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Friday Full-Length: Motörhead, Overkill

Motörhead, Overkill (1979)

Thirty-four of the most bullshit-free minutes ever pressed to a record. There are a lot of reasons to dig Motörhead, and they’re just about all accounted for at one point or another on Overkill, their 1979 sophomore album and one of three records (granted one of them was prior-recorded) they’d have out that year in the wake of the success of their 1977 self-titled debut. Too metal for punks and too punk to really be metal, Motörhead would nonetheless become a pivotal name dirtying up the cleaner, classier intentions of the NWOBHM in the early ’80s, and Overkill helped set the stage for that. Its raw power and full sprint were pivotal in the development of thrash as well, and as much as Motörhead — then the lineup of bassist/vocalist Lemmy Kilmister, guitarist Fast Eddie Clark and drummer Philip “Philthy Animal” Taylor — are forever bound to the landmark property that is “Ace of Spades,” songs like “Stay Clean,” “Overkill,” “No Class” and “Metropolis” are every bit as essential, and from the bruiser rock of “(I Won’t) Pay Your Price” to the could-have-been-Hawkwind “Capricorn” and the swaggering “Limb from Limb,” Overkill is a whiskey-drunk, balls-out classic that’s every bit the “they don’t make ’em like this anymore” album its reputed to be.

Motörhead don’t get much coverage around here, unless you count bands doing covers or Woody‘s column, the title of which is in reference to this LP, and I have my reasons for that. Their insurmountable history is one — more tours and records than just about anyone could count — and the fact that they’re more or less a given is another. You might be familiar with Overkill and you might not, but there’s just about no way you’re going to click play on the YouTube video above and it’s the first time you’ve ever heard Motörhead. Shit, they have their own cruise! It’s not like they’re hurting for press or there’s much left to say about them that’s never been said. You might as well write poetry about the moon.

But of course, plenty of people do that as well. I hope you enjoy Overkill. This is the 1996 reissue, so some bonus tracks kick in at the 34th minute. Listen to them or don’t. More Motörhead never hurt anybody, unless you count tinnitus.

Kind of a quiet week, at least on a personal level. That suits me at this point. My ankle is just about healed up save for some pretty specific flexibility issues, and my grandmother seems to be getting stronger physically after last week’s scare. She’s 99, so it’s not like she’s gonna go out and do a six-minute mile, but standing up is progress. I also left the house yesterday and didn’t get pulled over by any cops, which was a welcome change from the norm.

Of course, I live in terror even saying such things that a piano will magically fall from the sky as I walk to the mailbox or something, but my point is it was a stressful couple weeks to start 2015 and I’ll take what I can get as regards moments to catch my breath. I’m going to a show tonight in Providence to see USA out of Vietnam, and I’ll have a review of that early next week. Monday, an audio premiere from India’s Shepherd and a premiere of two behind-the-scenes Karma to Burn clips, so plenty going on one way or another.

Also planning on having a new podcast up before next week is out and I’ll review Sonny Simmons and Moksha Samnyasin and Torche albums and the second Black Moon Circle LP if there’s time. The radio stream has been running on the backup server most of this week, so I didn’t do a round of adds, but I should hopefully have something going in that direction by next Friday. Fingers crossed.

Hope you have a great and safe weekend. Please check out the forum and radio stream.

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