Slade's Merry Xmas - and that Bb chord...

CaseOfAce

It's coming up to that time of year - and out comes this gem  into our xmas setlist again and a chance to marvel at this songwriting.

Such an unexpected chord (for me) in the chorus - going from a G to a Bm - so far so diatonic - and then WALLOP - that Bb chord (..Everbody's havin..) before steadying the ship again onto the D.

Yes - overplayed it might be - and I realise this trick of borrowing from the parallel minor key has probably been done countless times by Bach, jazz cats etc.. but I still find it impressive they slipped this chord change in with the melody over the top and it's seamless.

The whole song is put together like a swiss watch.
Songwriting.

Danny1969

It's an old trick but a good one and yeah, that song is a superb bit of songwriting. 

jpfamps

Indeed it is a very cleverly written song.

The descending bass line under the second Bb the is also very cool.

Slade where one of the most all time successful bands in the UK singles charts.

axisus

I marvel at you guys who can analyse stuff. I just hear music ...

Gassage

Far Far Away is similar. A lovely bass run with a sneaky C#M to B over the chord of D.

chromatuna

Jim Lea’s work I would imagine. It’s a shame that they got less interesting as time went by and didn’t have a better lead guitarist. I was a big fan for a couple of years from about 1972 (I was 12 then). How Does It Feel is still one of my favourite songs ever

vasselmeyer

Criminally underrated songwriters. They are known for their anthems but they wrote really well-crafted songs. Some super lyrics as well.

Gassage

chromatuna said:

Jim Lea’s work I would imagine. It’s a shame that they got less interesting as time went by and didn’t have a better lead guitarist. I was a big fan for a couple of years from about 1972 (I was 12 then). How Does It Feel is still one of my favourite songs ever

Jim is poorly with prostate cancer. He recently sold off a load of his Slade memorabillia to fund his treatment.

Gassage

What is quite amazing there is Noddy's vocal performance- he is far more subtle than people first realise. A genuine vocal great....

CaseOfAce

chromatuna said:

Jim Lea’s work I would imagine. It’s a shame that they got less interesting as time went by and didn’t have a better lead guitarist. I was a big fan for a couple of years from about 1972 (I was 12 then). How Does It Feel is still one of my favourite songs ever

woah Hey now..! i'm not letting that one by  - Dave Hill is no slouch on lead guitar.

Listen to the lead break here at 2:30 -it's just perfect for the song...melodic, tasty, doesn't outstand it's welcome..

Slade - The Myzsterious Mizster Jones - YouTube

axisus said:

I marvel at you guys who can analyse stuff. I just hear music ...

that's the point - you don't notice the "clever" chord change - it's just seamless. Doesn't draw attention to itself.

Jaycee

axisus said:

I marvel at you guys who can analyse stuff. I just hear music ...

That makes two of us ....

LPManic

Slade - the 70s Oasis. Merry Xmas Everyone is probably the best Xmas song and probably it's because of that chord. 

guitarjack66

LPManic said:

Slade - the 70s Oasis. Merry Xmas Everyone is probably the best Xmas song and probably it's because of that chord. 

Oasis,the 90s Slade tribute band you mean.

slacker

chromatuna said:

Jim Lea’s work I would imagine. It’s a shame that they got less interesting as time went by and didn’t have a better lead guitarist. I was a big fan for a couple of years from about 1972 (I was 12 then). How Does It Feel is still one of my favourite songs ever

imho he's not the best but

It's Slade not Deep Purple.

In 70s glam bands they always had a flamboyant and or mental one.

Listen to the lead guitar parts in a song(merry christmas) with no solo and heavy keyboard parts. There's some decent little finger riffery going on.

Yes Jim was the multi instrumental song writing powerhouse but Dave played bass in the early days and is a half decent guitarist as well as being a visual foil when the front man is static at the Mic for large parts of the set.

chromatuna

@CaseOfAce and @slacker I am sure the Super Yob would appreciate your points.  I do wonder if that nifty little solo on Myzsteriius is actually Dave’s work though. From what I have read Jim ended up playing a lot of the studio guitar later on. I don’t think I have ever heard that track as my interest in them waned after In Flame although I did see them at the Music Machine (now Koko) and Reading festival (yes that one) much later on. I guess my point is that I didn’t hear anything much from Dave live other than Chuck Berry derived licks and that an additional stronger musical influence (guitarist interested in developing a little) might have broadened their appeal. In my case kept their earlier fans more interested - I drifted away to Queen, Lizzy, Sabbath etc. in my mid teens.

On a tangential note, the most excellent all female tribute band Slady need a new guitarist for 2022 so if you know anyone point them their way

lustycourtier

guitarjack66 said:

LPManic said:

Slade - the 70s Oasis. Merry Xmas Everyone is probably the best Xmas song and probably it's because of that chord. 

Oasis,the 90s Slade tribute band you mean.

Its interesting that. Im a huge Oasis fan (play in a tribute etc) and the 'beatles' thing always drove me mad as Oasis owe way more to Slade and the Sex pistols than the beatles

Whistler

chromatuna said:

On a tangential note, the most excellent all female tribute band Slady need a new guitarist for 2022 so if you know anyone point them their way

Don't forget that as an all female band applicants must be female guitarists.

pintspiller

I'd wondered what key the song was in when I started playing in bands and assumed it was G or D or variation thereof. 

guitarjack66

Whistler said:

chromatuna said:

On a tangential note, the most excellent all female tribute band Slady need a new guitarist for 2022 so if you know anyone point them their way

Don't forget that as an all female band applicants must be female guitarists.

You can just identify as a woman for gigs and go back to normal in between.

Gassage

So this thread inspired me to find this old classic. When I was a kid, I loved this song. I really enjoyed listening to it now. Nod should have sung it a step lower in retrospect.....bass playing is fab and some tasty lead work too, for once.

StageStruck

chromatuna said:

@CaseOfAce and @slacker I am sure the Super Yob would appreciate your points.  I do wonder if that nifty little solo on Myzsteriius is actually Dave’s work though. From what I have read Jim ended up playing a lot of the studio guitar later on. I don’t think I have ever heard that track as my interest in them waned after In Flame although I did see them at the Music Machine (now Koko) and Reading festival (yes that one) much later on. I guess my point is that I didn’t hear anything much from Dave live other than Chuck Berry derived licks and that an additional stronger musical influence (guitarist interested in developing a little) might have broadened their appeal. In my case kept their earlier fans more interested - I drifted away to Queen, Lizzy, Sabbath etc. in my mid teens.

On a tangential note, the most excellent all female tribute band Slady need a new guitarist for 2022 so if you know anyone point them their way

Just to add to that, Jim Lea is a fairly decent lead guitar player. Check out his solo album Therapy and the live album from the only show he's played since quitting Slade. The live set is mainly covers, but Jim is excellent on this. As for the studio album, if it had been backed and promoted at the time by a major label, it may have been a hit. It's a very good commercial pop-rock album that showed that Jim had lost none of his songwriting prowess.