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Ace of Spades

 
Album Review: Ace of Spades
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Ace of Spades

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  • Artist: Motörhead
  • Rating: StarStarStarStarHalf Star
  • Release Date: 1980
  • Total Time: 45:27
  • Type: Lyrics are included with the album
  • Genre: Rock

Review

With the 1980 release of Ace of Spades, Motörhead had their anthem of anthems -- that is, the title track -- the one trademark song that would summarize everything that made this early incarnation of the band so legendary, a song that would be blasted by legions of metalheads for generations on end. It's a legendary song, for sure, all two minutes and 49 bracing seconds of it. And the album of the same name is legendary as well, among Motörhead's all-time best, often considered their single best, in fact, along with Overkill. Ace of Spades was Motörhead's third great album in a row, following the 1979 releases of Overkill and Bomber, respectively. Those two albums have a lot in common with Ace of Spaces. The classic lineup -- Lemmy (bass and vocals), "Fast" Eddie Clarke (guitar), and "Philthy Animal" Taylor (drums) -- is still in place and sounding as alive and crazed as ever. The album is still rock-solid, boasting several superlative standouts. Actually, besides the especially high number of standouts on Ace of Spades -- at least relative to Bomber, which wasn't quite as strong overall as Overkill had been -- the only key difference between this 1980 album and its two 1979 predecessors is the producer, in this case Vic Maile. The result of his work isn't all that different from that of Jimmy Miller, the longtime Rolling Stones producer who had worked on Overkill and Bomber, but it's enough to give Ace of Spades a feeling distinct from its two very similar-sounding predecessors. This singular sound (still loud and in your face, rest assured), along with the exceptionally strong songwriting and the legendary stature of the title track, makes Ace of Spades the ideal Motörhead album if one were to choose one and only one studio album. It's highly debatable whether Ace of Spades is tops over the breakthrough Overkill, as the latter is more landmark because of its earlier release, and is somewhat rougher around the edges, too. Either way, Ace of Spades rightly deserves its legacy as a classic. There's no debating that. ~ Jason Birchmeier, All Music Guide

Tracks

Track TitleComposersPerformersTime
Ace of Spades Lemmy, Phil "Philthy Animal" Taylor, "Fast" Eddie Clarke Motörhead (2:49)
Love Me Like a Reptile Lemmy Kilmister, Phil "Philthy Animal" Taylor, Lemmy, "Fast" Eddie Clarke Motörhead (3:23)
Shoot You in the Back (Lyrics) Lemmy Kilmister, "Fast" Eddie Clarke, Phil "Philthy Animal" Taylor, Lemmy Motörhead (2:39)
Live to Win Lemmy Kilmister, "Fast" Eddie Clarke, Phil "Philthy Animal" Taylor, Lemmy Motörhead (3:37)
Fast and Loose Lemmy Kilmister, Phil "Philthy Animal" Taylor, Lemmy, "Fast" Eddie Clarke Motörhead (3:23)
(We Are) The Road Crew "Fast" Eddie Clarke, Phil "Philthy Animal" Taylor, Lemmy Kilmister Motörhead (3:12)
Fire, Fire Lemmy, Lemmy Kilmister, "Fast" Eddie Clarke, Phil "Philthy Animal" Taylor Motörhead (2:44)
Jailbait "Fast" Eddie Clarke, Phil "Philthy Animal" Taylor, Lemmy Kilmister, Lemmy Motörhead (3:33)
Dance "Fast" Eddie Clarke, Lemmy Kilmister, Lemmy, Phil "Philthy Animal" Taylor Motörhead (2:38)
Bite the Bullet Lemmy Kilmister, Lemmy, "Fast" Eddie Clarke, Phil "Philthy Animal" Taylor Motörhead (1:38)
The Chase Is Better Than the Catch Phil "Philthy Animal" Taylor, Lemmy Kilmister, Lemmy, "Fast" Eddie Clarke Motörhead (4:18)
The Hammer Lemmy Kilmister, Phil "Philthy Animal" Taylor, Lemmy, "Fast" Eddie Clarke Motörhead (2:45)

Credits

Alan Ballard (Sleeve Photo), Martin Poole (Design), Curtis Evans (Reissue Design), Steve Hammonds (Reissue Coordination), Charlie Watts (Mastering), (Ex) Cat Heads (Performer), Lemmy (Liner Notes), "Fast" Eddie Clarke (Guitar), Phil "Philthy Animal" Taylor (Drums), Steffan Chirazi (Liner Notes), Alan Ballard (Photography), Lemmy (Vocals), Vic Maile (Producer), Lemmy (Bass), James Wilkinson (Reissue Coordination)
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Wikipedia: Ace of Spades (album)
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Home > Library > Miscellaneous > Wikipedia
Ace of Spades
Studio album by Motörhead
Released 8 November 1980
Recorded 4 August – 15 September 1980
Jackson's Studios, Rickmansworth, UK
Genre Heavy metal, speed metal
Length 36:42
Label Bronze (Worldwide)
Mercury (North America)
Producer Vic Maile
Professional reviews
Motörhead chronology
The Golden Years (EP)
(1980)		 Ace of Spades
(1980)		 Beer Drinkers and Hell Raisers (EP)
(1980)
DVD cover
2005 DVD release Classic Albums

Ace of Spades is the fourth album by the British band Motörhead. Released on 8 November 1980, it peaked at #4 on the UK album charts.[3] It was preceded by the release of the title track "Ace of Spades" as a single on 27 October, which peaked in the UK singles chart at #15 in early November.[4]

Contents

Recording

The album was recorded in August and September 1980, produced by Vic Maile at his Jackson's Studio in Rickmansworth. This is the first of what would be a series of projects with Maile, and members of the band commented at the time about finding the right producer. Whereas the band had previously had an input at the mixing stage, Maile took sole responsibility here, Clarke explaining that the result was that "you can finally hear everything that's going on".[5]

Of the performances, Lemmy claimed that "Vic got me singing instead of just shouting all the time", while Taylor added "and he got me playing more solid".[5]

Sleeve

It was the first of the band's albums to feature a photograph of them on the cover, dressed as cowboys. The 'Arizona desert-style' pictures used on the album sleeve and tour programme were taken during a photo session at a sandpit in Barnet.[6]

Promotion and tour

Motörhead appeared on Top of the Pops twice in October to promote the single "Ace of Spades", and were guests on the ITV children's morning show Tiswas on 8 November.

The band undertook a UK tour from 22 October through to 2 December under the banner Ace Up Your Sleeve, with support from Girlschool and Vardis. After the Belfast show on 2 December, high jinx resulted in Taylor breaking his neck forcing him to wear a neck-brace and curtailing any further band activity. The other members of the band took the opportunity to collaborate with Girlschool for the St. Valentine's Day Massacre (EP).

Critical reception

The album has been described as "one of the best metal albums by any band, ever"[7] and has become a significantly influential 'hard rock classic'.[8] Despite the band always referring to their music as rock 'n roll,[9] the album, and particularly its title track have been considered amongst the most influential in the development of thrash metal.[10] The title track is, for many, the definitive Motörhead anthem.[11] The album is listed in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.

Classic albums documentary

On 28 March 2005 the documentary about the album (a part of the Classic Albums series) was released on DVD by Eagle Vision. The in-depth look at the making of the album includes interviews with and performances by Lemmy, Phil Taylor and Eddie Clarke.[12]

Track listing

All tracks composed by Ian Kilmister, Phil Taylor, Eddie Clarke.

LP

Side A

# Title Length
1. "Ace of Spades"   2:49
2. "Love Me Like a Reptile"   3:23
3. "Shoot You in the Back"   2:39
4. "Live to Win"   3:37
5. "Fast and Loose"   3:23
6. "(We Are) The Road Crew"   3:12

Side B

# Title Length
1. "Fire Fire"   2:44
2. "Jailbait"   3:33
3. "Dance"   2:38
4. "Bite the Bullet"   1:38
5. "The Chase Is Better Than the Catch"   4:18
6. "The Hammer"   2:48

CD bonus tracks

  1. "Dirty Love" - 2:57
  2. "Please Don't Touch" (Johnny Kidd, Guy Robinson) - 2:49
  3. "Emergency" (Kim McAuliffe, Kelly Johnson, Enid Williams, Denise Dufort) - 3:00

Deluxe Edition: Disc 2

  1. "Dirty Love" – 2:55
  2. "Ace of Spades" (alternate version) – 3:03
  3. "Love Me Like a Reptile" (alternate version) – 4:16
  4. "Love Me Like a Reptile" (alternate version) – 3:31
  5. "Shoot You in the Back" (alternate version) – 3:11
  6. "Fast and Loose" (alternate version) – 3:06
  7. "(We Are) The Roadcrew" (alternate version) – 3:24
  8. "Fire Fire" (alternate version) – 2:41
  9. "Jailbait" (alternate version) – 3:33
  10. "The Hammer" (alternate version) – 3:11
  11. "Dirty Love" (alternate version) – 1:02
  12. "Dirty Love" (alternate version) – 3:51
  13. "Fast and Loose" (BBC Session) – 4:18
  14. "Live to Win" (BBC Session) – 3:33
  15. "Bite the Bullet/The Chase Is Better Than the Catch" (BBC Session) – 6:05

The 2CD version DOES NOT include the Girlschool St. Valentine's Day Massacre tracks that are on the single-disc remaster.

Credits

  • Recorded 4 August – 15 September 1980 at Jackson's Studios, Rickmansworth, UK
  • Produced by Vic Maile
  • Sleeve photography by Alan Ballard
  • Design by Martin Poole

Release history and variations

Date Region Label Catalogue Format Notes
8/Nov/1980 UK Bronze BRON531 vinyl Peaked at #4 in the album chart
8/Nov/1980 UK Bronze BRONG531 Gold vinyl
8/Nov/1980 Italy Bronze BROL 34531 vinyl
8/Nov/1980 Germany Bronze 202 876-270 vinyl some mispressed with side 1 on both sides.
8/Nov/1980 US Mercury SRM-1-4011 vinyl Different track running order
1986 UK GWR GWLP6 vinyl
1986 UK Legacy Records LLMCD 3013 CD
1988 US Profile Records PCD-3243 CD
1991 UK Castle Communications, Castle Classics CLACD 240 CD Liner notes by Mörat from Kerrang!
1996 UK Essential, Castle Music ESM CD 312 CD 3 bonus tacks
2003 Italy Earmark 41003 Red vinyl
28/Jan/2003 UK Silverline 2881339 DVD-Audio[13] Surround Sound format
2005 US Sanctuary 06076-86408-2 2xCD
  • The labels on the 1986 GWR re-issue had the GWR logo and "A" on one side, and Side Two on the other. The tracks were also erroneously listed in the order of the North America release.

References

  1. ^ Birchmeier, Jason. "Review Ace of Spades". Allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:a9fwxqw5ldae~T1. Retrieved 2009-08-07. 
  2. ^ Christgau, Robert. "Review Ace of Spades". Robert Christgau. http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_artist.php?id=969&name=Motorhead. Retrieved 2009-08-07. 
  3. ^ Burridge, Alan Illustrated Collector's Guide to Motörhead Published: 1995, Collector's Guide Publishing p70. ISBN 0-9695736-2-6.
  4. ^ Burridge, Alan (April 1991). "Motörhead". Record Collector (140): 18–19. 
  5. ^ a b Ace of Spades official tour programme. Motorhead interviewed by Giovanni Dadomo
  6. ^ "Dr Rock VS Lemmy interview 19 July 2004". PlayLouder article. http://playlouder.com/feature/+lemmy/. Retrieved 2007-02-27. 
  7. ^ "Motorhead". BNR Metal Pages. http://www.bnrmetal.com/groups/moto.htm. Retrieved 2007-04-11. 
  8. ^ "Classic Albums: Motörhead – Ace of Spades". Allmovie review. http://www.allmovie.com/cg/avg.dll?p=avg&sql=A322052. Retrieved 2007-02-28. 
  9. ^ "An Interview with Lemmy Kilmister". Classic Rock Revisited article. http://www.classicrockrevisited.com/Interviews/08/Interview_with_Lemmy.htm. Retrieved 2007-04-04. 
  10. ^ "Reviews for Motörhead's Ace of Spades 4 December 2004". Encyclopaedia Metallum. http://www.metal-archives.com/review.php?id=939. Retrieved 2007-02-27. 
  11. ^ Konow, David (2002). Bang Your Head. Three Rivers Press, c2002. p. 226 has "Motorhead's signature song, Ace of Spades". ISBN 0-609-80732-3. 
  12. ^ "Motörhead: Ace of Spades Classic Albums Series DVD". Eagle Rock Entertainment site. http://www.eaglerockent.com/eaglerockUK/media_detail.php?media_id=507. Retrieved 2007-02-28. 
  13. ^ "Motörhead: Albums". VH1 site. http://www.vh1.com/artists/az/motorhead/1279555/album.jhtml. Retrieved 2007-02-28. 

External links

v • d • e
Motörhead
Ian "Lemmy" Kilmister • Phil Campbell • Mikkey Dee
Larry Wallis • "Fast" Eddie Clarke • Brian "Robbo" Robertson • Michael "Würzel" Burston • Lucas Fox • Phil "Philthy Animal" Taylor • Pete Gill • Tommy Aldridge
Studio albums
EPs
Live albums
Compilations
Singles
"Leaving Here" • "Motorhead" (1977 studio recording) • "Motorhead" (1981 live recording) • "Louie Louie" • "Overkill" • "No Class" • "Bomber" • "Ace of Spades" • "Iron Fist" • "I Got Mine" • "Shine" • "Killed by Death" • "Deaf Forever" • "Eat the Rich" • "Ace of Spades (live)" • "The One to Sing the Blues" • "Hellraiser" • "Don't Let Daddy Kiss Me" • "Born to Raise Hell" • "God Save the Queen"
Videos
Other

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

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