| | Motorhead No Sleep 'Til Hammersmith CD Motorhead Discography of CDs
 (7 Customer Reviews)
Unlike many heavy metal contemporaries, Motorhead leader Lemmy possesses self-deprecating humour. Stripped of pretension, he goads the basic three-chord trick with a full-throated bellow, emphasizing his trio's vicious racket. On this live selection the group reprise the cream of their back catalogue with untrammelled venom, in the process destroying already power-packed studio counterparts. Continuing a line from the MC5 and Stooges, rather than gothic fantasy, the band understand the excitement of noise and exploit it to its full potential. Thrash metal and hardcore owe them a debt but, as this album proves, there is only one Motorhead.
Released in 1981, the live album No Sleep 'Til Hammersmith recaps the highlights from the legendary run of albums Motörhead released during the prior few years, namely Overkill, Bomber, and Ace of Spades. The band's lesser self-titled debut album is also accounted for here with two inclusions ("Motörhead" and "Iron Horse"), but by and large, the focus is on the standout songs from the aforementioned trio of classics. This alone makes No Sleep 'Til Hammersmith noteworthy, for it plays like a greatest-hits set, opening perfectly with "Ace of Spades." But what makes it all the more noteworthy -- and more than simply a run-of-the-mill, gap-filling live album -- is the performance: in a word, it's breakneck. The trio of Lemmy (bass and vocals), "Fast" Eddie Clarke (guitar), and "Philthy Animal" Taylor (drums) absolutely rips loose through this 11-song set, upping the intensity and speed of the already intense and speedy studio recordings. Yes, believe it or not, these performances are even more crazed than their studio-recorded counterparts. Of course, the fidelity isn't as clear and the instruments aren't nearly as in relief, since this is a live recording (and while it's of high quality for live recordings of its day, it's relatively lo-fi by today's standards). Still, the breakneck nature of this performance distinguishes No Sleep 'Til Hammersmith from its studio predecessors, making it an excellent, recommended complement to those essentials. Moreover, it's an important release because it captures Motörhead live during the peak of the classic lineup's rise to fame. Motörhead could do no wrong at this point in time, as they were laying the foundation for the coming thrash movement, in a way, and their winning streak continues here on No Sleep 'Til Hammersmith, one of the best live metal albums of all time. [The various single-disc reissues of No Sleep 'Til Hammersmith append three bonus tracks: "Over the Top," an alternate version of "Capricorn," and "Train Kept A Rollin'."] ~ Jason Birchmeier
All tracks have been digitally remastered.
Recorded live in England in 1980 & 1981.
Personnel: Lemmy (vocals); "Fast" Eddie Clarke (guitar); Phil "Philthy Animal" Taylor (drums).
Liner Note Authors: Garry Bushell; Phil Alexander.
Recording information: Studio.
Photographers: Ross Halfin; Mick Stevenson.
Motorhead: Lemmy Kilmister, Fast Eddie Clarke, Phil Taylor.
Q (10/96, pp.186-187) - 3 Stars - Good - "...the best title of any live album ever....contains faster and rougher versions of Motorhead's best songs, most of which were pretty fast and rough already..."
Mojo (Publisher) (12/01, p.124) - "...A masterpiece..."
Record Collector (magazine) (p.138) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "[D]elivered with brutal immediacy....There is a fearsome intensity throughout, meaning this remains one of the key live metal albums." No Sleep 'Til Hammersmith Music No Sleep 'Til Hammersmith Music No Sleep 'Til Hammersmith Music Review Buy No Sleep 'Til Hammersmith CD Purchase No Sleep 'Til Hammersmith CD To buy, Click on price to add to cart | Motorhead Ace Of Spades CD (1980)
No Sleep 'Til Hammersmith album
 $9.99    
| | Motorhead Bomber CD (1979) Bonus Tracks; Remastered
No Sleep 'Til Hammersmith CD music
$10.39
| | Motorhead Overkill CD (1979) Bonus Tracks; Remastered
No Sleep 'Til Hammersmith music CDs
$9.99
| | Motorhead Iron Fist CD (1982) Bonus Tracks; Remastered
No Sleep 'Til Hammersmith songs
$10.39 
Motorhead were riding high in the early-'80s, courtesy of such big U.K. hit albums as ACE OF SPADES and NO SLEEP 'TIL HAMMERSMITH, so there was no reason to worry about an imminent, career-threatening turmoil. Or so fans thought. Problems were brewing behind the scenes--longtime ...
| | Motorhead Another Perfect Day CD (1983) Bonus Tracks; Remastered
No Sleep 'Til Hammersmith album
$9.99
When it became known that "Fast" Eddie Clarke had split from Motorhead, heavy metal fans feared the end of this hard-living trio. But when it was announced that ex-Thin Lizzy guitarist Brian Robertson was joining drummer Phil Taylor and bassist/lead growler Lemmy, another typically styled Motorhead release could have understandably been anticipated.
However, while 1983's ANOTHER PERFECT DAY was still unmistakably a Motorhead album, Robertson brought in with him some musical elements that caused quite a bit of controversy amongst longtime fans--most notably the subtle use of synthesizers. Still, such furious tracks as "Shine" and "Dancing on Your Grave" showed that this new line-up held promise. But ANOTHER PERFECT DAY would be the only Motorhead release to feature Robertson, as he exited after the subsequent tour (as did longtime drummer Taylor), leaving Lemmy the lone original member.
To this day, Another Perfect Day remains one of the most unique (albeit misunderstood) albums in the entire Motörhead catalog. The band's first effort sans legendary ...
| | VH1 Presents The Corrs Live In Dublin CD (2002)
No Sleep 'Til Hammersmith CD music
$6.39
This audio document of The Corrs' Dublin homecoming concert has pretty much everything fans of Irish pop could wish for, including an appearance from Bono in his earthly incarnation, fresh from an audience with President George W. Bush. It's to the band's credit that the charismatic singer fails to steal the show, despite creditable efforts via an anthemized version of Ryan Adams' beautifully downtempo "When the Stars Go Blue," and a great, leering rendition of Lee Hazlewood and Nancy Sinatra's "Summer Wine."
Somewhat more mysteriously, Rolling Stone Ron Wood also turns up on what sounds dangerously close to a lounge ...
| | Chicago: The Blues Today! CDs (1999)
No Sleep 'Til Hammersmith music CDs
$19.49
In early 1966, blues history was made with the issuance of a three-volume set of new recordings produced by blues historian Samuel Charters. This series was known as Chicago/The Blues/Today! and the release sent shock waves through the world of rock & roll. Every artist on the three volumes had recorded before (some, like Otis Rush and Junior Wells, had actually seen small hits on the R&B charts), but these recordings were largely their introduction to a newer -- and predominately white -- album-oriented audience. The "Today!" part of the title was no bit of hyperbole, either. This series accurately portrayed a vast cross section of the Chicago blues scene as one could hear it on any given night in the mid-'60s. Rather than record full albums (which Charters had neither the budget nor the legal resources to pull off), each artist simply came in for a union-approved session of four to six songs, with each volume featuring three different groupings. With these recordings, blues suddenly gained respectability as something much more vital and vibrant than just a poor cousin of jazz. A new market for this music began, one that exists today in full blossom. Their effect on musicians was enormous. It's fair to assume that most blues-influenced artists had all three volumes in their respective collections, and the songs on them ended up in the repertoires of everyone from Jimi Hendrix (Junior Wells' "Rock Me") to Led Zeppelin (a note-for-note copy of Otis Rush's "I Can't Quit You Baby") to Steppenwolf (Junior Wells' "Messin' with the Kid") and beyond. These recordings have stayed in print and have been reasonably good sellers over the years since their original release, all coming out on compact disc. This new packaging puts all three volumes together, but with no bonus tracks, as no extras were recorded for these sessions.
So if one already owns these sides, what's the incentive this time around? That's easy: the sound is massively improved, with the bass that was rolled off the vinyl and original CD versions now being restored. This makes the tracks truly come alive, especially on the Otis Rush and Junior Wells sides, both fortified with some major amounts of badass bass thumping by Roger Jones and Jack Myers, respectively. One can really hear the spaciousness of the old RCA studios where this stuff was cut for the first time, and the detailing of the mix is in sharp focus throughout, although the increased bass causes some unwanted distortion on the Homesick James Williamson tracks. The other plus is the new packaging, which features a nice booklet with detailed, updated notes from Charters, a nice appreciation from Ed Ward, and absolutely eye-boggling session photos taken by Charters' wife, Ann, that alone are worth the price of the set. With the glut of blues reissues out there, it is often a coin toss regarding where best to spend your hard-earned money. Even if you still have the original vinyl or CDs, this is one of the times when it would be best to spend the dough and add this one to your collection, because blues records seldom come as important, innovative, or just plain pleasurable to listen to as this set. File ...
| | Bigdumbface Duke Lion Fights The Terror!! CD (2001)
No Sleep 'Til Hammersmith songs
$12.79 
Limp Bizkit fans who've already bought up all the band's available material will rejoice upon the discovery of Big Dumb Face, led by Bizkit guitarist Wes Borland. A few of the tunes on DUKE LION FIGHTS THE TERROR are in keeping ...
| | Arabian Travels: A Six Degrees Collection CD (2001)
No Sleep 'Til Hammersmith album
$8.35
| | Arsis Celebration Of Guilt CD (2004)
No Sleep 'Til Hammersmith CD music
$12.85
| | Hunter Moore South Of St. Louis CD (2005)
No Sleep 'Til Hammersmith music CDs
$13.85
Country songwriter Hunter Moore's fourth album South of St. Louis is, in essence, a demo tape issued ...
| | Saratoga CD (2006)
No Sleep 'Til Hammersmith songs
$9.59
| | Michael Le Van Mike Le Van Trio CD (2005)
No Sleep 'Til Hammersmith album
$17.05
| | Merciless Death Evil In The Night CD (2007)
No Sleep 'Til Hammersmith CD music
$11.49
| | Paper Rival CD (2007) Digipak; Extended Play
No Sleep 'Til Hammersmith music CDs
$7.49
|
|
|
6706 
Life...warts n' all
Email a Friend
