Aural Fixations

MOTÖRHEAD
Overkill (Expanded Edition)
Ace of Spades(Expanded Edition)
Iron Fist (Expanded Edition)
BBC Live & In-Session
(Sanctuary)
Remastered reissues can be a dream to fanatics and collectors, offering not only superior sound but also the usual slew of bonus cuts that have become de riguer in the CD era. But they can also cross over into the realm of nightmare for anyone without deep pockets and the means to fill them. This round of Motörhead disks, all two-CD sets, is likely to induce both ecstasy and frustration.

First things first: the music itself is unassailable. The band's second album, 1979's Overkill showed that the impossibly rough 'n' tumble trio was no novelty hard rock act. Serious songwriting chops manifest themselves in the enigmatic "Metropolis," the boogie-loving "Stay Clean" (amazing ZZ Top didn't sue), the offhandedly rude "No Class" and the aggressive "Capricorn;" along with the perfectly-named title anthem, these songs remain staples of the band's set to this day. "I'll Be Your Sister," "Limb From Limb" and "Tear Ya Down" are gems as well. Singer/bassist/undisputed lord and master Lemmy Kilmister really comes into his own here. Overkill is an impressive piece of work, but Ace of Spades handily tops it. "Love Me Like a Reptile," "Jailbait," "The Chase is Better Than the Catch," "Shoot You in the Back" and "(We Are) the Roadcrew" are lessons in what heavy rock & roll should sound like: hard, fast, catchy, threatening and impossible to shake once heard. The title track, in some ways the group's albatross, remains its defining moment, even 25 years after it first appeared.

1982's Iron Fist, Motörhead's follow-up to its surprise U.K. number one album No Sleep 'Til Hammersmith, suffers by comparison. Guitarist Fast Eddie Clarke's production is slicker than the band would have previously allowed—check the New Wave of British Heavy Metal vibe of "Go To Hell." (In what's undoubtedly not a coincidence, this was also Clarke's last album with the band.) The title track is a stone classic by any standard, though, and tunes like "Loser" ("I'm a loser," cries Lemmy, as if that was possible), "Heart of Stone" and "(Don't Let 'em) Grind Ya Down" ain't far behind. BBC Live & In-Session is, as billed, a compilation of recordings the band did for BBC Radio. Two studio sessions from 1978 and 1981 show the band hitting its marks in a raw, yet more relaxed setting. "Live to Win," from '81, simply bludgeons. As the sleeve notes report, it makes a difference for a band to get a second studio go-round after it's had a chance to live with the songs for a while. But the best parts of this record are the two radio-broadcast bags of concert cuts. On the first disk, the original trio rips through a set of Overkill material with an enthusiasm that puts the studio versions to shame. Disk two features a much shorter, but no less incendiary, program of mid-80s material, including "Killed By Death" and a savage trio of songs from Orgasmatron. The spoken word version of "Orgasmatron" itself, already one of the band's weirdest tunes, will give you nightmares for days.

So what in the world would I have to complain about? It's the way the bonus tracks are organized. Overkill has "Like a Nightmare" and "Too Late, Too Late," the B-sides from that era, as well as the non-LP cover of "Louie Louie" (which sounds exactly like you would expect it to sound in Motörhead's grimy hands). But it also has multiple alternate takes on "Louie Louie" and "Tear Ya Down," none of which are strictly necessary to anyone but completists. To add insult to injury, however, the second disk also has the same '78 BBC session and '79 concert as disk one of BBC Live & In-Session—minus one song from each set. Ace of Spades takes a similar tack, with one B-side ("Dirty Love") and alternate takes of over half the album, plus the '81 BBC session found on disk two of BBC Live—again, minus one song. To make matters worse, this leaves no room for what were the highlights of the bonus tracks on the 1999 remastered reissue: the incredible Johnny Kidd & the Pirates covers Motörhead recorded with fellow traveler Girlschool. That's unforgivable, especially for those folks (like me) that already own that disk. And having all the BBC and live extras on these two disks repeated in full on BBC Live, which also features a show exclusive to it, shows greed and cynicism of the rankest sort.

The Iron Fist set steps over this mud puddle, however, by including on its second disk not only the B-side "Remember Me, I'm Gone," but also a blistering, previously unreleased live set from 1982 that covers the band's career to date. This tour was Clarke's last with the band, giving this performance extra sparkle for the Motörhead diehard, despite the low-fi sound. If you've never bought Iron Fist on disk, this is the version to get. BBC Live & In-Session is likewise an essential purchase for fans. But if you've already got the 1999 versions of Overkill and Ace of Spades, don't feel the need to rush out and get these editions, unless your Motörhead-loving life won't be complete unless you have three version apiece of "Dirty Love" and "Love Me Like a Reptile." Even if you don't have those records, think hard before pulling out your wallet for these. Those original remasters, which already include the B-sides as bonus cuts, will do just fine. Michael Toland [buy Overkill (Expanded Edition)] [buy Ace of Spades(Expanded Edition)] [buy Iron Fist (Expanded Edition)] [buy BBC Live & In-Session]