"
Yarr eghhh hargggg urghhhh the Ace of Spades!" - Kevin
"
Dude, what the f*ck was that?!" - Grant
"
My impression of Lemmy. He's cool." - Kevin
Good times are always sought after. I mean, whether it's going out to the game or chilling with a group of your pals, nobody wants to have a bad time. It's all about the good. That's what
Motorhead is all about. Poppin a few brews back and rockin' out till the next morning, all the while being lead with their God-status pop icon front man, Lemmy.
Now
Motorhead is one of the more interesting bands you'll come across. They've got the whole Punk/Blues/Hard Rock/ Metal combination thing down to such finesse that other bands could only hope to accomplish 1/8 of. They've been around since the late 70's, and quite frankly, for the most part, have never changed. Sure, they'll later have a stinker or two (mainly
Sacrifice) after this album, but they'll come bouncing back. Maybe that's what makes
1916 such a great party record.
It's bubbly, rock fun jammed into a bottle and shoved into your mouth, and you can either chug it, or sip on it. Cause no one is gonna wanna spit this tasty stuff out onto the sidewalk.
What is just so bloody rockin' on this album?
1. The slap-happy riffs
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Motorhead is known for writing some of the most simple, straight forward and catchy riffs this side of pop-punk. But is it pop-punk? Hell no! They're just a slight lighter than what you'd find in Metal, and contain enough power to be Hard Rock. The bluesy side of things usually pop up in their fills, while the punky taste is acquired from their speed. And
1916 is more than a perfect example of this. The opener, "
One to Sing the Blues" is probably one of the grooviest, bluesy-punk rockin' tune that
Motorhead has ever done. Coming straight out with dirty Phil Taylor playing an almost tribal drum intro, one hell of head banging riff comes straight in that then flows right into the verse. It's fast, it's loud, it's
Motorhead. The chorus is rather more straight forward, and is in fact a great sing-a-long. "
I'm So Bad (Baby I Don't Care)" continues on this restless' assault of rock n' roll with again some meaty Blues Rock oriented riffs that are catapulted 100 mph straight into your head. The chorus, much like the rest of the songs here, is very simply straight forward complete with Punk aggression. The next two songs, "
No Voices in the Sky" and "
Going to Brazil", are like a groove-style
Motorhead. And by that I mean the songs are so thick that you won't be bangin your head, but snapping your fingers or tapping your feet. "
No Voices in the Sky" almost has the classic 'start-stop' rhythm going on, though slightly sped up, while "
Going to Brazil" has an almost southern feel to it. "
Angel City". It's got such an 80's rock care free attitude that you're gonna feel like you're riding a convertible straight down to Miami beach. Great feeling too. Just like "
No Voices In the Sky" and "
Going to Brazil", "
Angel City" continues on the groove feel. It's sweet too, cause I can picture some hot Latino chick dancing to that song. Awesome. "
Make My Day" is easily the heaviest song off this album, and is straight up classic
Motorhead. It sounds like it could've been off "
Orgasmatron". It's fast, it's loud, it's rude and it's a roller coaster ride filled with palm muted riffs and a flowing chorus. The next song, "
R.A.M.O.N.E.S." is a tribute to the band of the same name, and while it's cool for a listen or two, it gets boring after awhile. The song is lighting quick, and has the most Punk sound out of all the songs here. Completely simple, straight up too. But then it gets right back on track with "
Shut You Down". "
Shut You Down" is basically another "
Make My Day" but that's not bad at all. The sweet metal-type intro is carried on throughout the whole song, giving it a huge head banging feel.
2. Lemmy
- Straight up and to the point, Lemmy rules. I love the guy. His throaty, gurgling voice has never changed. It's never gotten higher. It's never gotten lower. He is the prime example of the band too. He's loud, over spoken, and downright dirty and sleazy. He was named a Sex Icon by Maxim, and his large facial mole is enough to give him pop-icon status. But all that wouldn't mean jack if the guy didn't sound it. And boy does he ever on "
1916". His completely carefree sound has been resurrected here, like on "
One to Sing the Blues" where his throaty yell is the main force behind the song, or on "
Angel City" where he just wails out word after word, longing to be noticed. He also incorporates a huge feel of melody, especially on "
No Voices In the Sky", where he sings along with the guitars near perfectly. He's back in full force, and nothing is keeping him down. His lyrics, too, reflect his voice. On "
I'm So Bad (Baby I Don't Care)" Lemmy proudly exclaims "
I make love to mountain lions, sleep on red-hot branding irons!" just to show off how much of a bad-a
ss he is. Or on "
Angel City", where he shouts out "
I wanna backstage pass, Drink Bon Jovi's booze for free, I wanna be a star And buy a hundred guitars!" It's a great trip to be taken by all. The only real dip in the lyric section is on "
Nightmare/The Dreamtime", simply because Lemmy tries to be all creepy with lines like "
We turn the screws to make you die, Soft flesh and razor blades". I mean, come on Lemmy. I don't care about that, I wanna hear about booze and chicks right now! But other than that, the lyrics are great fun.
Best line on the whole album: "
We're such bad a*s dudes, Almost can't stand it myself!" - "
Angel City"
3. Phil Taylor
- Honestly, Phil Taylor is a beast on here. Sure he still holds true to his basic drum patterns, but on the opening track, "
One To Sing the Blues" he comes pounding in with a pounding almost tribal drum pattern that brings back memories from "
Overkill". And when he gets going on tracks like "
Make My Day" and "
Shut You Down", watch out. It's fills galore and he's all over the place. This is probably some of his best work.
4. Phil and Wurzel
- 'Fast' Eddie Clarke set the bar. Brian Robertson didn't match it quite in the riff category, but surpassed it with his solos. And when Phil and Wurzel showed up on "
Orgasmatron", they proved they could rock, but couldn't solo worth sh
it. They were some of the worst solos I have ever heard in my life. Then I bought this. And my jaw dropped. Where the hell was this on "
Orgasmatron"?! Phil and Wurzel tear it up left and right all over "
1916". Tracks like "
One To Sing the Blues" and "
No Voices In the Sky" even have two hard rockin' solos. Which brings me to my next point, these aren't mindless wankery. There extremely well executed, and totally suit the mood here. There loud, fast, and fun. And the solos on "
Angel City" are just as grooving as the song, complete with a sweet 80's feel. Awesome.
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What isn't so grand here?
1. A few stinkers...
- It's gotta suck that this good time comes to an abrupt stop for two mere songs. "
Nightmare/The Dreamtime" is one of the dumbest songs they've ever done. It's a complete stoner trip, with trippy riffs and effects galore guitars. "
Love Me Forever" is a ballad, and while the guitars are beautiful and extravagant, you'll want to hit the skip button to get back on with the fun. The closer, "
1916", is a slow, patriotic song, and a very moody closer. No guitars or bass here. It just becomes repetitive after awhile however.
2. Short
- Take away those three tracks I listed above, and "
R.A.M.O.N.E.S." because it's only a minute long, and you're left with only 7 songs. Now that's not that much. And complete with all the songs, it's only a mere 39 minutes. I don't even want to tell you how short it is without those 4 tracks. Basically, this is the albums biggest downfall. It needed more songs.
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Conclusion
"
1916" shreds. Seriously. If you can just get over skipping "
Nightmare/The Dreamtime", "
Love Me Forever", maybe "
R.A.M.O.N.E.S.", and "
1916", you're in for one hell of a trip. Put this in when you're with your friends, and its party time. While talking about one of their albums, "
Sacrifice", (which was horrible), Lemmy said "
Put it in your system and your girlfriend's clothes fall off!". Well, I think he got it wrong...cause you put "
1916" and then they'll fall off. For real.
Overall Rating - 4.5/5
Recommended Tracks
One to Sing the Blues
I'm So Bad (Baby I Don't Care)
Angel City
Make My Day
