1069. Motörhead / Nö Sleep at All. 1988. 4.5/5

No matter what fans of the band thought about the material that was being released on 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). With four studio having been released since the excellent No Sleep 'Til Hammersmith was released, the opportunity was there for the band to highlight some of their newer material in a live setting for everyone to experience, and thus came the release of Nö Sleep at All their second (official) live album.

This was recorded at the Giants of Rock Festival in Finland in 1988, and depending on what version of the album you have, has all twelve songs played in their set.
What was immediately noticeable to me was 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. Still, beggars can’t be choosers, but 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 vinyl release. I really enjoy them here, and the band does a great job in bringing the live interpretation to the stage. I guess I was less impressed with “Just Cos You Got the Power”, song that turned up on a B side to a single, but I think that’s just because it really does drag on for a Motörhead song and doesn’t have the usual fast packed punch that their best songs do. On that level, “Metropolis” has never been a favourite of mine but it sounds good enough here to ignore that, while “Stay Clean” and “Ace of Spades” continue to do their best work.
The second half of the album is terrific, 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. Speaking of older material, the album concludes with brilliant versions of “Killed By Death” and “Overkill”, and completing what was a pretty special set list for those got to witness it.

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 was 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.

Rating: “Stone Deaf Forever!”  4.5/5