10th
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Cum On Feel the Noize: Slade (1973)
If you’re an American, you’re probably more familiar with Quiet Riot’s 1983 cover version. It peaked at #5 on our Billboard charts, while, a full decade earlier in 1973, Slade’s original version barely cracked the top 100. I’ve always been vaguely aware that it was a Slade song, but up until this week, I have (believe it or not) never heard the original.
Now, like many American boys in the 80s, I grew my hair out and pumped my fist in the air. I wore patches on my jean jacket. I was a good kid unwittingly listening to astonishingly offensive anthems of misogyny, substance abuse, and demon worship – all in the name of rock. Quiet Riot’s “Cum On Feel the Noize” ranked high, and remains high, on my chart of Rock-dom. It’s the “Let’s Get It On” of heavy metal – one of those songs that everyone in a room can usually agree on.
Listen to the two versions back to back, and the first thing you’ll notice is that Quiet Riot’s version is far more menacing. It’s in the canon-fire drums and Kevin DuBrow’s vocal that manages to out-banshee Noddy Holder. Ah, but so what? When I first heard Slade’s version a few days ago, I was bowled over by how incredibly fun it sounded – the huge chorus of people singing along, the hand claps, the major key intro, the never-ending maraca shaking, the feel-good Chuck Berry guitar work. But more than anything else, it’s the shifting downbeat of the snare drum that gives Slade’s version its playful wiggle.
It may be because the two versions exist an exact decade apart, or perhaps it’s because one is English and one is American, but the two versions reveal two distinctly different attitudes towards teenage sex and rebellion. Slade’s version is about social outcasts finding solace and a good time in sexual experimentation and rock and roll. Quiet Riot’s version is about those same kids using sex and rock and roll as a weapon. Rather than celebrating the good times, it feels like a threatening message directed at parents, teachers, and anyone else who just doesn’t understand.
Having now heard them both – hands down – I prefer Slade’s version. But then, I just don’t understand.
