MOTORHEAD – Back sometime in 1990, Motorhead released a very loud and killer live album titled The Birthday Party, on Enigma Records. This is Motorhead playing fast, live and unapologetically raw. From wandering about the world-wide web and doing my Metal research, it appears that The Birthday Party is out of print. Rare Motorhead! I acquired my cassette copy of The Birthday Party sometime back in 1990. If I was to count the number of times I have played this cassette over the years, well, it’s been put to good Metal use. I am just ecstatic that I still have The Birthday Party and the cassette still plays!
When I mentioned the word raw in the previous paragraph, it is a very fitting and admirable adjective to always use with any live Motorhead recording. You just never know what you are going to hear with Lemmy and the boys. I swear, after all these years listening to The Birthday Party, upon the conclusion of Mean Machine, one of the band members of Motorhead lets out a gigantic belch that comes out loud, live and clear. Vintage Motorhead. I’m no expert at Motorhead belches, still I think the culprit was Lemmy himself.
The Birthday Party begins with the psyched out crowd in attendance singing loud and proud – “happy birthday to Motorhead”. Again, raw, vintage… Motorhead. The liner notes state that The Birthday Party was recorded live at Hammersmith Odeon on June 26th, 1985. Across the Metal board, the production of this live Motorhead concert is fantastic. There are no re-do’s happening, therefore the consistency of hearing Motorhead in all of their in your face, live glory, is inevitable. Lemmy’s vocals sound super, with this Motorhead lineup jamming out one classic after another. Iron Fist, On The Road, Ace Of Spades, Nothing Up My Sleeve, Metropolis, We Are The Road Crew and Steal Your Face epitomize classic Motorhead and their all captured live on The Birthday Party.
Based on the liner notes info, the Motorhead lineup for this 1985 Hammersmith Odeon concert recorded for The Birthday Party was: Lemmy on bass and vocals, Wurzel on guitar, Phillip (Phil) Campbell on guitar and Peter (Pete) Gill on drums. Just another vintage lineup caught live, in the legacy of Motorhead. Pete Gill was the drummer for Motorhead on the four new songs on the No Remorse double album from 1984 and Orgasmatron from 1986 as well. Pete Gill was also the original drummer for Heavy Metal/NWOBHM legends – Saxon. He was the drummer on Saxon’s first four studio albums. Motorhead history is cool.
At the end of my Metal day, I am incredibly content to have The Birthday Party to still listen to. I have seen The Birthday Party available at Amazon.com, a new CD is priced at over $200 (U.S.)! There are some used CD copies over there, available for a little over $20 (U.S.). I did see only one new cassette of The Birthday Party at Amazon.com for around $15 (U.S.). I’m sure there are probably other music websites out there where this classic Motorhead album can be had… it would be Metal prudent to shop around.
* The Birthday Party, recorded back in 1985, was in acknowledgment of Motohead’s 10th anniversary. The Motorhead timeline can date back to 1975, with 1976 being the year that the ultra classic Motorhead lineup came together, being: Lemmy Kilmister, “Fast” Eddie Clarke on guitar and Phil “Philthy Animal” Taylor on drums.
* The Birthday Party was produced by Ian A. Wiener, as a Wienerworld Presentation.
Track Listing For Motorhead – The Birthday Party:
Side One:
Iron Fist
Mean Machine
On The Road
We Are The Road Crew
The Hammer
Metropolis
Side Two:
Ace Of Spades
Steal Your Face
Nothing Up My Sleeve
Bite The Bullet
The Chase Is Better Than The Catch
No Class
You can take the cassettes away from an Old School Metalhead… only you can’t take an Old School Metalhead away from the cassettes.
LONG LIVE MOTORHEAD!
Stone.
Edguy F***ing With Fire Live is entertaining as Metal hell. Released on July 28, 2009, on Nuclear Blast Records, this is the second album released by Edguy this year, (Tinnitus Sanctus was released on January 27, 2009). A huge Metal kudos to Edguy for releasing two albums within the same year, they are not the only band out there to do so, still it is cool for fans like me. In a Metal day and age where there are those select few prima donna – let’s take everything serious Metal Bands out there, Edguy seems to grasp hold of the positive and accentuates the (gasp) fun in Heavy Metal Music. The title of this live album alone, gives me the impression that Edguy has thrown caution to the Metal wind and could care less about those who don’t get it. In my Metal opinion, Tobias Sammet and his band Edguy have snickered at their antagonists since the late 90’s… and Edguy gets the last laugh every time. From my Metal research, it seems that Europe and Brazil really gets into Edguy big time, uh, I am just like Europe and Brazil with my Metal tastes then. It seems so obvious to me, by listening to Edguy’s catalog of albums, that they really dug the power and enthusiasm of 1980’s Heavy Metal Music. Thus they now turn around and record a live album that has that all encompassing, 1980’s Arena Heavy Metal thrill. By no means am I labeling Edguy as having a dated 1980’s sound about them, no way in Metal hell. I only want to point out that Edguy evokes a feel good emotion inside of me, rekindling some of the 1980’s Heavy Metal spirit that I so embraced. Tobias Sammet seems to write songs that are hook filled and melodically oozing from every crevice. F***ing With Fire Live is an Edguy album that I do give a F*** about.
My favorite Edguy song of all-time, Tears Of A Mandrake takes the Metal prize on this album, as well as Superheroes, Lavatory Love Machine and King Of Fools. The live versions of these Edguy songs only adds fuel to the intense Power Metal energy that they bestow. Tobias Sammet gets Avantasia into this set of songs as well, (from his side project Avantasia), it fits right into the Metal mix of this Edguy set list. The main theme I stress with F***ing With Fire Live is the consistent energy and emotion that Tobias Sammet seems to summon up within himself and his band. I don’t think you need to be an Edguy fan to actually hear and feel the excitement on this live album, then again, this Edguy album will have it’s detractors… so F***ing Metal be it. Tobias Sammet does become quite the talker during this concert. He takes his Metal time to introduce each band member, requests the crowd of Edguy fans to turn on their cell phone’s (and not their lighters), during the Power Metal ballad Save Me and thanks/compliments the fans of Sao Paulo, Brazil quite eloquently. Hey, this is a recorded – live concert for Metal sakes, these type of moments do occur during Heavy Metal shows, so F***ing Metal be it. At the end of the Metal day, I cannot listen to F***ing With Fire Live as a once through, nope, instead, each time I slap this double CD on I need to hear it a second time through too… so F***ing Metal be it.
Accept is a legendary Heavy Metal Band from Germany, blazing through the late 1970’s and releasing crushing Old School Heavy Metal right up until 1996. U.D.O. is the Heavy Metal brainchild from the iconic lead singer from Accept… Udo Dirkschneider. U.D.O. released their first studio album in 1987, with “Animal House”… in 1988 their second studio album released, titled “Mean Machine”. U.D.O. has released many albums over the years, with their latest studio effort being “Mastercutor”, released in 2007. I have and always will be a huge fan of Udo Dirkschneider, Accept was an incredible Heavy Metal band, they never wavered or catered to any musical flavor of the day, just 100% Heavy Metal albums they released back in the day. With Udo carrying on his grand Heavy Metal career with U.D.O., it only makes me psyched – knowing this legend is still around. Udo may not receive the glamourous adulation from the mainstream Rock press like Rob Halford, Ronnie James Dio, Brian Johnson or Ozzy, however, he is just as important to the history of Heavy Metal as any of these lead singers are.
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