Review Summary: Very humble beginnings but first steps to a bright future.
It was 1969. The rock torpedo was yet to explode accelerating through the depths of uncharted waters. The initiators of the subsequent stylistic bombardment in
The Rolling Stones,
The Kinks and
The Who already established themselves as rock pioneers while
The Beatles who created much stir and sensations were reaching their sunset. The British Invasion ceased its charge. Rock ‘n’ roll was backing down under the pressure of progressive and hard rock, and psychedelia, with a whole constellation of adepts appearing or continuing their successful march on the soundscape.
It was also the time when the British Slade (then known as Ambrose Slade) released its debut without much fanfare. Later the band would become one of the first and brightest stars of glam rock, which also inspired musicians from other genres (from pop rock to alternative rock and heavy metal).
The LP modestly titled
Beginnings reflects the band’s tribute to the times, at the same time acting as a humble attempt to toss a coin in to a fountain of miracles. Only four of the tracks are penned themselves, two of these are instrumentals: introductory
Genesis, blues-flavored
Roach Daddy, psychedelic and restless
Pity the Mother with its sudden violin and transitional honky-tonk
Mad Dog Cole. This concludes the original material.
The rest is filled with covers, including such names as
Steppenwolf, Jeff Lynne (of the
Idle Race period),
The Beatles,
Frank Zappa,
Marvin Gaye and others. This selection displays more the width of their interests than the arsenal of their abilities. It should be noted the many musicians tend to fill the first releases with the output of others, and it does not always indicate the lack of own ideas or hesitant derivativeness. Sometime a long-awaited chance to make a record can catch off-guard forcing one to focus exclusively on the instant product. Let’s not forget that by 1969 the band had some experience performing, and the fresh-starters pretty much always tend to borrow the proven success of their contemporaries.
This resulted in a rather confident work where the outside material is concerned, and merely first steps in their own writing. The self-penned material is not without interest, flowing nicely within the context of the album, and even manage occasionally to upstart the covered material in terms of originality (like by-the-numbers
Martha My Dear). However, the number is small, and it is the main shortcoming. Because of that, it is quite difficult to call the album a full-fledged debut. Still we can hear already the signature abrasive and ringing vocal attack of Noddy Holder and the buzzing but neat axe work of Dave Hill. Each of them would display their full strength on subsequent albums, leaving us an opportunity to get a feel of the way chosen by one of the passengers of the upcoming glam rock bus. The draft is far from perfect, however it shines a light on the origins of the band, and in a sense reflects everything it would attempt to do in the future. The first step towards success was made.
