The classic Motörhead song Lemmy said was “not even good”
Of all the greatest names in rock history, Lemmy lived and breathed the genre from the moment he hit the stage. Whether working with Hawkwind or Motörhead, Lemmy was pioneering the sound of heavy metal and hard rock without even knowing, standing at attention with his microphone positioned high and wailing in his distinctive gravelly tone. Although many have celebrated albums like Ace of Spades for helping break down the doors of rock, the frontman admitted that most of the material on it was never all it was cracked up to be.
When looking at the trajectory of Motörhead, it was easy to see the band still shaking off the remnants of Hawkwind. Formed as a psychedelic outfit in the late 1960s, Lemmy quickly became the lead songwriter of Hawkwind, helping them score some of their first major hits on tracks like ‘Silver Machine’.
Once the bass player got busted for drugs midway through the tour, the band decided to sack him in favour of someone more reliable. Taking his new band’s name for the last song he wrote for Hawkwind, Lemmy introduced himself to the world again with Motörhead on the album On Parole, which bridged the gap between his psychedelia years with the caustic rock and roll he would become known for.
Although every piece of Motörhead’s music comes from Lemmy’s mind, the band wouldn’t be genuinely solidified until he rounded out the lineup with Phil Taylor on drums and ‘Fast’ Eddie Clarke on lead guitar. Looking to channel the model he saw from groups like The MC5, Lemmy would steer the band into the late 1970s in style with albums like Overkill, which opened up people’s minds to what could be done with double bass drums.
As the 1980s began, Ace of Spades would become the group’s trademark, featuring the title track’s tale of living free and keeping action a central focus in one’s life. Although Lemmy did have a particular love for the music that made him a star, he wasn’t willing to return to the documented version of their old tracks.
When talking about the legacy of his music, Lemmy thought that many of Motörhead’s classic albums didn’t hold up in retrospect, telling Louder Than War, “They are not even good; primitive, bad sound, bad equipment, and in a lot of cases played really badly. There is something good about it if you were 16, but the moment has passed”.
Even though Lemmy might not have looked fondly at his previous work, it was all about the band pushing forward on every subsequent record. By the time the band reached the 2000s, Lemmy was still determined to make the best Motörhead record he had ever made, eventually delving into punk with the album We Are Motörhead and getting in touch with the bluesier side of his sound with age.
While ‘Ace of Spades’ would still become a major part of the band’s setlist until Lemmy’s death, he never complained about the quality of his material. The recording may have been primitive, but during those final runs of shows, ‘Ace of Spades’ had grown from the naive cry of a young rock and roller to a seasoned anthem from a rock veteran who never compromised for a second.
