Lemmy, Slim Jim, & Danny B

Lemmy Kilminster | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 28, 2000)
• Original Release Date: March 28, 2000
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Cleopatra
• ASIN: B00004RJ2U
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #335,643 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Cute, but strictly for hardcore Lemmy fans, October 5, 2000

By 

Dan Plankton (Boston, MA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Lemmy, Slim Jim, & Danny B (Audio CD)

This disc is fun if you're a Motorhead fan, and not really recommended to anyone else. Lemmy sings and plays acoustic guitar, with Stray Cat Slim Jim Phantom on drums and Danny B Harvey on assorted instruments. The disc is almost all '50s and early '60s numbers--about half Buddy Holly songs--done in a pretty relaxed fashion. Actually a bit too relaxed--it's less energetic than Motorhead or even the vintage originals. Lemmy's attempts at proper singing have some charm even though his voice isn't suited for the task and he cracks a lot of notes. The best track is the Buddy Holly ballad Learning the Game. And the CD booklet picture of Lemmy & Friends in Elvis-style gold lame is a humorous bonus.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of my favorite albums!, November 21, 2006

By 

R. Sartori "Sinead's Man" (New Mexico) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Lemmy, Slim Jim, & Danny B (Audio CD)

If you're lookin' for Motorhead's version of the 50's, this ain't it! If you want to hear today's rockers playing the songs that formed rock'n'roll the way they were originally played- here ye go! You can tell the fellas on here really loved & believed in what they were doing. Lemmy proves that he really can sing as well as the shout, scream, & growl that we're more used to from him (granted, he's still got his own voice- he's no Waylon!)
The only negative mark I'd give the album is the last two tracks- instrumentals that are out of place and lost w/out Lemmy (wouldn't have minded hearin' Lemmy do "heartbreak hotel")- in fact, they sound more like muzac than rock'n'roll! Which is probably why they were left off the remake of this album "Fool's Paradise". And why the heck didn't they do "Rave On"?
Anyhow, buy it!

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Great if you listen past some weaknesses, June 21, 2000

By 

Mark Singer "jackal59" (Columbia, MO) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Lemmy, Slim Jim, & Danny B (Audio CD)

There's plenty of information on Lemmy Kilmister and Motorhead on Amazon and on other sites, so I won't recap that here. What has impressed me more than Motorhead's music, though (which I am just now starting to hear) are the many interviews where Lemmy displays cutting wit, true sincerity, and a great understanding of and love for early rock and roll. This recording walks that talk admirably, as he leads Slim Jim Phantom and Danny Harvey of the Stray Cats/Swing Cats through fresh, authentic (though uneven) versions of songs by Buddy Holly and others.

The playing on this recording is very good. Harvey's electric guitar work sometimes veers into harmonic territory that is at odds with the overall sound, but Phantom's drumming is dead on. Lemmy really does know how to sing these songs; his rhythmic sense is perfect and propulsive on "Cut Across Shorty" (when was the last time you heard that?) and "Not Fade Away," and he captures some of Buddy Holly's lightness while keeping his own distinctive warmth and grit on the later song and "Peggy Sue Got Married." "Crying, Waiting, Hoping" even manages to get the distinctively over-dubbed Holly backing vocals right.

However, it is hard to hear Lemmy's voice as anything but damaged. When he's not pushing like hell (and there is very little Motorhead shouting here), his upper range is little more than breath and pain, barely on pitch. "Fool's Paradise" is the worst example here. You can tell that he loves the song and knows how it should sound, but he simply can't sing that high. It's like watching Muhammed Ali attempting to give a speech; your heart goes out, but you cringe so hard it hurts.

However, the strenghts of this recording (which, understand, include Lemmy's singing on other songs) make it well worth skipping or forgiving the occasionally painful vocals and other missteps (did they really need to recreate the original, overdone orchestration of "True Love Ways" on cheap-sounding string synthisizers?). "Lemmy, Slim Jim, and Danny B" [note: the title "Rock And Roll Forever appears nowhere on this CD - what gives?] is obviously the Real Thing, and it deserves your respect, your ears, and your bucks.