Rogues Gallery

Union Square Music’s brilliantly remastered Rogues Gallery is also out now. It was Slade’s first album as a studio-only group and you have to get used to the polished sound, but then it’s really quite good with highlights such as Myzsterious Mizster Jones, Walking On Water Running On Alcohol, 7 Year Bitch and the minor hit All Join Hands.
In the accompanying 12 pages full colour booklet Chris Ingham tells the story of why Slade stopped touring and it includes some never seen before pics.
USM’s re-release comes with no less than 9 bonus tracks: The B-sides Here’s To (The New Year) and the Leave Them Girls Alone where Jim and Nod exchange lead vocal on the latter. Mama Nature Is A Rocker which was the B-side to Myszerious Mizster Jones and the My Oh My demo piano and vocal version with the slightly different original lyrics. The 1985-single Do You Believe In Miracles and the My Oh My swing version recorded with Monty Babson Big Band, which to me is the best of the bonus tracks. Probably because My Oh My has never been a favourite of mine and the only way I can stand listening to it is in the swing version! In the booklet Ingham writes that this version was made at Frank Sinatra’s suggestion, but as far as I know it was more or less the other way around, namely that the swing version was suggested to Frank Sinatra for consideration. The last 3 bonus-tracks are the 12” version of 7 Year Bitch, the extended 12” version of Myzsterious Mizster Jones and the 12” version of Do You Believe In Miracles.
The bonus tracks come in wrong order, but this should only affect the first batch of CDs.
All in all Rogues Gallery is a pleasurable re-release from USM.