''Slade Alive, Vol. 2'' is the second live album by the British rock band

Slade Slade are a rock band formed in Wolverhampton, England in 1966. They rose to prominence during the glam rock era in the early 1970s, achieving 17 consecutive top 20 hits and six number ones on the UK Singles Chart. The '' British Hit Singl ...

. It was released on 20 October 1978 and did not enter the charts. Titled as the follow-up to the band's commercially and critically successful 1972 album ''

Slade Alive! ''Slade Alive!'' is the first live album by the British rock band Slade. The album was released on 24 March 1972 and reached No. 2 on the UK Albums Chart, remaining in the chart for 58 weeks. It was Slade's first album to enter the UK charts and ...

'', the performances on ''Slade Alive, Vol. 2'' were taken from the band's autumn 1976 tour of the United States and their spring 1977 UK tour. The album was produced by

Chas Chandler Bryan James "Chas" Chandler (18 December 1938 – 17 July 1996) was an English musician, record producer and manager, best known as the original bassist in The Animals, for which he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994. H ...

Background

Returning from the US in late 1976, Slade found the UK music business much changed from when they had left in 1975 to try and crack the American market.

Punk rock Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced sh ...

had exploded to become the dominant influence on youth culture and the music press. Despite Slade's reputation as one of the great high-energy bands of their day, in this environment they had become irrelevant. Regardless, they were determined that they were now a better live act than ever and refused to call it a day. Their 1977 album ''

Whatever Happened to Slade ''Whatever Happened to Slade'' is the seventh studio album by the British rock group Slade. It was released on 21 March 1977 by Barn Records, but did not enter any national album chart. By the time of the album's release, Slade's popularity was ...

'' was a commercial failure, and on their UK spring tour they found they could no longer fill large venues. By 1978, the band continued to suffer from a lack of commercial success. Despite being successful at filling small venues for their live performances, their new records were barely selling. With their new output no longer being released on

Polydor Records Polydor Limited, also known as Polydor Records, is a British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in ...

but instead on manager Chas Chandler's label

Barn Records Barn Records was a record label established by the English musician, record producer and manager Chas Chandler. It was active from 1976 to 1980, and included the production company Barn Productions and publishing company Barn Publishing Ltd. The ...

, singles such as "

Burning in the Heat of Love "Burning in the Heat of Love" is a song by English rock band Slade, released in 1977 as a non-album single. It was written by lead vocalist Noddy Holder and bassist Jim Lea, and was produced by Chas Chandler. The song failed to make an appearanc ...

", "

Give Us a Goal "Give Us a Goal" is a song by English rock band Slade, released in 1978 as a non-album single. It was written by lead vocalist Noddy Holder and bassist Jim Lea, and was produced by Chas Chandler. A football-themed song, it failed to enter the U ...

", "

Rock 'n' Roll Bolero "Rock 'n' Roll Bolero" is a song by English rock band Slade, released on 6 October 1978 as a non-album single. It was written by lead vocalist Noddy Holder and bassist Jim Lea, and was produced by Slade. The song failed to make an appearance in ...

" and "

Ginny, Ginny "Ginny, Ginny" is a song by English rock band Slade, released in 1979 as the lead single from their eighth studio album, ''Return to Base''. It was written by lead vocalist Noddy Holder and bassist Jim Lea, and was produced by Slade. "Ginny, Gin ...

" were all chart failures. In the hope their live reputation would translate to success when released on record, the band released ''Slade Alive, Vol. 2'' in October 1978. However, it too was a commercial failure, and Slade would only regain popularity after performing at the

Reading Festival The Reading and Leeds Festivals are a pair of annual music festivals that take place in Reading, Berkshire, Reading and Leeds in England. The events take place simultaneously on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the August bank holiday weekend ...

in 1980.

Track listing

All songs written by

Noddy Holder Neville John "Noddy" Holder (born 15 June 1946) is an English musician, songwriter and actor. He was the lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the English rock band Slade, one of the UK's most successful acts of the 1970s. Known for his disti ...

and Jim Lea except "My Baby Left Me" by

Arthur Crudup Arthur William "Big Boy" Crudup (August 24, 1905 – March 28, 1974) was an American Delta blues singer, songwriter and guitarist. He is best known, outside blues circles, for his songs " That's All Right" (1946), " My Baby Left Me" and "So ...

Critical reception

Upon the album's release, ''

Record Mirror ''Record Mirror'' was a British weekly music newspaper published between 1954 and 1991, aimed at pop fans and record collectors. Launched two years after ''New Musical Express'', it never attained the circulation of its rival. The first UK Album ...

'' described it as a "worthwhile, if not exactly essential purchase, and enough possibly, to get the group back on an even keel". They added: "Slade are essentially a live band, no matter how good their records are, they'll never match up. All they will ever be are plastic souvenirs of a great live show." ''Superpop'' felt the album captured "exactly what asactually going on" with the band at the time, adding that the album was a "neat little package".

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

retrospectively said: "''Slade Alive, Vol. 2'', like all live Slade, is searing. The album is excellent, both in terms of performance and sound quality. They also did a great job of selecting material for this disc. A nice balance of classics and newer material that hadn't really been heard before. Slade has by this point developed into a full-fledged heavy metal band while retaining everything that made them great in the first place."

Personnel

;Slade *

- lead vocals, rhythm guitar * Dave Hill - lead guitar, backing vocals * Jim Lea - bass, backing vocals *

Don Powell Donald George Powell (born 10 September 1946) is an English musician who was the drummer for glam rock and later hard rock group Slade for over fifty years, from 1966 until he was dismissed by Dave Hill in 2020. Early life Powell was born in Bil ...

- drums ;Additional personnel *

- producer *Alwyn Clayden - design (cover) *Alex Agor - photography *Alan Goldberg - stage lighting

References

{{Slade 1978 live albums Slade live albums Albums produced by Chas Chandler