Ace of Spades (album)
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| Ace of Spades | |||||
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| Studio album by Motörhead | |||||
| Released | November 8, 1980 | ||||
| Recorded | 4 August – 15 September 1980 Jackson's Studios, Rickmansworth, UK |
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| Genre | Heavy metal, speed metal, hard rock[1] | ||||
| Length | 45:27 | ||||
| Label | Bronze Records GWR (1986 re-issue) |
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| Producer | Vic Maile | ||||
| Professional reviews | |||||
| Motörhead chronology | |||||
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| DVD cover | |||||
2005 DVD release
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Ace of Spades is the fourth album by the British heavy metal band Motörhead. Released in 1980, it reached #4 on the UK charts and was the first of the band's album releases to feature a photo of the band on the cover.
Contents |
[edit] Recording and releases
In August and September 1980, the band were recording at Jackson's Studios in Rickmansworth with producer Vic Maile for the "Ace of Spades" sessions for Bronze Records. As a preview of the forthcoming album and tour, the "Ace of Spades" single was released on October 27, 1980 and by early November had reached #15.[2] The album was released on November 8, 1980 and sailed to #4 in the UK album charts,[3] prompting Bronze to press a limited number of albums in gold vinyl, changing the catalogue number from BRON to BRONG for the edition.[2] The 'Arizona desert-style' pictures used on the album sleeve and tour booklet cover were taken during a photosession at a sandpit in Barnet.[4]
On January 28, 2003, Silverline released a DVD-Audio version of the album.[5] On March 28, 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 Lemmy, Phil Taylor and Eddie Clarke.[6]The date of the song is actually queeried between the year 1980 and the year 1981.
[edit] Legacy
The album has been described as "one of the best metal albums by any band, ever, period",[7] and has become a significantly influential 'hard rock classic'.[8] Despite the band always referring to their music as rock 'n roll in the same vein as their heroes Eric Clapton and Jimi Hendrix, the album, and particularly its title track have been considered amongst the most influential in the development of thrash metal.[9] The title track is, for many, the definitive Motörhead anthem.[10] The album is listed in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.
[edit] Track listing
All tracks composed by Ian Kilmister, Phil Taylor, Eddie Clarke except on CD re-issues where stated.
[edit] Original track listing
- "Ace of Spades" – 2:49
- "Love Me Like a Reptile" – 3:23
- "Shoot You in the Back" – 2:39
- "Live to Win" – 3:37
- "Fast and Loose" – 3:23
- "(We Are) The Road Crew" – 3:12
- "Fire, Fire" – 2:44
- "Jailbait" – 3:33
- "Dance" – 2:38
- "Bite the Bullet" – 1:38
- "The Chase Is Better Than the Catch" – 4:18
- "The Hammer" – 2:48
[edit] Bonus tracks
- "Dirty Love" (B-side of Ace of Spades)
- "Please Don't Touch" (Johnny Kidd, Guy Robinson)
- "Emergency" (Kim McAuliffe, Kelly Johnson, Enid Williams, Denise Dufort)
- Tracks 14 and 15 were taken from the St. Valentine's Day Massacre EP.
[edit] Deluxe Edition
[edit] Disc 1
- "Ace of Spades" – 2:49
- "Love Me Like a Reptile" – 3:23
- "Shoot You in the Back" – 2:39
- "Live to Win" – 3:37
- "Fast and Loose" – 3:23
- "(We Are) The Road Crew" – 3:12
- "Fire Fire" – 2:44
- "Jailbait" – 3:33
- "Dance" – 2:38
- "Bite the Bullet" – 1:38
- "The Chase Is Better Than the Catch" – 4:18
- "The Hammer" – 2:48
[edit] Disc 2
- "Dirty Love" - 2:55
- "Ace of Spades" (alternate version) - 3:03
- "Love Me Like a Reptile" (alternate version) - 4:16
- "Love Me Like a Reptile" (alternate version) - 3:31
- "Shoot You in the Back" (alternate version) - 3:11
- "Fast and Loose" (alternate version) - 3:06
- "(We Are) The Roadcrew" (alternate version) - 3:24
- "Fire Fire" (alternate version) - 2:41
- "Jailbait" (alternate version) - 3:33
- "The Hammer" (alternate version) - 3:11
- "Dirty Love" (alternate version) - 1:02
- "Dirty Love" (alternate version) - 2:51
- "Fast and Loose" (BBC Session) - 4:18
- "Live to Win" (BBC Session) - 3:33
- "Bite the Bullet/The Chase Is Better Than the Catch" (BBC Session) - 6:05
[edit] Miscellanea
- The U.S. pressing has the tracks in a different running order and some German pressings have side 'A' both sides.
- On the 1986 GWR re-issue, the designers were obviously confused. They insisted on having a label which just had the GWR logo and "A" on one side. On the other side, it claimed to be Side Two (not B) and it had the tracks in the wrong running order – it has "Ace of Spades" commencing Side Two and puts "The Chase Is Better Than the Catch" at the head of Side One.
- In a Cingular commercial, "The Ace of Spades" is sung by a guy in bar who has no signal for his cellphone.
[edit] Credits
- Lemmy (Ian Kilmister) - bass, lead vocals
- "Fast" Eddie Clarke - guitar, lead vocals on "Emergency"
- Phil "Philthy Animal" Taylor - drums
- Recorded August 4 – September 15, 1980 at Jackson's Studios, Rickmansworth, UK
- Produced by Vic Maile
- Sleeve photography by Alan Ballard
- Design by Martin Poole
[edit] References
- ^ allmusic ((( Ace of Spades > Overview )))
- ^ a b Burridge, Alan (April 1991). "Motörhead". Record Collector (140): 18-19.
- ^ Burridge, Alan Illustrated Collector's Guide to Motörhead Published: 1995, Collector's Guide Publishing p70. ISBN 0-9695736-2-6.
- ^ Dr Rock VS Lemmy interview July 19, 2004. PlayLouder article. Retrieved on 2007-02-27.
- ^ Motörhead: Albums. VH1 site. Retrieved on 2007-02-28.
- ^ Motörhead: Ace of Spades Classic Albums Series DVD. Eagle Rock Entertainment site. Retrieved on 2007-02-28.
- ^ Motorhead. BNR Metal Pages. Retrieved on 2007-04-11.
- ^ Classic Albums: Motörhead - Ace of Spades. All Movie Guide review. Retrieved on 2007-02-28.
- ^ Music to crash your car to. - 90% December 4, 2004. Encyclopaedia Metallum reviews for Ace of Spades. Retrieved on 2007-02-27.
- ^ Konow, David. Bang Your Head. Three Rivers Press, c2002, 226 has "Motorhead's signature song, Ace of Spades". ISBN 0-609-80732-3.
