Motorhead
Another Perfect Day
(40th Anniversary Edition)
BMG Records
Out now
7.5/10
This album is not one of Motorhead's best loved albums but I actually really enjoyed it when I bought it back on it's original release in 1983. It followed the departure of original guitarist Fast Eddie Clarke and saw the arrival of Brian Robertson the former Thin Lizzy guitarist who brought with him more melody and of course the now infamous refusal to play the classic Motorhead songs live.
This album whilst not being a classic is a very enjoyable slab of a more musical Motorhead and throughout is full of Robertson's excellent lead guitar work. From Lemmy's declaration after Robertson's blues lick of "Top Notch" it launches into "Back At The Funny Farm" with it's unmistakable Motörhead vibe and Lemmy's vocal delivery; albeit with a more melodic undertone.
"Shine" which was a single continues on with the album in much the same way. With it's picked guitar intro leading into some "Rock and Roll" riffing "Dancing On Your Grave" has melody aplenty and some good guitar soloing showcasing Robertson's playing. With it's classic Motorhead swagger "Rock It" has some great Bass work in it. "One Track Mind" has a great laid back feel to it and I like the vocal delivery on this track a lot because it fits so well with the groove of the riff and another great guitar solo in it.
The title track has a nice bluesy element to the intro before regaining that typical trademark Motorhead feel to it. "Marching Off To War", "I Got Mine" and "Tales Of Glory" are more of the same before "Die You Bastard" is announced by the rumble of Lemmy's bass. "Turn You Around Again" closes out the album.
All in all it's not classic Motorhead but it is a really enjoyable album especially in it's remastered format. There are demo versions of some of the album's songs on disc 1 at the end of the album as well as some live songs; including a great live rendition of "Hoochie Coochie Man". The bonus disc is of a live recording from the Another Perfect Day tour from Hull City Hall. It's a typical raw and hard performance from the band, and it has some older tracks in a set-list heavily made up with songs from the APD album, but as mentioned before there's no "Ace of Spades", "Bomber" or "Overkill" in this set; however it's still a live album from one of the most loved bands of our time.
Like I said earlier I enjoyed this album on it's release and this reissue reminded me why I did so. I highly recommend this album despite it not being the classic Motorhead. But it showcases a new found sense of melody from the short tenure of Brian ROBERTSON whose playing on this release brought out the more melodic side of the band. If he was good enough for Lemmy that's good enough for us mere mortals. Lemmy may be gone but he will NEVER BE FORGOTTEN. Also worth checking out is the reissue of "Iron Fist" this albums predecessor and last album with the classic Motorhead line up.
Meathook Mike, HMS