Slade in Flame (album) - Critical Reception

Critical Reception

Upon release, reviews were overall positive. One magazine review stated "This is the album from Slade's debut film. The group that's playing is not supposed to be them but the music included here certainly sounds like the Slade we all know and love. Only occasionally, do they stray from the usual mould. The first track is one of those exceptions. It's called How Does It Feel. For once Noddy's voice is allowed to take almost total precedence and the result is a poignant and unusual number. Then we're back to the Slade sound with "Them Kinds Monkeys Can't Swing", and at slightly varying speeds. I like "O.K. Yesterday Was Yesterday", an instantly memorable if predictable number that could easily be a single. Side two opens with "Far Far Away", to my mind one of their more classy hits. Then comes "This Girl" with Noddy sounding more Lennonish than ever. A different number, a little less pleasant lyrically than the standard Slade song and all the better for it. Then we're back to rockers again with their jaunty beat. On the last track, the addition of some saxes and brass adds a lot of depth to "Lay It Down", and that lays down some quite funky music. A touchy album but definitely more good than bad."

Record Mirror magazine wrote "the album comes in a pillar - box red envelope with a sprucy coloured sleeve and a smaller sleeve version (no doubt for your bedroom wall). Because Flame is set in the 1960s, the album has a distinctive 1960's flavour, which should take a few of us hopping down memory lane. "This Girl" is a tarty piece of disco music, with Noddy singing like a frog with a sore throat - the backing on this is particularly ram-bam. Another stomper follows, a ditty of a rocker entitled "Lay It Down", the title track with Noddy, reaching dangerous heights as he bellows "The rise in my voice can sound very queer". "How Does It Feel" has a slower relaxed beat with grasping dramatic vocals delivered with as much feeling as Sir Larry's "Richard III". The closing passage on this number is very stylish, featuring musical flute, symbols, organ and guitar, making this track the Ritziest of the lot. Next comes a supped-up shimmer shaker, "Them Kinda Monkeys Can't Swing", the amusing lyrics making you go apel. Because the songs have been taken out of context, a few of them have lost their charm and meaning but nevertheless, it is an enjoyable elpee."

After the film made an appearance on British TV in December 1987, London Evening Standard advised people to listen to the soundtrack instead of watching the movie, writing "Slade, Tom Conti, Johnny Shannon. Old hat story of a pop groups rise and fall given some mild interest by the clash between the band and the manager's background. Otherwise listen to the soundtrack."

In early 2010, Classic Rock magazine featured Slade as part of their 'The Hard Stuff Buyers Guide' where the magazine reviewed numerous Slade albums. As part of the 'Essential: Classics' section, a review of Slade In Flame wrote "In contrast to the mostly fan-based popularity of 'Slayed?', 'Slade in Flame' is the album that critics tend to cite as the band's best. Although it fell short of following in the footsteps of its predecessors 'Slayed?' and 'Old New Borrorowed and Blue' by topping the British chart, 'Slade in Flame' - the soundtrack to a dark, semi-autobiographical feature film – confirmed that by 1974 Slade's music had moved away from glam-rock that had made them a household name. The band were still capable of being loud and yobbish, of course, but the wistful maturity of the album's singles - 'How Does It Feel' and 'Far Far Away' - began to show evidence of a new versatility."