The album Slayed? by Slade is released
"Slayed?" is the third studio album by British rock band Slade, released in November 1972. It achieved No. 1 status in the UK, staying on the charts for 34 weeks and receiving a Silver certification in early 1973. In the US, it was the band's most successful 1970s album, reaching No. 69 and remaining on the charts for 26 weeks. The album also topped the charts in Australia, going Gold and displacing the band's own live album, "Slade Alive!", to second place. "Slayed?" was produced by Chas Chandler.
Following their breakthrough with "Get Down and Get With It" in 1971, Slade continued to garner success with subsequent singles such as "Coz I Luv You", "Look Wot You Dun", and "Take Me Bak 'Ome". Their live album, Slade Alive!, released in 1972, marked their first triumph on the album charts, peaking at No. 2. After topping the UK charts with "Take Me Bak 'Ome", the band completed their next studio album, Slayed?. The lead single, "Mama Weer All Crazee Now", released in August 1972, became another chart-topping hit. The album Slayed? was released in November and ascended to No. 1, while the second single, "Gudbuy T'Jane", launched the same month, secured the No. 2 spot in the UK.
In October, the track "The Whole World's Goin' Crazee" was included as a free 7" Flexi disc with Music Scene magazine, accompanied by "Bonnie Charlie" by Mike Hugg on the B-side. In August 1973, the single "Let The Good Times Roll" was released in the United States, reaching No. 114 on the charts. Later, in November, "Move Over" was released as a single in Japan.
The song "How D'You Ride" was initially considered for a single release, with Chandler being particularly eager to see it launched. In a 2006 interview, drummer Don Powell commented on "I Won't Let It 'appen Agen": "If you listen to the beginning, you can hear someone shout, 'Yeah!' That's me, because it felt so good to start, I couldn't help but shout, and it was kept in the recording."
The concept for "Gudbuy T'Jane" struck Lea while the band was in San Diego, and he finished the song on the flight back to the UK. Holder's lyrics were inspired by a woman named Jane who demonstrated a sex machine on a television show where the band performed. The lyrics of "Mama Weer All Crazee Now" were inspired by an incident at the Boston Gliderdrome in Lincolnshire, where a bouncer recounted a story about a previous act who had been "crazy with whiskey."
Upon its release, Record Mirror characterized the album as "all quite stomping, insistent, and bawled-out stuff," noting "they certainly deliver the goods here." In the 1974 Record Mirror poll results, 'Slayed?' ranked No. 4 in the Top 10 list of best British albums. New Musical Express hailed the album as "one of the greatest rock 'n' roll releases of all time."
Robert Hilburn of the Los Angeles Times believed that while side one had some "effective moments," it was side two that truly showcased Slade's "power and direction." He concluded, "If you've been missing the solid, raunchy rock sound recently, get slayed and play it loud." Tom Von Malder of The Wheeling Herald (Illinois) thought the album brought back the "kind of raw music that the Rolling Stones played with 'Street Fighting Man'." Malder's conclusion was, "Slade is punk, street rock at its finest and loudest." American rock critic Robert Christgau found the album to be filled with "boot-boy anthems that are as overpowering as reported, and more enjoyable. Noddy Holder is welcome to wake up the crazee in my neighborhood anytime." Henry McNulty of the Hartford Courant characterized the album as "fierce, relentless rock," and a "total body assault, leaving the mind to wander in the void where meaning should be."
In 2010, Classic Rock labeled the album as an "essential classic," highlighting its "party-hard tracks and a near-ballad in 'Look at Last Nite,'" which ensured that 'Slayed?' unquestionably met all criteria. The Guardian recognized the album's singles and other tracks as "rightfully party riff monsters," but pointed out: "The true grandeur of 'Slayed?' is in its melancholic ballads. The haunting chorus of 'Look at Last Nite' touches on the hollowness of celebrity and the insidious drawbacks of fame."
The album was included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.
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