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.
Back in October of 1991, Ugly Kid Joe released their debut EP – As Ugly As They Wanna Be. 1991 was a year smack in the middle of the Grunge Music invasion… Ugly Kid Joe didn’t seem to care in the least. The mix of Hard Rock, Funk Metal and Heavy Metal had me more than interested in Ugly Kid Joe, I bought As Ugly As They Wanna Be and it served me right – back in 1991. Parodies aside, I could care less about what the titles of Ugly Kid Joe’s albums were making fun of… it was the funky heavy grooves of their songs that mattered most to me. Everything About You was a song that sounded unlike anything I was into back then, (Thrash, Death, Speed and mainstream Heavy Metal was what I was used to). When I first heard Everything About You, the first bands that came to mind that I was familiar with, in the Funk Metal genre, was Living Colour and Anthrax when they did I‘m The Man. White Zombie for certain had some Funk happening in their Metal back then too, yet this Ugly Kid Joe was not the dark side of heavy Funk either. This band was not as flamboyant as Faith No More, there seemed to be more of a street level accessibility to Ugly Kid Joe back in 1991-92.
Obviously the freshness of Ugly Kid Joe caught on with MTV and FM radio, it had to. Ugly As They Wanna Be and America’s Least Wanted 
Supergroups are not a new concept to the worlds of Hard Rock or Heavy Metal. Asia, Hellyeah, HSAS and Saints Of The Underground are just a handful of really cool supergroups of Hard Rock and Metal, both from the past to the present. Chickenfoot, however, is a super – supergroup. With the likes of Sammy Hagar on vocals, Michael Anthony on bass & backing vocals, Chad Smith on drums and the brilliant – Joe Satriani on guitar, Chickenfoot is one monster of a legendary lineup of musicians. C’mon, you are looking at half of the Van Halen lineup here, with Sammy Hagar and Michael Anthony. 
Motley Crue’s incredibly talented, lead guitarist, Mick Mars has turned the cool age of 53 on Friday, April 3, 2009. Happy Heavy Metal birthday Mick Mars! It is so obvious to me, what Mick Mars has contributed to Motley Crue since 1981, as both musician and song writer. In my opinion, Mick Mars with his guitar playing, has lended extreme credibility to Motley Crue since day one. I had the Metal opportunity to see Motley Crue live in 1987, on the “Girl’s, Girl’s, Girl’s Tour”, Mick Mars was sensational on stage. His mere presence alone made me feel like I was witnessing one of the biggest stars of Heavy Metal – ever. As for Mick Mars shredding on guitar, live, let’s just say I was afforded an opportunity that night, to see one of the very best guitarists in Heavy Metal history. Thank you for all of the unbelievable Metal over the years, Mick Mars!
Here are five quick and easy to read Metal facts! Who knows when this vital Metal information will come in handy? Might you wind up in the Cash Cab? An inter-office Metal trivia contest? Surprise your spouse or companion with some really cool – hey, did you know that…
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