Slade Alive Vol

Slade Alive, Vol. 2, like all live Slade, is searing. Unfortunately, it was released into a void in 1978. Now well past having a U.S. record deal, and with no one in England really interested, Vol. 2 came out on Barn, not exactly a major player in the record business. The album is excellent, both in terms of performance and sound quality. They also did a great job of selecting material for this disc. A nice balance of classics (all Top Three singles in their day) and newer material that hadn't really been heard before. The album kicks off with a devastating version of "Get on Up" from Nobody's Fools. This version not only smokes its predecessor, it is the epitome of the Serious Heaviness.

Ilja Richter was born to parents Georg and Eva Richter. Georg was a Communist, who named Ilja after the Russian journalist Ilja Ehrenburg, and Eva was a Jew who survived the Third Reich under a fake Aryan identity. Georg spent nine and a half years in the penitentiary and concentration camp during the Third Reich. After the family was in political difficulties in the GDR, they moved to West Berlin in 1953. There, the Richters leased a restaurant. In 1955, Ilja's sister Janina was born, and in 1959 they moved to Cologne.

Ilja Richter was born to parents Georg and Eva Richter. Georg was a Communist, who named Ilja after the Russian journalist Ilja Ehrenburg, and Eva was a Jew who survived the Third Reich under a fake Aryan identity. Georg spent nine and a half years in the penitentiary and concentration camp during the Third Reich. After the family was in political difficulties in the GDR, they moved to West Berlin in 1953.