigh up their assets and defects. Surely no one, for instance, can deny that Holder has a good rock and roll voice as measured on the screamage meter, or that Jimmy Lea (particularly) can write a catchy pop single? or But then again, is there anybody who'd claim that their musicianship is more than rudimentary, or that their songs sustain much interest when spread over an album, either lyrically melodically anyone other than Slade fan, that is?

The truth is, of course, that Slade are a phenomenon, but not a musical phenomenon, so objective musical criticism is somewhat superfluous: be-cause they're not really anything to a say or trying beyond their next hit, have ever shown much caрас-ity for musical growth, whatever is written only falls into the category of "for us, or against us just naturally -Personally, I like them, but more for the fact that their own disarming personalities come through in their songs than for any reason to do with music. They've captured, I think, a fundamental sense of working-class humour "My Friend Stan," for instance, is a not very oblique song about sexual prowess and a kind of bonhomie that flourishes in saloon-bars. "Find Yourself A Rainbow," a song on the first side of this album, is loaded with platitudes and sentimentality, but it reeks of pub pianos, the Daily Mirror, fish and chip shops, and practically everything that's English provincial.

They fee! "safe" with Slade

It's not consciously sought, as with Ray Davies, and the song is not even particularly good, but they evoke this experience. There's always a conviction about Slade that they'll never cop out on their original values, basically be-cause no others have ever occurred to them, and the public is consequently drawn to them by this feeling of permanence and of shared. attitudes. They fee! "safe" with Slade; they know Noddy will never become weird and arty like Lennon, or that Dave Hill will be embraced into a society of jet-setters. This is called being true to your roots. If there is an artist in Slade, in fact, it's their Chas Chandler, manager, who's fostered this mass identification, even down to the deliberate street-spelling of song-titles (by way of illustration, not long ago a schoolteacher told me she comes was overjoyed when pupils spelled like Slade in their lyrics; it was an example of free expression). Chandler is also their producer, and he's been wise not to tamper with that very basic, raw sound, or urge on them any ambitious musical undertakings.

Don't Blame Me

But I'm pretty sure neither they, nor their audience, want it any other way. One to the inescapable conclusion that the audience is the band, with all the artistic that limitations implies. The onus is on Slade. this year to continue anticipating the public's taste, and that becomes increasingly hard. As for this album, it's no better nor than anything else they've done. The lyrics are the usual rabble-rousing sort, full of "come ons" and "gimme more," and it has a good stage song in "We're Really Gonna Raise The Roof." With regard to borrowings, "How Can It Be," I noticed, has a few Beatle touches in harmony and atmosphere, while the guitar part on "Don't Blame Me" is taken from Bolan's "Jeepster." But really, it's pointless to take a cross and nails Slade when they haven't set themselves up as Christ figures. I'll look in again next year. M.W.

Did you have this Melody Maker review in your archive? Were you ready for the raise the roof? Share in the comments!