At a time when vinyl is getting sweet revenge after decades of compact disc domination, it’s something of a marketing masterstroke creating stripped down 45s from Motörhead’s CD singles and album tracks released between 1995-2006, and presenting them on wax in a handsome box.
Opening 45 Sacrifice (their eleventh studio album’s title track) instantly throws a curve with Dee working mutant speed-Latin inflections into its flat-out onslaught (initially to Lemmy’s bemusement), also marking Würzel’s Motörhead swansong. Lemmy’s favourite Over Your Shoulder rears in dirty clanking live form on the B-side.
1996’s Overnight Sensation unveiled the final trio, I Don’t Believe A Word starting slow with Lemmy almost crooning before going apocalyptic (flipped by title track live). If mediocre fourteenth album Snake Bite Love’s Love For Sale consolidates Motörhead’s thunderous blueprint, B-side Take The Blame steals its thunder as possibly the fastest Motörhead ditty ever, Lemmy turning on his evil voice to lambast politicians.
We Are Motörhead’s robust cover of Sex Pistols’ God Save The Queen is overshadowed for shock value by its B-side’s autobiographical ballad, sung properly by Lem in bittersweet tones. After business as usual with Shut Your Mouth (from 2002’s Hammered) and Overkill-recalling See Me Burning, Whorehouse Blues (from 2004’s return-to-form Inferno) broke the Motörmould again with all three playing acoustic guitars on its country blues Rollin’ And Tumblin’ rework declaring ‘We come from the gutter, wrong side of the tracks’ (flipped by Killer’s razorriffed avalanche).
2006’s Kiss of Death is represented by big riff slowie God Was Never On Your Side; another departure with Lemmy’s lyrically biting but sweetly sung introduction over more acoustic guitars (flipped by strident racer Trigger). The selection concludes with 2006’s lightning fly-past R.A.M.O.N.E.S. homaging the band that could have been Motörhead’s US counterpart, along with an incendiary live rendition.
For those requiring the easier, cheaper option, it’s all on double CD and download. Lemmy himself would approve of reappearing on the beloved format he grew up with.
