No matter what fans of the band thought about the material that was being released on the studio albums throughout the majority of the decade of the 1980’s, there was still little doubt that as a live band Motörhead was still the ace in the pack (slightly pun intended). The band’s groundbreaking live album “No Sleep Til Hammersmith” is still regarded as one of the best live albums ever in the heavy metal genre, and it had covered the best of the band’s material up to its release. By the time we had reached 1988 however, there were new albums and newer material that had not received this treatment, and with the band at a crossroads in regards to album sales, there is little doubt that a new live album would have had the accountants eyes spinning. The disagreements between the band and its label continued as a result of this however. The band had wanted to release the song “Traitor” as the live single from the album, whereas their label overruled them and decided to release the money hoarding favourite “Ace of Spades”. The band refused, and thus those singles printed were unable to be released. This, along with several other matters, had the band fighting to get out of its contract for the next three years, something that stalled any further releases from the band in that period. It was not he first nor last time Motorhead had these kinds of problems, and it made for a stressful time for all involved.
Given this version of the band had been mostly responsible for the newer material that the band had recorded, it was only logical that they like to be recorded in the live environment. Motorhead had already done Hammersmith, and most live albums at that time had similar recording locations. Motorhead decided against that, and this album was recorded at the Giants of Rock Festival in Finland in 1988, something that the Finns lapped up by buying the record in large quantities when it was released. The band also made the decision that this album would be 90% new material, songs that had been written and recorded since that first epic live album was released. And for that makes this a much better album than it would have been with a 50/50 mix. Obviously, they had to include a couple of the great songs in their setlist for the concert, and what better ones to include than “Ace of Spades” and “Overkill”, both of which are killer versions here. The remainder of the setlist and therefore the album tracks are songs taken from the recent albums of release at the time.
What is immediately noticeable is that the newer songs all sound immensely better live than on their studio versions, and it made me wonder that perhaps with a little less rush and a bit more time to get the songs in the right framework that perhaps those couple of albums would have been better. Both of those albums where the majority of these songs come from, “Orgasmatron” and “Rock n Roll”, suffered from the short time span allotted to them being written and recorded, and listening to those songs here you get a much better picture of how they SHOULD sound. Still, beggars can’t be choosers, and there is no doubt that for me songs such as “Doctor Rock”, “Traitor” and “Dogs” are infinitely better on this release than their original studio release. I really enjoy them here, and the band does a great job in bringing the live interpretation to the stage. I am less impressed with “Just Cos You Got the Power”, song that turned up on the B side to the single release of “Eat the Rich”. It drags on far too long for a Motorhead track and doesn’t have the same energy that the other songs do here. It was misplaced. For me it is on a similar level to “Metropolis” which appears as a bonus track on some editions of the album. It has never been a favourite of mine.
The second half of the album is just as good as the first half, with terrific versions of “Eat the Rich” and the powerful “Built for Speed” leading into a cracking version of “Deaf Forever”. This is the best part of a live album, showcasing not only the older well-known songs but showing that the newer material still stands up great on stage. I feel fortunate that I discovered these songs before hearing them on this live album, as they possibly would have been destroyed for me if I had been used to their live versions before hearing the studio versions. Speaking of older material, the album concludes with brilliant versions of “Killed by Death” and “Overkill”, making for a terrific live album in the process.
What is immediately noticeable is that the newer songs all sound immensely better live than on their studio versions, and it made me wonder that perhaps with a little less rush and a bit more time to get the songs in the right framework that perhaps those couple of albums would have been better. Both of those albums where the majority of these songs come from, “Orgasmatron” and “Rock n Roll”, suffered from the short time span allotted to them being written and recorded, and listening to those songs here you get a much better picture of how they SHOULD sound. Still, beggars can’t be choosers, and there is no doubt that for me songs such as “Doctor Rock”, “Traitor” and “Dogs” are infinitely better on this release than their original studio release. I really enjoy them here, and the band does a great job in bringing the live interpretation to the stage. I am less impressed with “Just Cos You Got the Power”, song that turned up on the B side to the single release of “Eat the Rich”. It drags on far too long for a Motorhead track and doesn’t have the same energy that the other songs do here. It was misplaced. For me it is on a similar level to “Metropolis” which appears as a bonus track on some editions of the album. It has never been a favourite of mine.
The second half of the album is just as good as the first half, with terrific versions of “Eat the Rich” and the powerful “Built for Speed” leading into a cracking version of “Deaf Forever”. This is the best part of a live album, showcasing not only the older well-known songs but showing that the newer material still stands up great on stage. I feel fortunate that I discovered these songs before hearing them on this live album, as they possibly would have been destroyed for me if I had been used to their live versions before hearing the studio versions. Speaking of older material, the album concludes with brilliant versions of “Killed by Death” and “Overkill”, making for a terrific live album in the process.
We’ve been over this ground before but let's do it again. When you get a live album, it should almost always be a 5/5 experience, because you should have the band’s best songs in their perfect environment. “No Sleep at All” is no different from that template. The fact that almost every song here has not been released on a live album before makes it a perfect companion piece to the brilliant “No Sleep til Hammersmith” because there are only two repeat tracks, and they are both brilliant anyway. And as I’ve mentioned before, it showcases just how good the material is from those much maligned Motorhead albums “Orgasmatron” and “Rock n Rock”, because all of the versions here (apart from that B side) are sensational. The album showcases this terrific foursome, the version of Motorhead when they had two guitarists, in their best light. Both Wurzel and Phil Campbell play off each other nicely hear and are great to listen to. Phil Taylor still has his best foot forward on drums, and Lemmy is in top form throughout.
I, for some reason or another that I can’t recall now, didn’t listen much to Motorhead live albums, I tended to stick with the studio material that I knew so well, so it wasn’t until later on that I listened to the (now many) live album catalogue. And while everyone agrees “No Sleep til Hammersmith” is their pinnacle, this album really isn’t that far behind. When I first got it, I played it a lot, firstly because the versions of the songs here are awesome, but also because it IS an era that gets passed over, and this album proves that it isn’t anywhere near as ordinary as is sometimes spoken of.
There had been a varying reception for the previous four Motörhead albums prior to this, and given that most of the material on this live album is from those albums, you can expect that its reception would also be varied. I think it is the perfect example where a live album can introduce people who may have only gotten this album for “Ace of Spades” and “Overkill” to newer songs that they mightn’t know, and allow them to discover just how good the new material (some of it at least) is, and perhaps go back and have another listen to it. Apart from my stated hesitation for a couple of tracks I think this is a belting album and is the perfect addition to Motörhead’s discography, given it doesn’t just repeat what had come before on “No Sleep 'Til Hammersmith”, it complements it perfectly.
I, for some reason or another that I can’t recall now, didn’t listen much to Motorhead live albums, I tended to stick with the studio material that I knew so well, so it wasn’t until later on that I listened to the (now many) live album catalogue. And while everyone agrees “No Sleep til Hammersmith” is their pinnacle, this album really isn’t that far behind. When I first got it, I played it a lot, firstly because the versions of the songs here are awesome, but also because it IS an era that gets passed over, and this album proves that it isn’t anywhere near as ordinary as is sometimes spoken of.
There had been a varying reception for the previous four Motörhead albums prior to this, and given that most of the material on this live album is from those albums, you can expect that its reception would also be varied. I think it is the perfect example where a live album can introduce people who may have only gotten this album for “Ace of Spades” and “Overkill” to newer songs that they mightn’t know, and allow them to discover just how good the new material (some of it at least) is, and perhaps go back and have another listen to it. Apart from my stated hesitation for a couple of tracks I think this is a belting album and is the perfect addition to Motörhead’s discography, given it doesn’t just repeat what had come before on “No Sleep 'Til Hammersmith”, it complements it perfectly.
No comments:
Post a Comment