For those unaware, The Complete Slik Collection [Expanded Edition] is a long overdue career overview of Scottish Glamsters Slik who for around six months in the mid 70s were the biggest most in-demand group in the UK!

This 2CD and wondrous 31 track set contains all of the band’s releases including the UK No.1 ‘Forever And Ever’ which also the Top Ten in Belgium, Holland and Germany.

It also features the UK No.24 hit ‘Requiem’ which also charted in most of mainland Europe and the German hit singles ‘The Kid’s A Punk’ (No.33) and ‘Dancerama’ (No.30), as is all of their self-titled debut album which reached No.58 in the UK charts.

Disc One:
1. The Boogiest Band In Town
2. Hatchet
3. The Getaway
4. Again My Love
5. Forever And Ever
6. Again My Love (Second Version)
7. Requiem
8. Everyday Anyway
9. The Kid’s A Punk
10. Slik Shuffle
11. Dancerama
12. Darlin’
13. Bom-Bom
14. Better Than I Do
15. Do It Again
16. When Will I Be Loved
17. Day By Day
18. No We Won’t Forget You

From nowhere to the top of the world in less than six weeks. When the so stately Forever and Ever topped the U.K. chart in early 1976, Slik surely believed all their birthdays had come at once. And when they went into the studio to cut their debut album, that’s the way they played.

Don’t ever let anyone - Midge Ure included - tell you that Slik is formulaic pap, because they had driving them the sound of two seasoned songwriters in Bill Martin and Phil Coulter jerking the strings of their latest puppet dynasty.

From the glorious beginning that is Forever and Ever to the knucklehead funk of the closing Dancearama, through the growling The Kid’s a Punk to the mournful, moping Requiem, and on to the shocking island bop of Bom-Bom, Slik is unadulterated pop joy; not to mention one of the finest accomplishments in Ure’s entire career, in my humble opinion.

True, there are hints of the songwriter’s past activities to be found in various places here, especially within Don’t Take Your Love Away (on the second disc), which borrows its harmonies and vocal refrains from the Bay City Rollers (and therefore speaks volumes for Slik’s own chosen audience), but for me, it’s also a spunky version of the Everly Brothers’ When Will I Be Loved (which itself has more in common with Dave Edmunds and Rockpile than it does with the tartan terrors, Bay City Rollers), that gave us a view into what other more challenging musical vistas were to come.

Of the two band originals on board, Billy McIsaac’s Darlin’ echoes the kind of tender little ballad which would occupy the later 10cc, whilst Ure’s Do It Again can’t make up its mind whether it’s a cheeky Beatles pastiche or a faithless Rutles cover. Albeit an additional steal from a Motown classic tends to confirm the latter suspicion.

The crowning glories, however, are for me the opulent Requiem, a disinherited second cousin to the Yardbirds’ Heartful of Soul, and Bom-Bom, a mutant calypso which, to the horror of any passing Caribbean music archaeologists, apparently predates the commercial birth of soca (Lord Shorty, Eddy Grant) by a full 18 months!

Of such twisted ironies, however, are rock’s greatest legends made. And Slik deserves nothing less to still be remembered fondly today as one of the best bands that most everyone who loves music has never heard of.

Disc Two:
1. Don’t Take Your Love Away
2. This Side Up
3. Dancerama (Single Version)
4. I Wanna Be Loved
5. It’s Only A Matter Of Time
6. No Star
7. Requiem (Edit DJ Version)
8. Put You In The Picture [P.V.C. 2]
9. Deranged Demented & Free [P.V.C. 2]
10. Pain [P.V.C. 2]
11. Stuck With You[ZONES]
12. No Angels[ZONES]
13. Put You In The Picture [RICH KIDS]

As a bonus, Cherry Red have also added tracks by the New Wave bands that Slik subsequently formed - P.V.C.2, Zones and Rich Kids. The booklet contains detailed liner notes on the band that launched the career of Midge Ure (Visage / Ultravox / Band Aid). Lastly, numerous picture sleeves from across the globe are a feature of the digipak gatefold artwork.

Official Purchase Link