Upon its release, Pete Makowski of
Sounds described
Whatever Happened to Slade as "high energy on a primeval scale", with "strong tunes", "interesting" lyrics and Holder's "lethal vocals". He continued, "It's got all the ball bustin' riffs you'll find nestling comfortably alongside yer
ZZ Tops and
Nugents, and it's got the same suicidal pace of the
Aerosmith's
Rocks album." He was critical of the "slightly flat" production, which he believed "lacks the necessary sparkle" and "trebly bite that people like
Jack Douglas manage to obtain", but added that Chandler still "manage[s] to capture and convey the live spirit of the band" with his "basic and effective" production. Graham Smith of the
Cambridge Evening News summarised, "All the raw animal power is there and the group have definitely come a long way since the days of 'Cum on Feel the Noize' and '
Mama Weer All Crazee Now'." Carol Clerk of the
Acton Gazette noted that the album is "all unpretentious rock 'n' wallop", with Holder's "raucous as ever vocals", "basic, steamroller rhythms" and the "most elementary of [guitar] riffs". She concluded, "In short, it's the same old Slade with the familiar sound of yesteryear. If you liked them then, you'll like them now and you'll like this album." The
Alcester Chronicle remarked that Slade are "still as brash, loud and unsubtle as before". James Belsey of the
Bristol Evening Post noted the album contained "all of Slade's agression, but lack[s] the urgency of their earlier work". David Gritten of the
Birmingham Evening Mail felt that it was an "encouraging enough album" and "far better than their last effort". He was, however, critical of the American influence on what he called a "very smooth sounding album, despite the energy of the playing and their straightforward rock and roll approach". He also believed Holder's vocals were "buried [too] far down in the production mix". Peter Trollope of the
Liverpool Echo stated, "The American style of living has had its impact on their songwriting. Musically they are much the same as ever and can still belt it out with the best of them, but I'm afraid they are nowhere near par for the course on this album."
Charles Shaar Murray of the
NME was not impressed with the album, calling it "loud, shrill and trebly" and remarking that it "sounds like
Status Quo speeded up and stuck inside a large cardboard box". He summarised, "The songs are the standard stuff that you get from bands who've worked a lot in the States: groupie songs, on-the-road songs and cutesy-cutesy-wiv-mah-silver spoon songs, plus hopeful stabs at Colourful Americana, all tricked out with occasional
Beatley side trips and garage band guitar that's almost as terrible as the guitar on
the Stooges'
first album but not nearly as good." Dave Murray of the
Reading Evening Post stated, "Slade return with their usual hard, pulsating rock. There are a couple of reasonable tracks but most of it sounds as though Slade are stuck in their own timewarp, unable to come to terms with the latest punk rock, and at the same time unable to pull themselves free from their early riff-laden sound." A reviewer for the
Wishaw Press commented that the album did not "contain enough good material to justify top priority listening", which they considered to be "just average and easily forgettable attempts at rock and roll". E. R. Bender of
The Northern Echo was negative, writing, "Nothing much new in the music and very few remarkable observations on scenes that have been dealt with a hundred times over by vastly more talented and more interesting bands before them." In the US, Tony Ciarochi of
Fairbanks Daily News-Miner said the album "definitely packs punch", displaying "fairly basic rock 'n' roll" but with "British humor and sarcasm", which makes it a "refreshing change from some of the more bland sledgehammer rock grounds dominant in America."
Retrospective reviews In a retrospective review, Geoff Ginsberg of
AllMusic felt
Whatever Happened to Slade had "a bit of the
Hotter than Hell, early-
Kiss sound", but was "still pure Slade". He described the songs as having "monster riffs and a different production style", concluding "this is a great record". In 2016, Nicholas Pell of
LA Weekly ranked the album at number 14 on his "20 Greatest Classic Rock Albums" list. He summarised: "This isn't just the template for grunge, it's everything good about hair metal 10 years early." He added that "Gypsy Roadhog" and "One Eyed Jacks With Moustaches" as "undeniable rock ragers", and "Dogs of Vengeance" is "what is missing from classic rock radio". ==Track listing==