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"Tell ya what I'm
about, Gonna make your toenails curl' - "Tear Ya Down"
 What more introduction do you need? Finally! A fantastic reissue series
that seriously shames Motorhead's near contemporaries...remember the
re-packaged AC/DC back-catalogue of a few years ago?
Yes, mere pictures of Angus arsing about ain't exactly gonna make yer
average rocker rip open the ravished bank account and buy the exact same
record without any extras apart from slightly more middle-class people
carrying packaging. They also put to rest those awful tacky Castle
Communications twofers of yesteryear and put (bang) to rights these metal
masterpieces. Nope, in true testament to Lemmy and co's renowned respect
for the hard won but hard dying Motorhead banger fanbase these are
comprehensive overviews, coupling like a perfect tonic n' twister each
classic knuckleduster album (or two classics and one hamstrung hobbler out
on the wing, if you go by the history books and believe all you read) with
a live set, radio sessions, b-sides and alt versions, charting their
bullet train blaspheme blast of bullet-proof uber biker blues up to the
leaner mid-eighties period, before Lemmy got the full fanfare and esteem
he
deserves and has fuckin' earnt.
As well as the
obscure to the general by-stander b-sides like 'Dirty Love' and the
awesome 'Remember Me, I'm Gone' you have commendable and kinda applaudable
alt versions of 'Ace Of Spades' which thankfully, and more so interestingly,
isn't simply a different mix as you find with the 18 and a half versions
of 'Free Bird' on compilations sold on the strength of a long lost version
of said song, rather they are sketches of works in process, well...they
sound like demos dashed off before the boozer to get a
rough track down lest they forget, but are all the better for it. And sure
some of it's as over the top as the band themselves. I know it's about the
only one where the words are discernible but three versions of 'Louie
Louie'!
And the rest? Well, simply some of the most important and perfect
bastardised teethgrinding boogie ever played. Like on all the greatest
Rock'n'Roll you can just bask in the barrage of 'Over Kill' and 'No
Class', the inexplicable energy rush of the synapse collapsing serotonin
head caress of all this dim lights thick smoke and loud LOUD music...but
there's only been one band where you can air drum along to Philthy Taylor
chomping his teeth down so much he's spitting shards of drumstick while
simultaneously looking sublimely cool...Shout along to Lemmy's razor
sharp straight talkin' ribald rottweiler in a ragdoll rodeo, laugh at
witty wisecracks lobbed in there to bite yer ass like a lobster on a last
ditch attempt to escape being chosen for the stove, rejoice in the
rejuvenating powers of Rock'n'Roll...the proudly individualist philosophy
of stand up and be counted and be who you are which would otherwise sound
like a bad Saxon song, but instead it's like a dissertation
on Twisted Sisters 'I Am ('I'm Me)' classic, but the 'Head look at every
grim, gritty, gnarled and noxious angle.
Anthemic and
euphoric, nasty and squalid. It's a pointless exercise selecting any
overall 'best', suffice to say that the malingered against 'Iron Fist' is
just as good as the other two 'recognized' classics, maybe it's cos I
heard that one first all those years back (what was it Lemmy said about
getting new parents if yours like Motorhead?). All three are milestones
but not museum pieces. They're great vintage Rock n rabble records but
also stand alone today amongst all these blues based unleaded garage
bands.
Where Motorhead,
like AC/DC and Rose Tattoo are heavily blues based, if the blues had a
baby and called it Rock'n'Roll, then it sure disowned it's
grandchild. And is now calling back up to claim some credit. Much maligned
over the years the band, and Lemmy hisself, are prime examples of winning
through from sheer obstinacy and belief and a certain tunnel vision, cast
aside due to their single-minded will, sheer sullen obduracy and a
somewhat cartoon-ish
image. Like they care! Hopefully these re-issues would help address the
balance in their favour. Like they
care!
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