It’s safe to say that Slade wouldn’t be such a big part of the cultural fabric if it weren’t for Dave Hill. While it’s undeniably true that he didn’t write the band’s biggest hits, he was certainly responsible for the eye-watering amounts they sold. Even when the band made a triumphant return in 1980 with a parred-back aesthetic, there was still an aura surrounding Dave (a Ready Brek glow, if you will), an irrepressible quality guaranteed to liven and record/performance. Stepping outside the confines of Slade (but not leaving them behind), latest solo album, Dirty Foot Lane, is a welcome addition to the Dave Hill legacy.
Those only familiar with Dave’s incarnation as Slade rabble-rouser might be surprised at the low key introduction of opening track ‘Thanks For The Good Times’. Rather than running in stage left on platform shoes, amidst exploding pyrotechnics and ticker tape, this is a more thoughtful, whimsical way to start an album, but it is no less powerful. In fact, it’s just as arresting as those bombastic Slade rockers, only in a more insidious way; that melody will slowly ingratiate itself into your psyche like ivy around a statue and once inside it won’t be leaving anytime soon. Yet, even as Dave enters his eightieth year, he’s far from being static and the following ‘Back In The Air Again’ finds him on more familiar ground, plugged in and amplified and delivering a muscular type of boogie rock of which classic Quo would’ve been proud. It’s the only track on the album that features a co-write (the rest being composed by Dave), which makes it strange that his name didn’t appear on more Slade songs because he’s served up ten tracks of quality penmanship, each having chart-bothering potential.
Thankfully, Dave Hill isn’t the type of artist to tear up his roots (but with roots such as his, why would he?) and there are nods to Slade amongst these tracks; ‘Dust My Axe’ having that ‘Coz I Luv You’ stomp and ‘She Had A Troubled Heart’ the psychedelic swirl of Beginnings while ‘Fast Train’ has the metal riffage of Till Deaf Do Us Part. Those allusions are understandable as Dirty Foot Lane was produced, mixed and mastered by Noddy’s son Django. However, Dave has stamped enough of his personality on tracks such as ‘Only Fools And Horses’ to ensure this is no mere exercise in nostalgia. Fans of Slade won’t be disappointed, yet the effervescence found on ‘Play It To The Crowd’ (a track that could swing with the Rolling Stones, and possibly win) is buoyant enough to win new admirers to the fold. This album also evidences a generous nature; four tracks have been sung by bassist John Berry, which actually works rather well, his voice more suited to the rockier cuts.
The title-track is a slow builder and makes for an impressive closer, a song that completes the album’s creative curve and brings the album back to its genesis and mirrors the cyclical nature of life, making Dirty Foot Lane a destination you’ll want to visit again and again.
- Dirty Foot Lane is available now (from here).
- Dave Hill’s Slade
Track List:
- Thanks For The Good Times
- Back In The Air Again
- Dust My Axe
- She Had A Troubled Heart
- Sweet And Tender
- Fast Train
- Only Fools And Horses
- Play It To The Crowd
- Reasons To Succeed
- Dirty Foot Lane
