Thursday, January 11, 2018

Throwback Thursday: "Ace of Spades", by Motorhead



This week's Throwback Thursday is dedicated to the memory of Fast Eddie Clarke, who passed away today. Mr. Clarke played guitar on Motorhead's most famous album: Ace of Spades.

By 1980 proto-thrash metal band Motorhead had been slowly but surely building up their popularity among the punk and metal fan bases by putting out two fairly successful albums, numerous TV appearances, and almost non-stop touring. The band finally broke into the big time though when they put out their best known album, a masterpiece of high octane no holds barred rock n' roll called Ace of Spades. This acted as the jumping point for them, blasting them into the stratosphere.

Ace of Spades is an interesting album because it has that fast, driving, raw punk sentiment but at the same time it has the musical chops to keep up with any heavy metal band any day of the week. This is straightforward, no frills rock n' roll. It's big, loud, and sleazy. Nothing profound lyrically or technical musically about it. Just the way a good rock n' roll album should be. There is a reason it has become as influential and stood the test of time as much as it has.

"Ace of Spades" is the song that everyone knows Motorhead for best. That fast, crunchy opening bass line is one of the most iconic in music history. When the drums come thundering in, you just know you're about to be grabbed by the balls and dragged along for one hell of a good rocking time. From the moment the song starts until it ends there is no space to breathe. It's full of adrenaline rush and raw, unfiltered attitude.

Not everything on Ace of Spades was just straight up speed and volume, though. "Fast and Loose" has one hell of a nice swing to it. It's still chocked full of power and thrill, but it's a nice change of pace and adds a bit of variety to the overall sound of the album. You might hear some minor similarities between it and a bit of Kiss's early stuff, which isn't entirely surprising. There is even a bit of vocal harmony toward the end, which adds a nice bit of flavor as well.

Ace of Spades is one of the quintessential hard rock and heavy metal albums. Not a single bad track on it. For every young rocker who wants to learn all about the greats and have a blueprint for how to make rock n' roll, Ace of Spades is a must. There is so much to enjoy and learn from here. Even if you're not a musician it's still a fantastic album to rock out to if you want something raw, loud, and kick-ass with no commercial sounding gloss.

Ace of Spades, by Motorhead receives 4 out of 5 stars.

Track List:

1. Ace of Spades
2. Love Me Like a Reptile
3. Shoot You in the Back
4. Live to Win
5. Fast and Loose
6. (We Are) The Road Crew
7. Fire, Fire
8. Jailbait
9. Dance
10. Bite the Bullet
11. The Chase is Better Than the Catch
12. The Hammer

Buy the album on Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/Ace-Spades-Explicit-Mot%C3%B6rhead/dp/B01JTHLMCY/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1515719818&sr=8-5&keywords=Ace+of+Spades

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