Published on May 10, 2000
Motorhead might have done themselves a disservice when they
released
Overnight Sensation back in 1996.
You see, I absolutely love that album – to the point where it’s
one of the few tapes I keep in my car on a permanent basis. As a
result, I tend to hold everything Lemmy Kilmister and crew have
done since then up to this album as a litmus test. It’s not really
fair, I know – after all, this is a band that, for 25 years, has
cranked out pretty consistent product that has rarely
disappointed.
Their latest declaration,
We Are Motorhead, takes its root in the way Kilmister
introduced the band during their last tour : “We are Motorhead, and
we’re here to kick your ass.” It’s not a bad effort, but there is
still something lacking in the overall picture that has been
missing since the group did
Overnight Sensation.
The band – bassist/vocalist Kilmister, guitarist Phil Campbell
and drummer extraordinaire Mikkey Dee – quickly show that even
after a quarter century of slugging it out, they know how to
capture the listener with good songwriting. The opening two tracks,
“See Me Burning” and “Slow Dance,” demonstrate the musical balance
that Motorhead has been improving on over recent releases. “See Me
Burning” is a hurricane of a song, one which might make you feel
like your neck is going to snap off. “Slow Dance,” on the other
hand, is a track that allows Motorhead to lay down a rhythmic
groove. It’s a great one-two punch to start things off.
Regretfully, Motorhead tend to slide a bit. The cover of the Sex
Pistols’s “God Save The Queen” is absolutely brilliant; Kilmister
might just have outsneered Johnny Rotten vocally. As for the
originals, tracks like “Wake The Dead,” “Stay Out Of Jail” and “Out
To Lunch” – well, they’re pleasant enough, but they don’t have that
sense of musical urgency to them.
The ballad “One More Fucking Time” is a turning point for
We Are Motorhead. While I felt the song stretched out a
little too long (this could well be the longest song Kilmister has
written to date, clocking in at over six minutes), it demonstrates
two things quickly. First, Kilmister is not as bad a singer as many
people would want you to believe – something I’ve known since
On Parole way back from 1976. Second, Motorhead are one of
the few metal bands who can write a ballad and still make it sound
good. ‘Nuff said.
Motorhead save the final powerful punch for the last two songs,
“(Wearing Your) Heart On Your Sleeve” and “We Are Motorhead”. On
the former, Kilmister again gets a chance to wax poetic about
things on his mind (“Politics suck, you’ll be shit out of luck / If
you ever mess with the methods they use / No way to doubt, three
strikes you’re out / You against them, it’s your freedom you
lose”). And as for the self-promotional bravado of “We Are
Motorhead,” well, at least they’re telling the truth in this one.
Besides, it’s been two decades-plus since “Motorhead” was released
(a song originally written for Kilmister’s old band Hawkwind), so
what can it hurt?
One thing I’m willing to concede is that
We Are Motorhead is an album that begs the listener for
repeat listenings. Many songs, especially “(Wearing Your) Heart On
Your Sleeve”, didn’t really show their potential until I had lived
with this disc for a while. And maybe in the coming days and weeks
I’ll grow to love this one as much as I love
Overnight Sensation. Then again, I thought the same thing
about
Snake Bite Love, their last studio effort, and I don’t go
back to that one nearly as much as I thought I would have.
We Are Motorhead is the latest statement from these aging
troubadors that they’re in the game for the long run, musical
fashion be damned. And while this is a minor improvement over their
last studio outing, it still hasn’t equalled their masterpiece.