Then there was the presence, or lack thereof, of producer Jimmy Miller. He had been involved in the band’s previous album, and was renown as the legendary producer of the Rolling Stones and their landmark albums of the late 1960’s and into the 1970’s. However, one of the problems faced during this album was Miller’s intense love and addiction to heroin, which created situations where he would be hours late in turning up to the studio, as well as disappearing out the back and being found in his car or on the street. All of this added to the tensions around the recording of the album.
With the traction the band had been gaining from their previous album, in retrospect at least it seems like a strange decision to follow it with another album just seven months after its release, with the possibility of strangling the sales of both albums as a result. But Motorhead didn’t do things the way that other bands did, and as such it brought on the release of their third album titled “Bomber”.
“Bomber” takes up a contrary position in some ways as the band approached this in a positive position given their consistent rise in popularity since their inception. What comes here from the writing and recording sessions are a selection of songs that draw in the best parts of what they have achieved so far, and also some of their more average pieces. There is still a mixture of their oldest type of material alongside the direction the band was in the process of refining.
What do I mean by that? Well, let’s use some examples. The opening track is a beauty once again, with “Dead Men Tell No Tales” kicking off the album with the same type of excitement as the previous two albums had with their opening track. From here we move onto the second track on the album, which is “Lawman” and has some poignant lyrics from Lemmy about those that are charged with upholding the law and peace, and while it is a catchy enough song it does hold the same rhythm and tempo throughout, without creating anything exciting outside of its musical box that has been created for it. In essence, it is a simplistic song that works fine but that’s about it. The third song on the album “Sweet Revenge” has a similar tome and doom and tempo as “Metropolis” from the band’s previous album “Overkill” and continues to remind me of that song every time I listen to this album. Which is shame really, because I think “Metropolis” in only an average song, and that then becomes the same way I feel about “Sweet Revenge”. Fortunately, this is followed by the excellent “Sharpshooter” which lifts the tempo and mood of the album as a whole, but those songs do feel as though they are still drawing from an era of the band that in other respects it has moved away from.
The best songs here are the ones where the momentum is recovered, and all three members are heavily involved in the songs. “Poison” is terrific, with the bounce in the music acting as a propellant to the track. “Stone Dead Forever” is one of the band’s giant classics, with great lyrics and vocals from Lemmy that then has his bass guitar dominate the back end of the track, with great support from the drums and guitar. It's a fan favourite, and has every right to be so. “All the Aces” follows the same route, driven by Phil Taylor’s energetic drumming and Lemmy’s majestic bass sound thumping along while he bellows out the vocals, and Fast Eddie Clarke’s sensational guitaring, topping it off with a traditionally excellent solo in the middle of the song. The riff has a familiar sound to it, as it complements the way the best Motorhead songs flow along. “Step Down” pulls back on this pace and directs its energy into other areas, the slower tempo styled a terrific combination of the guitar and bass flowing along together at the start of the song. Then comes the kicker, with Fast Eddie on lead vocals, which will throw some fans while others will enjoy his contribution. This is almost like a live jam the way it is played and sung. It's an interesting mashup. “Talking Head” mirrors the songs on the second half of this album in tempo and energy, with Lemmy ranting away on television and his thoughts on what it was doing to his world. The album then concludes with the title track “Bomber”, which charges through to the end of the album. The quick fade out promises more but leaves the listener hanging, wondering about what could possibly follow this album next...
Following the band’s establishment through their first two albums, the arrival of “Bomber” was met by a rousing reception back in the day. This album follows “Overkill” which is one of my favourite Motörhead albums and precedes “Ace of Spades” which ranks alongside it also. So given that I did not discover Motorhead until the middle of the next decade, and didn’t really begin to appreciate them as a band until a few more years after that, I look back at this time and this album with a touch of hindsight and a touch of the obvious. There is a real danger when it comes to comparing the first five studio albums by this band, the ones where the original three amigos created an amazing legacy. And with the obvious fan love that is shown for both “Overkill” and “Aces of Spades”, it sometimes feels as though “Bomber” can get forgotten, and I’m not sure that is a fair assessment of it as an album.
Is it possible that there are no big two or three songs that dominate this album, that then allow the rest of the tracks on the album to play good support to them and build a well of greatness about it? “Overkill” has the title track, “Stay Clean”, “No Class” and “Damage Case”. “Ace of Spades” has the title track, “(We Are the) Road Crew”, “The Chase is Better Than the Catch” and “The Hammer”. “Bomber” has plenty of songs that are better than average, but perhaps fewer that stand out significantly and are true great songs in the band’s discography. That, to me at least, means that listening to the album is still an awesome experience but with less songs that truly bring you to your feet when they come on. I can’t give a good reason for why this is the case, apart from the fact that this was released only seven months after “Overkill” which seems a ridiculously short time between albums.
That being said, there are terrific songs here. The title track “Bomber” leads us out of the hanger, and along with “Dead Men Tell No Tales”, “All the Aces”, “Sharpshooter”, “Poison” and the best on the album “Stone Dead Forever” are my favourite tracks from the album. And this album contains some of my favourite ever Fast Eddie Clarke guitar riffs and solos, I believe he sounds absolutely awesome on this album.
So while this seems to be a slightly forgotten album in some circles, “Bomber” for me is still a great listen. I didn’t actually get this album until the turn of the century, when I went on a binge and bought every Motorhead album and started to overload on them. I had the “No Remorse” CD which was their first best-of album, but once I started to get all the albums and started to listen to them, I discovered how much more there was to the band than just their so-called ‘hits’. And “Bomber” for me was one of those ear opening albums. I have now had this back on my stereo for the past three weeks, and it has been great to meet up with old friends once again. The combination of these three original band mates is at its best here, and there is no better example of how three musicians can create amazing songs with just their basics than this all time classic track, one of my all time favourites. Enjoy.
No comments:
Post a Comment