"How Does It Feel" is song by the British rock band
Slade
Slade are an English Rock music, rock band formed in Wolverhampton in 1966. They rose to prominence during the glam rock era in the early 1970s, achieving 17 consecutive top 20 hits and six number ones on the UK Singles Chart. The ''British H ...
, released in 1975 as the second single from the band's first soundtrack album and fifth studio album '' Slade in Flame'', in promotion of the film of the
same name
''Same Name'' is an American reality television series in which an average person swaps lives with a celebrity of the same first name and surname. It premiered on July 24, 2011 on CBS. The series received low ratings, and CBS pulled it after fou ...
. The song was written by lead vocalist Noddy Holder and bassist Jim Lea, and produced by
Chas Chandler
Bryan James "Chas" Chandler (18 December 1938 – 17 July 1996) was an English musician, record producer and manager, best known as the original bassist in The Animals, for which he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994. He ...
. It reached No. 15 in the UK, remaining in the charts for seven weeks.
Background
By 1974, Slade had become a big success in the UK, Europe and beyond; however the band felt that continuing to provide 'more of the same' was not what they wanted to do. Their manager
Chas Chandler
Bryan James "Chas" Chandler (18 December 1938 – 17 July 1996) was an English musician, record producer and manager, best known as the original bassist in The Animals, for which he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994. He ...
suggested they do a movie, to which the band agreed. To accompany the film, Holder and Lea began writing material for a soundtrack album, which would continue to see the band break out of their successful formula and try different musical ideas. In late 1974, the lead single "Far Far Away" had reached No. 2, while ''Slade in Flame'' peaked at No. 6. Following the film's release in January 1975, it was decided to release "How Does It Feel" as the second single the following month. It reached No. 15, which was the band's first single not to reach the UK Top 5 since their 1971 breakthrough with " Get Down and Get with It".
The melody of "How Does It Feel" was the first Lea had ever written, while he was still in school. He came up with the idea on an old piano which he later described as having half the keys missing. Although the tune never developed any further at that time, Lea later revisited it for use as the theme tune for ''Flame''. Holder wrote the song's lyrics and it became "How Does It Feel". The song featured a brass section, performed by members of
Gonzalez
Gonzalez or González may refer to:
People
* González (surname)
Places
* González, Cesar, Colombia
* González Municipality, Tamaulipas, Mexico
* Gonzalez, Florida, United States
* González Island, Antarctica
* González Anchorage, Antarctica ...
. In the band's 1984 biography ''Feel the Noize!'', Lea recalled: "It was an old song that I'd written and Nod put some great lyrics to it. Tommy Vance said that it was good but that we were in for a hard time. But it didn't matter to me whether it was number one or number 15... to me it was a much better record than we'd made before and that was all I cared about."
Despite the song's disappointing charting, "How Does It Feel" is now widely considered as one of the band's finest songs. In 1999,
Noel Gallagher
Noel Thomas David Gallagher (born 29 May 1967) is an English singer, songwriter, and musician. He was the chief songwriter, lead guitarist, and co-lead vocalist of the rock band Oasis until their split in 2009. After leaving Oasis, he formed ...
of
Oasis
In ecology, an oasis (; ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environmentDave Hill spoke of the song: "It was totally different to anything we had ever done before, but you see we were capable of that sort of thing, though our manager/producer Chas Chandler used to keep us clear from that. Trying to be too clever was considered at the time to be going in another direction."
Release
"How Does It Feel" was released on 7" vinyl by Polydor Records in the UK, Ireland, across Europe, Scandinavia, Yugoslavia, Australia and Japan. In America, it was released by Warner Bros. Records in September 1975. The B-side on the Polydor releases of the single was the ''Slade in Flame'' album track "So Far So Good". In America, "O.K. Yesterday Was Yesterday" featured as the B-side, also taken from ''Slade in Flame''. In the UK, the first 200,000 copies of the single featured a colour sleeve.
Promotion
No music video was created to promote the single. In the UK, the band performed the song on the music show ''
Top of the Pops
''Top of the Pops'' (''TOTP'') is a British music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly between 1January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show. For most o ...
'', ''The Russell Harty Show'' and the children's show ''Crackerjack''. The band also performed the song on the Dutch AVRO TV show ''
TopPop
''TopPop'' is the first regular dedicated pop music television series in the Dutch language area. The Netherlands broadcaster AVRO aired the programme weekly, from 22 September 1970, to 27 June 1988. Presenter Ad Visser hosted for its first fi ...
''.
Critical reception
Upon release, ''
Record Mirror
''Record Mirror'' was a British weekly music newspaper between 1954 and 1991 for pop fans and record collectors. Launched two years after the '' NME'', it never attained the circulation of its rival. The first UK album chart was published in '' ...
'' noted the song was "very different" from Slade's usual sound, with "far less reliance on guitars and far more on an orchestral arrangement". '' Disc'' said the song was one of Slade's best, commented: "Starting quietly it builds up, simmers down, flares up and so on". American magazine '' Cash Box'' listed the single as one of their "picks of the week" during August 1975. They described the song as an "effective, almost ballad-like, single" with "effective vocals and tight licks".
In a review of the ''Slade in Flame'' album, ''Record Mirror'' said: ""How Does It Feel" has a slower relaxed beat with grasping dramatic vocals delivered with as much feeling as Sir Larry's "Richard III"." ''Disc'' said: "For once Noddy's voice is allowed to take almost total precedence and the result is a poignant and unusual number." In a retrospective review of the album, Geoff Ginsberg of
AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the dat ...
commented: "From the opening number, "How Does It Feel," Slade sets a different tone".
Formats
;7" single
#"How Does It Feel" - 4:46
#"So Far So Good" - 2:59
;7" single (US release)
#"How Does It Feel" - 3:15
#"O.K. Yesterday Was Yesterday" - 3:58
;7" single (US promo)
#"How Does It Feel" - 3:15
#"How Does It Feel" - 3:15
Chart performance
Cover versions
* In 2001, English rock vocalist
Chris Farlowe
Chris Farlowe (born John Henry Deighton, 13 October 1940) is an English rock, blues and soul singer. He is best known for his hit single " Out of Time" written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, which rose to No. 1 in the UK Singles Chart in 1 ...
recorded a version of the track for the tribute album ''Slade Remade''.
* In 2006, English rock group
Def Leppard
Def Leppard are an English rock band formed in 1976 in Sheffield. Since 1992, the band has consisted of Rick Savage (bass, backing vocals), Joe Elliott (lead vocals), Rick Allen (drums, backing vocals), Phil Collen (guitar, backing vocals) ...
released their own version of the song as an iTunes exclusive bonus track for their album '' Yeah!''.
*In 2016, English singer-songwriter
James Blunt
James Blunt (born James Hillier Blount; 22 February 1974) is an English singer, songwriter and musician. A former reconnaissance officer in the Life Guards regiment of the British Army, he served under NATO during the 1999 Kosovo War. After ...
performed a version of the song as part of his set at the opening ceremony of the 2016
Invictus Games
The Invictus Games is an international multi-sport event first held in 2014, for wounded, injured and sick servicemen and women, both serving and veterans. The word 'Invictus' means 'unconquered', chosen as an embodiment of the fighting spi ...
in Orlando, Florida.
*In 2017, British singer Joanna Forest released her own version of the song on her debut album ''
Stars Are Rising
''Stars Are Rising'' is the debut album by British soprano Joanna Forest, which was released on 10 March 2017, and went straight to Number One in the Official Classical Album Charts .
Production
The album was recorded in Prague and London with t ...
''. It was released as the album's first single.
Personnel
;Slade
* Noddy Holder - lead vocals, guitar
* Dave Hill - lead guitar, backing vocals
* Jim Lea - bass, piano, organ, flute, backing vocals
* Don Powell - drums
;Additional personnel
*Members of
Gonzalez
Gonzalez or González may refer to:
People
* González (surname)
Places
* González, Cesar, Colombia
* González Municipality, Tamaulipas, Mexico
* Gonzalez, Florida, United States
* González Island, Antarctica
* González Anchorage, Antarctica ...
- brass section
*
Chas Chandler
Bryan James "Chas" Chandler (18 December 1938 – 17 July 1996) was an English musician, record producer and manager, best known as the original bassist in The Animals, for which he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994. He ...