Review Summary: Very humble beginnings, but the first steps to a bright future.
It was 1969. Accelerating through the depths of uncharted waters, the rock torpedo was yet to explode. The initiators of the subsequent stylistic bombardment –
The Rolling Stones,
The Kinks, and
The Who – had already established themselves as rock pioneers, while
The Beatles, who created much stir and sensation, were reaching their sunset. The British Invasion ceased its charge. Rock ‘n’ roll was backing down under the pressure of progressive rock, hard rock, and psychedelia, with a whole constellation of adepts appearing or continuing their successful march the soundscape.
It was also the time when the Britain’s 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 (ranging 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 into the fountain of fortune. Only four of the tracks are self-penned, and two of these are instrumentals: the introductory
Genesis, the blues-flavored
Roach Daddy, the psychedelic and restless
Pity the Mother with its sudden violin, and the transitional honky-tonk
Mad Dog Cole. This concludes the original material.
The rest is filled with covers, including songs by
Steppenwolf, Jeff Lynne (of the
Idle Race period),
The Beatles,
Frank Zappa,
Marvin Gaye, and others. This selection displays the breadth of their interests rather than the full 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 a lack of original ideas or hesitant derivativeness. Sometimes, a long-awaited chance to make a record can catch a band off-guard, forcing them to focus exclusively on putting out an immediate product. Let’s not forget that by 1969 the band had some live experience, and newcomers almost always tend to lean on the proven success of their contemporaries.
This resulted in a rather confident work where the outside material is concerned, alongside the first tentative steps in their own songwriting. The self-penned material is not without interest, flowing nicely within the context of the album, and even managing occasionally to outshine the covered material in terms of originality (such as their straightforward take on
Martha My Dear). However, the number of original tracks is small, and that is the main shortcoming. Because of that, it is quite difficult to call the album a full-fledged debut.
Still, we can already hear the signature abrasive and ringing vocal attack of Noddy Holder and the buzzing, 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 for the path chosen by future passengers on the upcoming glam rock express. 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 had been made.
