Slade

Odds and sods about the British rock band Slade

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

The Guv'nors album featuring Don

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Don and The Guv'nors, 2007

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Don, Mash and Jonah in the studio

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The Guv’nors: “The Pint of No Return”

In 2006 I was approached by Danish rock band The Guv’nors. They had a vision of Don playing drums on their next album and could I arrange for Don to play with them? Of course I could and on January 7, 2007 we went to Smart’n’Hard studios in Aarhus, Denmark, where Don recorded a few tracks with the band. Now The Guv’nors have finished the album with the title “The Pint fo No Return.”

“The Pint of No Return” is a co-production between Trueforce Records, Longshot Records and Contra Records and it comes as a vinyl LP (mine is yellow!) with an additional CD. On the LP you’ll find 12 tracks, whereas the CD boasts 15 tracks.

All songs on the album are self-penned except for the 2 cover-songs: ”Striptease” by Lendager/Dehnhardt – a major hit by the Danish seventies glam-band Walkers – and Slade’s ”Raining In My Champagne” featuring Don on drums. You’ll find ”Raining In My Champagne” on the vinyl LP only, whereas the CD offers you 4 tracks that are not included on the LP, namely ”Sorry We’re From Denmark”, ”Ich Tanze Nur Für Sekt” and 2 bonus tracks in Danish: ”Rockband” and ”40, Fed og Færdig”

The Guv’nors consists of Sonnyboi (vocal), Smidt (guitar), Mash (guitar), Rune P (bass) and Jonah (drums) and together they produce a sound that is best described as working class rock’n’roll. This is hard rock with traces of AC/DC. You’ll detect some Angus Young riffs and pretty neat guitar solos and the efficient rhythm section combined with the raucous front vocal makes the music perfect for head-banging!

The album is raw and energetic. “Skiing in Hamburg” sports great guitar-work and “Sorry We’re From Denmark”/”The Pint of No Return” is damn good rock’n’roll. I found it difficult to sit still to “Ain’t Nobody In” and of course it was great to hear Don on drums on “Raining In My Champagne”.

Very fittingly for a rock album Soren Sonne Hald’s lyrics are mostly about sex’n’drugs’n’rock’n’roll (and football!), but you’ll also find lyrics about losing your youth and trying to cope with being a young, rocking soul trapped in the body of a middle-aged man. Quite becoming, I think.

The album is available in Europe at: http://www.contra-net.com and in the USA at http://www.longshotmusic.com. More info, go to: The Guv'nors.

P.S. I’m pleased to see that 2 of the photos that I shot of Don and the Guv’nors at the studio in 2007 have ended up on the inner sleeve of the album. Thanks for the mention, guys. I had so much fun that day!

Saturday, February 06, 2010

Party Hits album

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Slade’s Merry Xmas Everybody Party Hits album

In November 2009 Slade’s ”Merry Xmas Everybody Party Hits” album was released through Universal. Now – almost 3 months later - I finally got my review copy. People have said, ”You can’t review a Christmas album in February!”, but of course I can! As it says in the liner-notes of the album: ”Slade is not just for Christmas”, so why not?

The album consists of 20 tracks whereof 4 are ”festive” songs. Apart from Slade’s Christmas-hit “Merry Xmas Everybody”, you’ll also find Coots/Gillespies ”Santa Claus Is Coming To Town”, and Slade’s own ”Here’s To,,,” as well other party-tunes such as ”Let’s Have A Party” (Baxter/Friend/Haynes) and ”Okey Cokey” (Kennedy).

On the album you’ll also find some of Slade’s greatest self-penned hits: “Mama Weer All Crazee Now”, “’Coz I Luv You”, “Gudbuy T’Jane”, “Cum On Feel The Noize” and “Skweeze Me Pleeze Me”, but also songs less known. Of cover songs you’ll find “Let The Good Times Roll/Feel So Fine” (Lee), “My Baby Left Me/That’s Alright” (Crudup), “Let’s Dance” (Lee) and “I’m A Rocker” (Berry) as well as self-penned ones such as “We’re Really Gonna Raise The Roof”, “Hey Ho Wish You Well”, “Do You Believe In Miracles” and “All Join Hands”. My two favourite songs on the album (both self-penned Holder/Lea tracks) are “My Oh My (Swing Version)” from 1985 and “Standin’ On The Corner” from 1974. Those two songs show the versatility of the band.

If some of you are thinking that ”Merry Xmas Everybody Party Hits” sounds a bit like Slade’s 1985 album “Crackers”, you are not entirely wrong. The new album has a few more songs and some of the “Crackers” songs have been replaced by others, but all in all the new album has the same party-feel to it like the old one. And if nothing else, it proves that Slade is not just for Christmas – although this album is gonna come in handy at any Christmas party!

2010 index

February:
February 6: Slade's Merry Xmas Everybody Party Hits album
February 16: The Guv'nors: "The Pint of No Return"

September:
September 10: Happy birthday, Don

October:
October 16: Don Powell on stage

November:
November 25: Don and John