![]() (We Are) The Road Crew is a testimony to Motörhead’s roadies and what a tribute it is. Not a standout, but Ace Of Spades would be less of an album had it not been included.įast And Loose, similarly to Live To Win, isn’t the strongest song on the album, but I’d be lying if I didn’t say that it isn’t an example of some of the best run-of-the-mill rock and roll from the early 80s. Live To Win is a solid thrash-styled tune. That said, while the song is perfect, I would love to hear the guitar track a couple of decibels higher in the mix as I can only imagine that it would amplify the epic nature of the song. Shoot You In The Back will get you moving involuntarily as its addictive groove merges with your soul, but it’s Fast Eddie’s guitar playing throughout that is really the highlight here. Plus, that rattlesnake to the left of the sound stage is the icing on the cake. Most importantly, however, the double entendre technique is utilised to great effect. A killer rhythm, incredible guitar playing, and an uncompromising vocal presentation. Love Me Like A Reptile is a rock and roll masterpiece. Between Lemmy’s bass-driving rhythm, Philthy’s drilling drum beat, and Fast Eddie’s genre-defining guitar licks, Ace Of Spades is, without doubt, one of Motörhead’s greatest tunes. While there’s always been a little bit of a veil over the soundstage of Ace Of Spades, you do get used to it and it becomes part of the album experience, but some may find it to be a distraction and it would be nice to hear a more dynamic reproduction of this classic release.Īce Of Spades is Motörhead 101. It’s also present on the 40th Anniversary Edition, thereby suggesting that it was a recording variant more than a mastering issue. ![]() ![]() No truer is that than when listening to Ace Of Spades followed by Love Me Like A Reptile for the shift is most certainly audible. Perhaps it’s the recording, but the lossless Apple Music stream (a facsimile of the CD release) sounds as if it were mastered by various engineers, at different times, in different studios. What isn’t misconstrued, however, is that the mastering of Ace Of Spades is all over the place. Okay, in all honesty, the artwork is supposed to represent a trio of outlaws from a wild west era, but you can see how easily it can be misinterpreted. Yet, these burley rockers look like they’re taking a stroll on the beach. Ideally, these leather-clad rockers should have been on Harley Davidson Motorcycles surrounded by beautiful women, or at the very least Motörhead’s Snaggletooth mascot should have been front and centre. As such, the contrast of the rough and ready Lemmy Kilmister, "Fast" Eddie Clarke, and Phil "Philthy Animal" Taylor, standing atop a sand dune, was just out-of-place enough to make you look twice. Ace Of Spades was released in an era when album artwork was compelling enough to sell an album on its own sight seen, but music unheard. In considering why Ace Of Spades was so appealing, besides the roaring take no-prisoners riffs and rhythms, one must first look at the cover art. Nevertheless, Ace Of Spades, the album and song, was akin to lightning in a bottle and while Motörhead would go on to release an additional 18 albums, following this landmark release, none were as well received as this early 80s masterpiece. He would go on to rightly say that Motörhead “didn’t become fossilised after that record”.įame certainly has its rewards, but it’s fair to say that there are cases whereby an artist’s success haunts them forevermore. Lemmy was, in this instance, referencing the song and the monotony of playing it live each night. Still, Lemmy would lament this success declaring in his autobiography that “whenever people think of Motörhead, they think Ace of Spades”. Such acknowledgement allowed Lemmy, as the frontman and founder, to become larger than life in not only the era of the album’s release but in folklore and pop culture terms. You may note that I said music lovers and not rock ’n’ rollers for Ace Of Spades is so influential that those who would otherwise have ignored Motörhead suddenly noticed their existence. Released in 1980, Ace Of Spades would resonate with music lovers the world over and is without question Motörhead’s most successful album from a commercial standpoint.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |