Published on Jan 13, 2000
Motorhead’s 1981 live album
No Sleep ‘Til Hammersmith has been called one of the best
live albums ever released. If it’s not the best, it’s got to be up
there somewhere – and the re-release combining it with the live EP
The Golden Years from 1979 makes it all the better.
Recorded mostly on the
Ace Of Spades tour, bassist/vocalist Lemmy Kilmister,
guitarist Fast Eddie Clarke and drummer Phil “Philthy Animal”
Taylor grind through a good number of their classics to that point.
And while you’re bound to think of one or two songs you think
should have been included, there’s no doubt you’re going to walk
away from this disc a happy camper. (Since I wrote this review, yet
another re-release – a newly-remastered version, with additional
tracks – has come out.)
From the opening thunder that is “Ace Of Spades,” Kilmister and
crew pour everything they have into their instruments, pulling no
punches along the way. With tracks like “Stay Clean,” “Metropolis”
and “No Class” getting their just due on the concert stage,
Motorhead solidify their reputation as a killer metal band. (And if
their music isn’t loud enough for you, the bellow from one of the
road crew members at the start of “(We Are) The Road Crew” should
blow out what’s left of your eardrums.)
Disappointments? I can count only one: “Capricorn,” a track that
just doesn’t seem to translate well to the live arena. Admitedly,
this one is very much a mood piece (or a, aah, “mood alteration”
soundtrack, if some of you catch my drift), so personal preference
is going to vary on this one. I just don’t happen to like it.
Fortunately, on my re-release CD from a few years back, this
minor disappointment is tempered with the inclusion of five more
tracks, including the rarer track “Over The Top”, which was never
included on any first release of an album to the best of my
knowledge. The killer cover of “Leaving Here” kicks it into levels
previously unheard by mankind, as does the original “Too Late, Too
Late”. Rounding things out are an okay “Stone Dead Forever” and an
absolutely amazing “Dead Men Tell No Tales”.
Now, I can easily count Motorhead’s later live release
The Birthday Party as one of my all-time favorite live
albums (and, now that I found the video of the show, it only
solidifies that opinion with me), but I still love
No Sleep ‘Til Hammersmith, and it rightfully belongs on your
shelf if you like Motorhead in any capacity. Chances are, once you
wrap your ears around this one, you’re going to come out of the
experience loving the band.