A classic case of necessity being the mother of invention, Sladest was initially put out as a late 1973 stopgap compilation with a slightly shorter tracklisting in its American version versus the UK one. But whatever version, it’s almost the definitive Slade experience in a nutshell — ‘almost’ because there’s no “Merry Xmas Everybody,” for instance, but so many of their legendary shout-along terrace chant singles, giddy misspellings intact, are here that it’s a perfect starting point, from “Cum On Feel the Noize” to “Mama Weer All Crazee Now” and back again.