Customer Reviews

Live

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This disc appears to be identical to the King Biscuit Flower Hour disc although in cheaper packaging and at a lower price.

The sound quality is mediocre to poor, but this does have the distinction of being one of the few "legitimate" live recordings of the Brian Robertson-era Motorhead. Save for this feature, this disc would only get one star.

The interview is interesting, but the interviewer seems like a doofus. Lemmy doesn't seem to care for him very much.

I HATE this CD, and I LOVE this CD. Let me explain. I gotta tell ya, the thing that will drive you insane is that it is almost impossible to really appreciate the music here as we should. This sounds like a bootleg with whatever they recorded this stuck inside several pillow cases, then stuck under a couple of pillows. I've had this CD for several years, but hadn't played it for years because when I first got it, I couldn't hear the music on the equipment that I then had. Yes, the recording is rubbish.

That aside, why I love it. Now, Motörhead has never been a subtle band, always raw and deceptively sloppy live, but if you've ever wondered just what Motörhead sounded like in their salad days, WHY they often had as many punk fans as they did in the burgeoning heavy metal/hard rock scene, and why they are often considered the fathers of thrash, then this CD is for you. This concert was recorded live at Town Hall, Birmingham on June 3, 1977, and shows the boys at their rawest in front of what seems to be an appreciative and rowdy audience.

This concert has also seen release as Blitzkrieg on Birmingham 77 and Too Loud to Be Proud, and with bonus tracks as Keep Us on the Road: Live 1977 (supposedly the complete concert), and it gives you an idea of what it was like way back when Motörhead were out trying to promote their new upcoming Motörhead album from Chiswick, which was their first album with the classic early line-up of Ian "Lemmy" Kilmister, "Philthy Animal" Phil Taylor, and "Fast Eddy" Clark, after ex-Pink Fairies & UFO guitarist Larry Wallis was replaced.

Now Motörhead's published repertoire has always been a bit dodgy. Their first album On Parole from 1975 wasn't released until 1979, and I have an album around here somewhere from this time period called "White Line Fever" on white vinyl. So, for those that care, here's where these songs originally appeared as far as I can ascertain.

1.) 'Motorhead' ("Motörhead" single) (*) [3:21]
2.) 'Vibrator' ("Motörhead" album) (*) [3:37]
3.) 'Keep Us On The Road' ("Motörhead" album) (*) [5:37]
4.) 'The Watcher' ("Motörhead" album) (*) [5:09]
5.) 'Iron Horse' ("Motörhead" album) (*) [5:31]
6.) 'Leaving Here' ("White Line Fever" single) (*) [2:27]
7.) 'On Parole' ("On Parole" album) (*) [6:06]
8.) 'I'm Your Witchdoctor' ("Beer Drinkers" Live EP) [3:58]
9.) 'Train Kept A-Rollin'' (as 'Train Kept On Rollin'') ("Motörhead" album) [2:46]
10.) 'City Kids' ("Motörhead" single) [5:19]
11.) 'White Line Fever' ("White Line Fever" single) [3:00]

(*) means that this song was originally was on Motörhead's first album the 1975 "On Parole" album, which was originally shelved by United Artists until 1979. 'City Kids' later became a bonus track on "On Parole". Most of "On Parole" was later re-recorded for the "Motörhead" album with Fast Eddie replacing Larry Wallis.

Motörhead was always at their best as a live act, and having heard some of these songs in both their live and studio form, the live versions of these early songs beats the studio versions all to hell.

I suspect that this is a bootleg, cash-grab CD, as there is no information as to who is in the band, the cover insert is just a fancy sheet of paper that is blank on one side, where or when the concert was recorded is not mentioned, the band's name is misspelled (as Motorhead not as Motörhead), and even song titles are misspelled. Then there is the fact that the audience sounds don't flow evenly from one song to the next, but are always cut off, and even some of the songs are clipped either in the beginning or the end, this is most noticeable in the song 'I'm Your Witchdoctor' which has the ending cut off! In the end, this is really a bargain basement CD from a Mickey Mouse cash-grab outfit.

This CD doesn't always showcase their best stuff, but I liked the rampaging 'Motorhead' and 'The Watcher', the pop of 'Leaving Here', the epic 'Iron Horse', and the I-don't-give-a-damn boogie-woogie of 'On Parole'. They also do a great job of 'Train Kept A-Rollin'', which is nearly the only song performed by Aerosmith that I ever liked. 'Leaving Here', 'I'm Your Witchdoctor', 'The Train Kept On Rollin'', 'City Kids', & 'White Line Fever' are all covers, and I believe that there are several old Hawkwind songs here as well. Still, this concert certainly shows why Motörhead were a popular band as they run riot through these songs to the delight of their audience.

Casual fans can safely stay away, but true fans will like this, despite the god-awful sound, as it shows why the band had the following that it did.

The quote that titles this review is from the introduction to 'White Line Fever' the last song on the CD. I give Encyclopedia Metallum full credit for the information that I got off of their site that helped me to write this review.

This is rough and loud and in your FACE, just the way Motorhead is intended. The liner notes are nothing but ads for this ghetto record label. Definitely worth the $4 I paid for it however, and the sound is better than the bonus LIVE disc that comes with the "Another Perfect Day" re-issue. The drunken banter of Lemmy between songs is priceless, and Robo sounds like a razor...but the cover of the album is confusing. I see Campbell and Wurzel up there, but the interview with Lemmy (which is great, of course) at the end of the disc clearly explains the circumstances of the show...and it didn't include those two. Whatever, this is a cheap treat that any fan of Lemmy will dig.

I've had this album for a few years, and when I first bought it I thought it might have been a compliation of B-side live tracks.

I was wrong.

This is a extremely early recording of Motorhead judging from the setlist and the lineup. It is obviously a bootleg that was purchased by the record company and somehow legally released. The sound quality on this cd sucks; it was recorded on a very cheap tape deck out in the crowd most likely.

Best of Motorhead? Let me consider. Stone Dead Forever, Ace Of Spades, Overkill, Bomber, Orgasmatron, maybe 1916, Dead Men Tell No Tales... Considering all the great songs of Motorhead it's a damn hard job to make a selection for one CD. But this selection is a laugh. At best three of the tracks on this record belong to the best Motorhead material. The rest must be part of the "rest" in the title of the CD. The best thing is that there is even a Vol.2 release with this title. What a laugh! The record company should combine these two CDs under the name Collectors Only and leave the rare "best of"-stuff.

Please, avoid this one; believe me, it is the worst CD I have ever heard. And it is no for the music. I really like Motorhead. It is a very bad live recording. It seems that they recorded it with the cheapest tape recorder they found at the flea market. Save your money, skip it.