Following this they signed to Bronze Records for a one-off deal, which ended up being a single, a cover of the Richard Berry track “Louie, Louie”, perhaps the most unlikely of songs for the band to do. But Lemmy was a fan and proponent of rock and roll, and the single actually hit the UK charts and brought forth the band’s first appearance on ‘Top of the Pops’ as a result. This then led to Bronze Records extending their deal to now include a full album, and Motorhead now had a way forward after all.
Just how far of a jump can it be from the material that appears on your first album, and what comes on your second. Some bands already have enough material written that it makes up a second album without having to create a whole batch of new material. Motorhead however was in the process of making a huge jump. The songs on the self-titled debut were fine for what they were, but in many ways they don’t actually ‘sound’ like Motorhead. Coming into this second album though, the band had discovered what worked for the three of them and what became much closer to what this wonderful trio were able to achieve – the furious and sometimes frantic drumming from Phil Taylor, the booming bass guitar riffs and lilting vocal cacophony from Lemmy, and the superb guitar riffs and soloing from Eddie Clarke. It was all about to come together in a huge way, and “Overkill” was what many would consider the true beginnings of the band.
Listening to this album so many years after it was written and recorded brings up several different feelings about the material contained within it. Some love it unconditionally, others feel it is a little mismatched.
The opening track, the self-titled “Overkill” is an undeniably great song, one of the band’s best ever, and as iconic as any other songs in their catalogue. The story as to how it came to be written, with Lemmy and Eddie walking in on Phil as he was doing his warmup skills training with the double kick drum, and those two agreeing that Phil should continue while they came up with riffing over the top, is the perfect story for such a song. It is the perfect song to kick off their second album, as it immediately differentiates the concept and musical progression of this album to their previous one. “Stay Clean” perfectly follows, perhaps given that in so many live setlists it is the second song the band plays. The opening drum salvo from Phil again, the opening guitar riff, the amazing Lemmy bass solo in the middle of the song that still rocks hard to this day, and the closing guitar solo from Eddie. All of it is just brilliant. “Pay the Price” almost has Beatles connotations in the guitar riff and way it is structured. It’s fun and I can hear Lennon and McCartney singing this together. It also has that Ringo beat to the song, and George Harrison licks. I have no idea if it was meant to be that way – I mean, probably not – but I’ve always had those four gentlemen in my ears when I listen to this song.
Lemmy has always claimed that he wrote the song “I’ll Be Your Sister” with Tina Turner in mind to sing it. There have been several songs over the years that Lemmy has written from a woman’s perspective and has instead been left to sing them himself. Does this make this song unusual to listen to? Perhaps to anyone who wanted to delve too deeply into it and try to place to great an emphasis on it. But it has a great Motorhead rock ‘n’ roll groove to it that makes layers it as one of those essential album tracks that fill the gaps between the truly great tracks.
There are two songs on this album that I have a slight barrier with, but the reason is not necessary the tracks themselves. The two songs in question are “Capricorn” and “Metropolis”, which I don’t think are the strongest songs in the Motorhead catalogue. “Capricorn” is almost a 1960’s flower power song, one that you can practically see the band surrounded by flowers and hippies as it is played. It's a little strange in this environment. “Metropolis” slows down the momentum of the album, and was written by Lemmy in a very short time after he had seen the movie of the same name. In its place on this album it is fine in its context, though in a slower groove but with a great moody solo from Eddie in the middle of the track. “Metropolis” I still like whereas I can take or leave “Capricorn” at the best of times. What has ended up annoying me slightly over the years is the number of times these two songs have appeared in live set lists and therefore on live albums, while other far more better songs are left off. It happens too often, and has been a reason of regret for me, and has probably coloured my opinions of these two songs over the years.
However, this is immediately rectified by two more of the band’s best songs, the hard rocking "No Class" and the legendary "Damage Case". Both showcase the best of what Motorhead bring to their music - a prominent loud simple drumbeat, great riff work and solo from the guitar, and the solid rumbling bass line all packed around Lemmy's spitting lyrics. Sensational stuff. Lyrically both songs are bombastic, loud and right to the point. “No Class” could apply to anyone you have no respect for, while “Damage Case” is the perfect song for self-deprecation and still shouting down others around you. Two of the greats, with “Damage Case” being a top five all time Motorhead song for me. "Tear Ya Down" continues this vein of style, harder and faster and again containing a great solo riff from Eddie and riffling bassline from Lemmy. Following the slower pace of “Metropolis” the album closes out with “Limb from Limb” which takes us out on a high note in great style.
If you are a regular listener to this podcast – and let’s face it, if you aren’t you should be! - you will already be well aware of how and where Motorhead came into my life and sphere of influence. Short history lesson – The Young Ones, Ace of Spades, Killed by Death, Eat the Rich... and No Remorse. There. You are up to speed.
“Overkill” is an album of amazing influence and incredible songs. It is such a leap forward from the band’s eponymous debut album that it is hard to believe there is such a short period between them. The music and playing is more ferocious and much better structured than their first compositions. There are legitimately four all-time great songs here, another two that many fans believe also fit this category, and the remainder of the songs also of a high quality. And a great album is not really judged by its outstanding tracks, it is judged on those tracks that support them. On “Overkill” they are top shelf.
So while I spent my formative Motorhead years binging out on the best of compilation “No Remorse” and delighting in getting to know those songs, when I first got around to getting the albums themselves it is where I started to notice the differences. The debut album is a good solid album. “Bomber” is also a very good album. But “Overkill” is just something different, better, more awesome throughout.
I have friends with whom I still jam with today that we were in band together 30-odd years ago, and we still jam out some Motorhead songs. In fact, my idea for my now well-in-the-past 50th birthday was to get together with these guys, dress up as Motorhead, put together a Motorhead setlist, and play in a rented hall somewhere. The idea didn’t come to fruition... maybe for my 60th... But that’s how much I love Motorhead. I would do this in a second, and so many songs from “Overkill” would be in that list.
All in all, Overkill is a classic album, one that all metalheads should own as a matter of course, or at the very least have listened to and sampled in their heavy metal education. This was Motorhead at their theoretical peak, the original Three Amigos smashing out music and taking on the world. It’s just brilliant. No record or CD collection really should be without it.
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