Here's my thoughts on Motorhead's discography.
Warning, might get kinda warbly! Not working with much expertise here, mostly feels.
Just studio albums for now, plus Hammersmith because it is transcendentally important to Motorhead canon. Writing this up makes me want to revisit four albums I rated low: Rock N' Roll, March Or Die, Hammered and The World Is Yours. If you think I've been a bit fuzzy on 'em you're probably right.
Quick ratings reference (clusters ordered chronologically):
Super Recommend
OVERKILL
BOMBER
ACE OF SPADES
NO SLEEP TIL HAMMERSMITH
SACRIFICE
WE ARE MOTORHEAD
INFERNO
MOTORIZER
AFTERSHOCK
Strong Recommend
MOTORHEAD
ANOTHER PERFECT DAY
1916
BASTARDS
OVERNIGHT SENSATION
BAD MAGIC
Ok Recommend
IRON FIST
ORGASMATRON
ROCK N' ROLL
SNAKE BITE LOVE
KISS OF DEATH
THE WORLD IS YOURS
Meh Recommend
MARCH OR DIE
HAMMERED
Not Recommend
N/A
Turkey Recommend
N/A
---
Individual album reviews (ordered chronologically)
MOTORHEAD [1976] (Kilmister/Clarke/Taylor)
Swaggering, horny, good-humoured rock n' roll wreathed in punk sneer and prog grandeur. The punk aspect would soon explode forth as the prog sharply receded, making this a refreshing listen when you want something adventurous yet primordially raw from the classic lineup.
"Motörhead! Remember me, now! Motörhead, alright?"
Although it's the subsequent trio of albums that defined Motorhead, this shouldn't be thought of as a false start. The chassis is similar, but the balance of rock/punk/prog is very different, and results in some excellent oneoffs you won't hear elsewhere - like the stoical march through fever dreams of "Lost Johnny," rock-steady Fast Eddie showcase "Keep Us On The Road," and sleek, sinister dark rocker "The Watcher."
MOTORHEAD
WHITE LINE FEVER
THE WATCHER
OVERKILL [1979]
Lemmy, Eddie and Philthy arrive in earnest. Crunching bluesy rock n' roll exuding punk savagery and explosive proto-thrash speed. Not averse to trippier passages either - cascading "Metropolis" and pummeling yet ethereal "Capricorn" - as blues crushers "I'll Be Your Sister" and "Damage Case" swing lethal heft to seamless grooves.
"I'm gonna tear you limb from limb."
This album's sole weakness is
Hammersmith having 50% of its songs in even harder, faster form - but the rock-steadier studio takes hold their own, and the exclusives are uniformly killer.
I'LL BE YOUR SISTER
DAMAGE CASE
LIMB FROM LIMB
BOMBER [1979]
"Talking Head" is a vanishingly rare early dud that Lemmy himself disliked. Chop it. Otherwise, the resolute middle chapter of the classic trilogy. Released in quick turnaround to press the advantage of
Overkill, though its quality gives no hints of a rushed production.
"Ain't a hope in hell! Nothing's gonna bring us down!"
Eddie Clarke once said he disliked this record, but he would seem to be its clear MVP, right from the opening air-raid wails of "Dead Men Tell No Tales." "Poison" an underrated, anthemic, autobiographical blast of venom with a paint-strippingly intense solo; career highlight "Stone Dead Forever" finds him in a more contemplative, lyrical mode. Elsewhere, a one-time and excellent lead vocal from Clarke makes up the poon quota: "Step Down," a yowl of indomitable lust from man and guitar alike. "Bomber" is the boppier yet no less relentless rock n' roller to Overkill's jackhammering proto-thrasher. "Sweet Revenge" a bit daft, but also genuinely atmospheric and hilariously OTT.
POISON
STEP DOWN
BOMBER
ACE OF SPADES [1980]
Their masterpiece and benchmark. The prior two classics' violent, punk-encrusted rock n' roll, subtly metallized and streamlined for lethal airspeed. Tuned to slash more than smash, with a rack of razor-sharp riffs.
"Take one look and die."
The famed title burner and speed demons like "Fire Fire" and "The Hammer" are far from this LP's only mode. "Love Me Like A Reptile" and "Shoot You In The Back" throttle just enough for their irresistible hooks to sink in, while "We Are The Road Crew" expertly leverages its beat for head-stomping intensity; the midtempo is well-stocked by twin blues pounders "Fast And Loose" and "Jailbait." Even as the cowboy-cosplaying blitzkrieg rains, authentic boogie "Dance" and easy-grooving "Chase Is Better Than The Catch" affirm these men as no mere ruffians, but consummate masters of rock n' roll. Even runt of the litter "Live To Win" is a sleek killer by lesser bands' standards.
An indestructible slab of utterly rare rock/punk/metal alchemy.
LOVE ME LIKE A REPTILE
FAST AND LOOSE
THE CHASE IS BETTER THAN THE CATCH
NO SLEEP TIL HAMMERSMITH [1981]
Live album of legendary intensity, effectively a greatest hits of the preceding five years. #1 UK hit; Lemmy forever rued the perceived impossibility of topping it. Worth it. I suggest sticking to the original, single-disc release... the extra tracks found on later deluxe editions are fun, and worth hearing, but they slightly diffuse the bunker-busting impact of the original runtime.
OVERKILL
THE HAMMER
WE ARE THE ROAD CREW
IRON FIST [1982]
Stumble! What the fuck are you doing with
Viking cosplay?! Troubled production and an audibly exhausted band deflate this one. A rung beneath the debut, never mind the classic trilogy. However, there are certainly some solid hits here - chiefly the canonically classic title track. Even the lesser stuff is more middling than anything offensive. Passable album that feels like a brutal flop given what came immediately before.
"Can't go on but you can't go back!"
IRON FIST
GO TO HELL
LOSER
ANOTHER PERFECT DAY [1984] (Clarke out; Robertson in)
Underrated! And utterly unique! A marginally slower and more melodic record...
by Motorhead standards. In mortal terms it's absolutely balls-hard, swiftly annihilating the fatigued
Iron Fist. Brian Robertson's short tenure was infamously troubled, with Lemmy taking particular offense at his love of headbands and battyriders.
Musically, though, his shimmering tone and seamless licks are unimpeachable - the contrast with Lemmy and Phil's thundering presence creating an unlikely gem of the canon.
BACK AT THE FUNNY FARM
DANCING ON YOUR GRAVE
ANOTHER PERFECT DAY
ORGASMATRON [1986] (Taylor and Robertson out; Gill, Wurzel and permanent fixture Campbell in)
Lemmy continues to battle hard but without direction, in the wake of a laser-focused early run. Now Philthy's gone too, as is Robertson, with Lemmy opting to double up on guitarists Phil Campbell and Wurzel for a four-piece. Ironically, the weak production makes the band sound thinner than they ever did as a trio (or ever would again as a quartet).
This marks the start of what I term Motorhead's "ordinary period," spanning roughly to the end of the decade. They're entirely professional, but are losing their signature punk/thrash hybrid edge in favour of generic 1980s hard rock. Likely no coincidence that Lemmy was embroiled in legal bullshit around this time, and pursuing a minor acting gig.
As usual, Lemmy refuses to go down without landing a few solid hits - most notably the cathartic bellowing kickoff "Deaf Forever," and concert opener mainstay "Doctor Rock" (whose infectious bounce easily redeems Iron Fist's lame attempt at
Carry On Matron-esque antics). Would-be title track "Ridin' With The Driver" has impressive pace and incandescent lyrical fury, but the crap mix blunts its impact. About the only song not tarnished by the mixing desk is the pulsing, theatrically diabolical title track - good albeit gimmicky fun, and Lem's first brush with a cosmic malevolence that'd become prominent in later years.
"I hope you sons of bitches see the light!"
DEAF FOREVER
RIDIN' WITH THE DRIVER
DOCTOR ROCK
ROCK N' ROLL [1987] (Gill out, Taylor returns)
See Orgasmatron, basically. Solidly mundane hard rock, bolstered by Lem's sheer presence and a couple truly ferocious hits: the invincibly catchy anthemic rocker "Black Heart," and devastating speed metal assault "The Wolf."
But then, regarding "The Wolf..." I generally love Monty Python, and it's cool they got Michael Palin to do an intro, but this was
not the fucking time. You've also got to sit through the wowling of a conspicuously fruity-sounding "wolf" before, at fucking last, Philthy's drums save the day. What should be a bloodening racket is more of a rescue from inanity. It's like they wanted to bury this proud shredder under a ton of dumb shit.
Ah well. Skip the fuck out of it (or do like me and chop the file in an editor
).
BLACK HEART
THE WOLF
1916 [1991]
This is more the fuck like it! Lemmy gets a much-needed boost by moving to LA and cashing in on his now-esteemed stature in the rock/metal community. Although 1916 is undeniably commercial-leaning, sometimes sleepily so (chop out "Angel City"), it largely restores the gashing fury lost in Hammersmith's wake. "The One To Sing The Blues" packs a granite-crackingly hard riff, propelling one of Lemmy's most soulful laments to lost booty; "Make My Day" stokes its raw carnality into a positively plaintive howl of want, Phil Campbell's solo an incendiary lyrical release. Tribute to close friends and fellow punk/rock crossover heroes "R.A.M.O.N.E.S." dispels any potential mawkishness with a savage street-level barrage to do both outfits proud.
"Pretty mean when it wants to be!"
I'm not big on ambient experiment "Nightmare: The Dreamtime," chop chop. However "Love Me Forever" is excellent, a blistering dark crooner presaging Lem's knack for stoic balladry. The title track's cello-accompanied requiem may seem a Spinal Tap disaster on paper, but acquits itself with brevity and humility.
Overall, a bit too commercial a record for my tastes - but the quality is undeniable, and it's not without some of the entire canon's most potently lustful vitriol.
THE ONE TO SING THE BLUES
MAKE MY DAY
R.A.M.O.N.E.S.
MARCH OR DIE [1992] (fuckton of drummers sessioning, incl. future fixture Mikkey Dee)
Slippin' back down again. Not offensive, just forgettable, again. This would be Lemmy's last overt attempt at chasing mainstream popularity - the best thing to come out of this period is probably his earning more by writing a couple songs for Ozzy than he had in his entire thirty-year career up to then.
I find this record kinda uninspiring tbh - it's easily the one I've put the least hours into here, so I may well be lowballing (or even highballing) it. Again, my favourite thing isn't the music itself, but Lemmy's rad story of recording vocals at the studio during the LA riots, seeing a burning building on the TV, and realising it was the one he was standing in.
BASTARDS [1993] (Taylor out again, Dee in)
1916 mkii, tuned towards the harder end of the spectrum. As there, it effortlessly balances airplay-friendly rock and shattering punky intensity. "Burner" is not the only battering assault! See also derangedly rambunctious ass-shaker "On Your Feet Or On Your Knees" and grimly catchy martial duo "Death Or Glory" and "I Am The Sword." The rollicking singalong of "Born To Raise Hell" isn't my thing, but it's eminently respectable radio material. "Lost In The Ozone" continues Lemmy's establishment as a deceptively adept balladeer...
...though he somewhat sabotages his own LP by placing the overwhelming "Don't Let Daddy Kiss Me" smack in the middle. Not for any lack of quality (it is superb on all counts), it is just a punishingly tragic song whose impact can't help colouring the rest of the album. Legend has it Lemmy had originally shopped it to Joan Jett, Lita Ford and other female peers to positive reception, but after no agreements emerged he decided to just do it himself. He sounds like he's pleading with God to intervene while silently yearning to punch his fucking lights out in disgust. I know that feel, I know you all do too.
I like to move it to the penultimate track so the others can breathe a bit.
Super solid record that, just like
1916, is a little soft overall but never dishonourably so.
ON YOUR FEET OR ON YOUR KNEES
BURNER
DEATH OR GLORY
SACRIFICE [1995]
Finally back to remorseless, unvarnished form. A gruelingly sludgy guitar tone, a relentlessly guttural Lemmy and sometimes punishingly un-hooky writing may turn some off... but as a fan of doomier, more percussion-driven stuff, this record is motherfucking catnip. It's no one trick pony, either - packing speedy headbangers "Sex & Death" and its groovier companion "Dog Face Boy," a couple mini-epics in heroic fantasy "All Gone To Hell" and darkly autobiographical "In Another Time," plus the authentic honky-tonk of "Don't Waste Your Time" and slow-burning tribal death roar "Make 'Em Blind." Super unforgiving, super solid.
Cold, in the arms of the dead
I still hear them talk
Telling jokes in my head
SACRIFICE
SEX & DEATH
ORDER / FADE TO BLACK (I love this song
sooo fucking much! ;-; )
OVERNIGHT SENSATION [1996] (Wurzel out; Lemmy/Phil/Mikkey lineup persists for rest of band's career; fuck "revolving door lineup" rock journo cliches)
Underrated pt2! A bizarrely yet excellently dualistic record. Not only is it almost 50/50 between violence and pop... it also loves to deploy each side in alternating sequence. "Civil War"'s murderous opening blast is as grim as anything they've ever done; "Crazy Like A Fox"'s joyous quest for poon sounds like Lemmy is doing backflips in the vocal booth. "Eat The Gun" is knowingly ridiculous, violence-crazed macho-mania; "Broken" is gleaming pop metal with a chromium-plated chorus hook, conspicuously near Judas Priest's "Turbo Lover."
And so on, right to the end. "Shake The World" rumbles with morose amelodic doom, while "Listen To Your Heart" is every bit the acoustic hippy sing-along of Lemmy's youth that its name suggests. It's all consistently good, as well - the only real misstep coming in otherwise affecting dirge "I Don't Believe A Word" being a couple minutes overlong.
A lesser-feted Motorhead record, with total command of its unusual split personality. Highly recommended if you appreciate both extremes of the band's palette!
CIVIL WAR
CRAZY LIKE A FOX
BROKEN
SNAKE BITE LOVE [1998]
Solidly unremarkable in the main and yet still, yes you guessed it, packing a few supremely worthy cuts. You could really make a compilation album of all these. Actually that's a great idea, if I do say so meself!
"Love For Sale" is an impeccably bog-standard raucous rocker; "Joy of Labour" a bluesy cruncher, unexpectedly vulnerable in its rasps of confession. Absolute standout is the wounded requiem "Dead and Gone," a dynamic masterpiece of enveloping verses and earth-shattering hooks.
Turn me down, turn me down
Step back and I hit the ground
Turn me on, turn me on
Everything I do is wrong
LOVE FOR SALE
JOY OF LABOUR
DEAD AND GONE
WE ARE MOTORHEAD [2000]
A punky light-alloy murder machine, with something foreign jamming up its works. Ah! It's a nice but pointless Sex Pistols cover. Chop it the fuck out, and let's get the fuck going. Lusty fusillade "See Me Burning" sets the tone, heavier but equally resolute poon-chaser "Slow Dance" expertly dials back, the marvelously-titled "STAY OUT OF JAIL" rockets off again... and here is where that crummy cover would jam things up, but it's gone now and "OUT TO LUNCH" is here!
Built for speed with simple, catchy, relentless buzzsaw riffs; also packs perhaps Lemmy's most sparely affecting ballad in the gently defiant "One More Fucking Time," plus a stirring mini-epic of beautiful interplays in "Wake The Dead," and a blistering barnburner to match
Ace of Spades and
Iron Fist in the closing title track.
We are the ones you love, or we're the ones you hate
We are the ones always too early or too late
We are the first and we just still might be the last
We are Motorhead! Born to kick your ass!
Excellent record - I blast this one from end to end without regrets every time. After, uh, chopping the Pistols. Yep. Covers don't count imo, unless they're good!
SEE ME BURNING
SLOW DANCE
WAKE THE DEAD
HAMMERED [2002]
Lemmy's health takes a hard knock as he is confirmed diabetic, and this record perhaps understandably doesn't excel. Diehard fans might find its more offbeat elements worth investigating - "Walk A Crooked Mile" sounds like nothing they ever did, and honestly isn't bad for a milder, melodic album opener. "Voices From The War" is an isolated metal goodie, though nothing much in the grand scheme of things.
Lemmy struck up a close friendship with pro wrestler and longtime fan Triple H around this time, and Motorhead contributed his next ring entrance theme. I think that song was on some pressings? Don't believe I've ever encountered it. More than one person has said it helps redeem an otherwise blah record. Next to "March or Die" this is the MH album I've spent the least time with... I should probably give it another crack sometime.
INFERNO [2004]
The triumphantly hellacious benchmark of the band's clobbering fourth and final decade - bolstered by the producer who'd stay to the end, Cameron Webb. Tonally reminiscent of
Sacrifice, balancing gloriously grueling downtempo ("Suicide") with blasts of ripping speed ("Fight"); Webb adds killer mass to already bludgeoning compositions. There's also some supremely catchy - yet heavy! - radiofriendly stuff here, too ("Life's A Bitch," "Down On Me," "In The Black"). A profoundly heavy yet sublimely agile, well-balanced record, and a perfect entry point for latter-years Motorhead.
IN THE NAME OF TRAGEDY
SUICIDE
IN THE BLACK
KISS OF DEATH [2006]
A competent enough holding pattern for the abrasive, violent
Inferno sound, but its songwriting just isn't as strong. Not to be ditched entirely, but as discussed in my previous post, be prepared to chop a few. "Living In The Past" and "Going Down" are among the most forgettable tracks of this era. "Kingdom of the Worm" is a monstrously beefed-up
Sacrifice, gaining bone-jarring bulk but losing too much velocity. "Sword of Glory" is lyrically one of Lem's finest anti-war efforts, but seems continually at odds with its upbeat disposition. Missed the mark slightly there.
Of the better militant tracks, the snarlingly contemptuous opener "Sucker" is an excellent start. "God Was Never On Your Side" is a fairly standard acoustic ballad given weight by Lem's always compelling mastery of tone and some fine arrangement.
Otherwise, despite the album art's awesome show of arms, ol' Lem seems to have fared
much better with the shagging songs. "One Night Stand" is a bucking hedonistic joy; "Under The Gun" is the absolute filthiest blues grinder he ever wrought; "Be My Baby" has a killer gnashing riff with a winningly cathartic chorus. "Christine" is a charmingly modest no-frills paean; its opposite number "Devil I Know" sports a wicked pulsing riff, driving an amusingly venomous tale of romance gone bad. In ambiguously darker territory, athletically bounding "Trigger" invokes harried pursuit, offset with some wryly self-deprecating nods to Lem's advancing years.
Never mind the dicky ticker!
I get the feeling this album could've used different presentation. It's a cheerfully brazen sex record with a light dusting of BRUTAL WAR, not the other way around. Oh well! Some pressings include a cover of Metallica's "Whiplash," which Motorhead won a Grammy for (to Lemmy's bemusement). I don't care about all that, but the cover itself is quite excellent and easily worth swapping in to boost a slightly underwhelming record.
ONE NIGHT STAND
UNDER THE GUN
BE MY BABY
MOTORIZER [2008]
A swift return to form, for my money surpassing even
Inferno. Bullseye after bullseye across the entirety of the band's not especially wide but always masterful gamut. Obscenely catchy boogie ("Runaround Man"), bad-tempered hard rock ("Teach You How To Sing The Blues,") bluesy stomp ("Back On The Chain"), floor-shattering heavy metal ("When The Eagle Screams"), joyfully rollicking paeans to poon ("English Rose") and streamlined punky slashers ("Buried Alive"), all present and blazing. It also has an excellent stab at something entirely different in "The Thousand Names of God," an emphatic climax with soaring dual leads and an addictive rhythmic strut.
You don't like the way we fight?
You don't have a fucking clue
RUNAROUND MAN
WHEN THE EAGLE SCREAMS
BACK ON THE CHAIN
THE WORLD IS YOURS [2010]
Probably the most overtly poppy record of this set. I find a lot of it nearly as unremarkable as
Hammered - though I get a shameless kick out of rollicking, self-plagiarising "Outlaw," and "Brotherhood of Man" is a formidably imposing visit from Orgasmatron's eponymous tyrant. Not bad, per se, but one of those Motorhead records that starts to blur together for lack of sharp edges.
OUTLAW
BROTHERHOOD OF MAN
AFTERSHOCK [2013]
Lemmy's health was deteriorating in earnest by this point, though it's not quite evident just yet. His once-impervious rasp is thinning, imparting the warning he strains to yell over apocalyptic kickoff "Heartbreaker" with an affecting fraility.
"Careful where you stand now, boy! Everything has changed!"
A hard-hitting record with a few runts - "Paralysed" can go; "Queen of the Damned" thrashes convincingly, but feels like a play for time compared to the intensity elsewhere; catchily galloping "Going to Mexico" likewise. These add up to only five minutes' runtime - all is obliteratingly pardoned by a much larger raft of razor-sharp, strikingly diverse killers.
Opening duo "Heartbreaker" and "Coup de Grace" combine reckless velocity and body-slamming time changes with bittersweet hooks, amplifying Lem's tales of collapse and sorrow into an irresistible howl at the vortex. "End of Time" proves
Overkill's proto-thrasher of yore is yet to leave the band's grasp; "Do You Believe" likewise effortlessly invokes the relentless bop of
Bomber. "Death Machine" sports a coolly funking bassline and one of Lemmy's most vividly evocative scenes, while smoothly desolate "Lost Woman Blues" and haunted "Dust and Glass" confirm his easy mastery of subtler tones. Meanwhile "Silence When You Speak To Me" is positively ass-shaking in its audacious pulse, while "Crying Shame," "Keep Your Powder Dry" and "Knife" indulge in richly well-earned feelgood rocking. Amidst all the aural and lyrical cataclysm, they are positively welcome contrasts!
Gloriously indomitable record, even ignoring the band's hard circumstances... or maybe it was those circumstances that provoked such a ferociously life-affirming response, as happened so many times before in their career? Whatever the reason, this thing hits like a fucking freight train,
and cares enough to patch you up with some inimitably curative rock n' roll.
HEARTBREAKER
LOST WOMAN BLUES
DEATH MACHINE
BAD MAGIC [2015]
The end of the line. Undeniably
Aftershock Part II - all too understandably, with Lemmy just four months for the world at release. Lacks its predecessor's remarkably varied arsenal, but lands its hits with the same unmistakable sense of renewed fury. Lem opens business by spitting square in the reaper's face before dropping the fiend with shattering Old Man Combination
VICTORY OR DIE +
THUNDER AND LIGHTNING.
"Who knows what the fuck it's all about?!"
I never wanted to be nowhere else
I spent my whole life pleasing myself!
Standing on stage
The thrill never fades
The ultimate rage
Raving and fighting
Maybe you'll shake
Maybe you'll break
You'll never escape
Thunder and Lightning!
True to form, death sent packing for now, this is not an album overly concerned with tomorrow. "Til The End"' is an affectionate but uncompromising reminder to let things be, come what may. "Fire Storm Hotel" is Lem wanting to cover Cat Scratch Fever again, I think? Whatever the motive, our protagonists nail the fuck out its swaggering riff as Lem paints ghoulish visions of opulent damnation. Brian May-augmented "The Devil" punctuates its nimbly stomping verses with a sledgehammer chorus, broken necks and bodies left cold by an ambiguously diabolic force. "Evil Eye" shows the band's slight but ever-persisting capacity for new tricks, conjuring maelstroms of glass-gargling malediction over a mischievously funky scratch. "Tell Me Who To Kill" gets in one last raucous tale of rock n' roll banditry, the threat of a fearsome chair shot looming! "Choking On Your Screams" is the final and most horrific hurrah of the Orgasmatrons... and then, "When The Sky Comes Looking For You" ends a forty-year underdog odyssey in agreeably bouncy, radio-friendly fashion, an appropriately zero fucks given for epitaphs. They were too busy, give them a break.
What do you think's going to be your reward?
Sixty year watch or a kick in the balls?
Time is a wasting you don't get it back
Move out and prove out and always attack!
VICTORY OR DIE
THUNDER AND LIGHTNING
FIRE STORM HOTEL
---
Ta Lemmy. You did great. ;-;7
Ta Philthy, Eddie & Wurzel.
God speed @ Phil and Mikkey, Lem's tireless comrades and star performers for a full half of Motorhead's forty years (a full three decades for Phil). Any hack critic who uses the phrase "revolving door" about this band should be caught in a revolving door and subsequently beaten with a chair by Triple H.
Here's to all disciples of excellence, no matter their chosen medium. Be for always
OVER KILL