What more can be said about the heavy ass blues punk of Motorhead? It’s a classic sound, fully entwined in the fabric of metal music. Ace of Spades in a landmark album for the group and heavy music in general. This box set compiles the essential piece of music history with a selection of demos and alternate cuts, and not one but two previously unreleased live shows.
The classic album is reproduced here in its original glory. It sounds amazing, but is clearly still the same album that we’ve all known and loved over the years. It’s fast, grimy, a little bit sexy, and anything but politically correct. The punk heavy blues riffs are absolutely timeless and still don’t feel dated. Lemmy‘s vocal delivery is the stuff of legend, and it is on full display here. The album is classic, and it will never be anything but.
The inclusion of two live albums in this set may be a bit redundant, as they are relatively similar, but they fully feature who this band are and what they are capable of. The sets are high energy and heavy as hell. The band is on point, but play loosely enough to maintain the fun of their original performances. I had the pleasure of seeing Motorhead before Lemmy‘s untimely death and these recordings only showcase how little the band lost over the years.
The demos and alternate takes are very alike to what you find on any other collection of this kind, but they are enjoyable nonetheless. It’s always fun to take a peek at the creative process happening behind the curtains. The inclusion of cover songs performed by Headgirl and Girltalk were a nice addition, and I think it could have been fun to include a few more tribute tracks, replacing some of those extra outtakes.
All in all, this set is an obvious must have for the Motorhead superfan. For casual listeners, it can easily be passed by. The live shows are great, but don’t make up for the hefty price tag, in this reviewer’s opinion.
Release date: October 30th, 2020
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