Consumer Guide Album

Slade: Slade Alive! [Polydor, 1972]
More or less the nonstop raver you'd expect, only friendlier, offering a much clearer sense of a performer relating to an audience than most concert LPs. Since I've never laid eyes on loud-man Noddy Holder, maybe it's just that I'm untrammeled by preconceptions, or maybe Holder's such a simpleton he's a cinch to suss, or maybe Holder's a genius. But most likely it's a little of all three. Surprise: the (sweet) pop of "Darling Be Home Soon" works better than the (automatic) overdrive of "Born to Be Wild." Second surprise: just before the final verse, someone approaches the microphone and delivers a very articulate belch. B+