Slade's re-issue program continues apace with the re-issue of Beginnings the band's first album, that came out under the name Ambrose Slade, as they moved from being the 5 piece The N'Betweens to the 4 Piece Ambrose Slade, apparently a band name chosen by using the names the secretary of label boss Jack Baverstock used to call her compact and handbag! It's clear to hear Slades sound developing under all the psychedelics of the late 60's, as the classic line-up of Noddy Holder, Dave Hill, Don Powell and Jimmy Lea start to flex their musical muscles. This album as was normal back then, is a mix of well-chosen covers and 5 originals if you include the bonus track.
The album opens with the bands first single as Ambrose Slade the instrumental Genesis that they eventually added lyrics too and re-named Know Who You Are, in this embryonic form, it's a psych space rock tune with a good freak out, built around a solid bassline line and drums, when the keyboards kick in they are using every space effect they can.
Everybody's Next One is a cover of the Steppenwolf song, in Ambrose Slade's hands, this is a rather louche 60's pop rock song with a central character who is a woman, who can't figure out why she is always Everybody's Next One which would be a very 60's hippy way of looking at promiscuity, wrapped up in a good stomping song.
Knocking Nails Into My House is a sad tale of what happens when your house has either been condemned, or you failed to pay the rent, as the man In a van shows up to board up your house, as your left out on the streets, with Noddy sounding like this comes from personal experience, even though this was originally by The Idle Race and written by Jeff Lynne.
Roach Daddy is the first song (with lyrics) written by Slade and has a classic sing along chorus, although more psychedelic than they became it still sounds like Slade, as they try to get it together once more, the musical freak out is psych blues magic.
Ain't Got No Heart takes the Frank Zappa song of nihilist intent, to live a life without love and manage to make it sound far less dark than it might, the keyboards battling with the guitars for supremacy in the middle section.
Pity The Mother is a sad tale of a mother having to give up her baby for adoption, from the sounds of it unwillingly, as galloping strings accent the sadder parts of this Jimmy Lea/Noddy holder song.
Mad Dog Cole sounds like a freak beat intro to a mad dark Birmingham underworld thriller, about an audacious villain Mad Dog Cole.
Fly Me High is a raw take on the Moody Blues classic, with Noddy sounding as raw as ever against the twanging guitars.
They then take on Marvin Gayes If This World Was Mine that is one of the slowest, quietest songs I've heard Slade sing, they almost become a soul pop band on this song of longing, hoping she'll be there's.
When the album was recorded it would have been almost de rigueur to cover a Beatles song, so they thankfully don't take an obvious choice, instead producing a string laden take on Martha My Dear that doesn't sound particularly Beatlesque that has to be an achievement.
We then get Ambrose Slade's first take on Born To Be Wild a song they covered throughout their career as Slade, this version is psychedelic pop brilliance, with a cool drum breakdown and is lighter than the later stomp along versions.
The original album closed with journey To the Centre Of Your Mind from the days when Ted Nugent was still considered cool and you could cover great songs like this, another psyche rock nugget.
The one bonus song is One Way Hotel a song for someone down on his luck as it sounds like he's describing a night in a doss house, or as it slowly reveals a mental institution, over a slow laid-back tune as Noddy admits he was done for, thankfully he wasn't he was only just beginning to shine.
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