Welcome to part two of our Motorhead DoubleDevil’s Dozen. If you missed the first batch of thirteen, you can find it here. If after examining this batch, you find your favorite track did not make the cut, be sure and give us Hell in the comments.
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THE HAMMER
[Ace of Spades, 1980, No Sleep ’til Hammersmith, 1981]Hands down, this is my favorite Motörhead song. Two minutes and forty six seconds of pure perfection. That riff, that percussion punctuated by the cymbal crash, the dedication to Little Philbert on the live version of the song on No Sleep ‘Til Hammersmith (one of the best live songs ever recorded), this song epitomizes what Motörhead is all about. “The Hammer” manages to rise above everything except for, perhaps, the title track on one of the best heavy metal albums ever made.
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CIVIL WAR
[Overnight Sensation, 1996]The third of Motörhead’s run of three killer early-90s albums, before a slightly fallow period settled in, Overnight Sensation sports the best production on a Motörhead album in ages, if not ever. Given a new heaviness by future nu-metal purveyor Howard Benson, Overnight strikes the perfect balance between Lemmy’s grimy bass, stout Phil Campbell guitars, and Mikkey’s hyperkinetic drumming. Of course, it helps that the songs are great, and only a select few are as heavy as this blistering opening number, with a riff equal parts Motörhead rock and Motörhead metal atop a typically Lemmy take on war and doom.
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NO VOICES IN THE SKY
[1916, 1991]Long have Ian Fraser Kilmister’s steadfast positions on politics & religion been well-documented throughout Motörhead’s canon, but perhaps never so succinctly as in “No Voices in the Sky”, from 1916. Basically: mankind are a savage, selfish pack of bastards, but the pack of bastards in charge suck even worse, so don’t be a dupe. Think for yourself. ‘Cos at the end of the day, no one’s up there listening anyway. Sonically, the chorus’ twin-guitar thunderbolts from Campbell and Würzel hammer home the power of the message, and the Motörhead attack. One of the finest moments in Motörhead’s post-Fast-Eddie canon.
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BRAVE NEW WORLD
[Hammered, 2002]A very standard, but nonetheless hard rockin’ track from the then long-established Lemmy-Phil-Mikkey version of Motörhead, “Brave New World” found ways to stand out in an era when the band neither refused to slow down their output nor offer variety at even 1916 levels. First and foremost are Lemmy’s lyrics, which go through a list of societal horrors and injustices of that would make “Keep on Rockin’ in the Free World”-era Neil Young proud. The second is Lemmy’s delivery of said lyrics, finding a balance of melody (some real tunefulness) and a heightened snideness that pairs perfectly with rebellious rock and roll lines such as “God is on your side, but I don’t think that you’re on his / If Jesus showed up now he’d be in jail by next week.” I mean, come on. From Lemmy that’s almost too much fun.
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BURNER
[Bastards, 1993]I was a bit disappointed in 1992’s March or Die, which I thought was a little too watered down, and courted radio airplay a bit too vigorously. Sony Records was disappointed, as well, and severed ties with the band after the album’s release. Things, I thought, were not looking so good for Motörhead. Then, one Saturday night in late 1993, I was watching Headbangers’ Ball when the video for “Burner” debuted. It was then I realized Motörhead was going to be just fine. With “Burner”, the band seemed to spit in the eye of its own commercial aspirations. With its relentless double bass and frantic riffs, the track was the fastest , heaviest, most brutal thing Motörhead had done to that point, and maybe ever.
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IN THE NAME OF TRAGEDY
[Inferno, 2004]A huge bright spot on what is ultimately just another latter day Motörhead album, “In The Name Of Tragedy” is worth the price of Inferno all by itself. A bass heavy song with “Go!” as the lead in to an infectious chorus, this is the lone song on this album that has a bit of a thrash metal vibe to it (and probably the only song with that vibe since “Burner” from Bastards), even though it’s not a particularly fast song. The solo from Phil Campbell is one of his best.
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STONE DEAD FOREVER
[Bomber, 1979]For bringing us two Motörhead albums, 1979 may have been the greatest year of all time. That they were able to produce both Overkill and Bomber in the same year is quite a feat. Though the title track gets the most attention, this ditty ain’t too shabby. That opening bass riff is as memorable as anything ever laid down by the bands guitarists, and Lemmy seems to take great delight in reminding the rich and powerful that death is still coming for them.
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ON YOUR FEET OR ON YOUR KNEES
[Bastards, 1993]The lead song on Bastards, “On Your Feet Or On Your Knees” is often overshadowed by the song that follows, but this up-tempo rocker has great riffing, a good chorus, and a fast vocal delivery from Lemmy. It’s also a political song unrelated to war, somewhat unusual from Motörhead, and the lyrical themes serve as a counterpoint to what I consider to be a really bouncy, almost happy sounding song. It’s also a great lead-in to “Burner”.
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IRON FIST
[Iron Fist, 1982]Though it was a decision the band regrets, Fast Eddie Clarke ended up as producer on what would be his last album with Motörhead, Iron Fist. The album is roundly panned by the band as a rushed and cobbled together affair, but there’s no arguing they got it right with the title track. “Iron Fist” is classic Motörhead through and through. Leaning heavily on Lemmy’s galloping bass, with spare but perfectly placed contributions from Eddie, the track is a sub-three-minute self-proclamation of bad-ass-ness that hit’s just as hard as its title implies.
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I’M SO BAD (BABY I DON’T CARE)
[1916, 1991]Lemmy is nothing if not a bad-ass. He’s the most bad of all bad asses, the coolest dude on the block, the rock stars’ rock star. So when he says he makes love to mountain lions, or that he sleeps on red-hot branding irons, you’d better believe him. And when he backs it up with classic Motörhead rock’n’roll, it’s guaranteed awesomeness. Here are all the things that make Lemmy Lemmy: He’ll “shoot ‘em full of R&B,” and then he’ll “come round and pop your cork,” because he’s everything they say he is. He’s so bad, baby, and he don’t care.
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MOTORHEAD
[Motorhead, 1977]The song that started it all. The bass drums filled with acid at the border in Windsor, Ontario, the fourth day of a five-day marathon over six thousand miles of God knows what, a Hawkwind cover that serves as the soundtrack to Lemmy’s boot from Hawkwind, it’s all here and then some. If ever there was a particular song that has not just an iconic status but the iconography to go with it, the mythology, and rock n’ roll barbarism all wrapped up into one, “Motörhead” is it. The song is the embodiment of a rock n’ roll fantasy that us lesser mortals could only dream about. The live version of this song on No Sleep ‘Til Hammersmith is another one of the best live songs ever recorded.
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ORGASMATRON
[Orgasmatron, 1986]The drone. The lone growl. The driving drums of Pete Gill, with hi-hat behaving like the exhale of a waiting monster. The minimal changes in chords, and the wailing, tortured guitar sounds during solos and throughout. All is mastery, but all is merely backdrop. The true stars of “Orgasmatron” are Lemmy’s biting words, which are possibly the best of his career. This is Lemmy applying his underdog mentality on a global scale, speaking of such things as corruption in government and the deep history of cruelty and hypocrisy in religion, but really referring to any moment in human history in which the powerful repressed those over which they held such power. The music works as the boots of the haves stomping on the rights of the have-nots, while Lemmy’s voice offers both intimidation and futility, simultaneously playing the roles of both parts. Rarely did Motörhead deliver music so perfectly designed and delivered in every aspect. A classic of the utmost stature.
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OVERKILL
[Overkill, 1979]This is the song that never dies – not that you’d really want it to anyway. The title track opens their sophomore album with a rapid yet steady ratta-tat-ratta-tat beat laid down by the Philthy Animal himself that is relentlessly rhythmic; it never breaks pace and only strays to add the occasional cymbal fill and rolls to the multiple false endings (and the one real one). Lemmy adds a bit of swagger with the bass and a lot of attitude with his vocal. As for Fast Eddie Clarke, the whole thing just feels like a five minute and twelve second excuse for him to riff out however he wants. Killer.
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