Another Perfect Day [CD]

It may have divided opinion at the time, but these days most fans seem to agree that this is a great Motörhead album. There will be some who say 'It doesn't sound like Motörhead' -- well, what is a typical Motörhead record? 'Overkill'? 'Orgasmatron'? 'March or Die'? 'Sacrifice'? Their catalogue is a bit more diverse than they're generally given credit for (especially by people who don't really listen to them).

Whatever the problems between Lemmy and Brian Robertson, they seem to have arisen on the road rather than in the studio, because 'Another Perfect Day' is a slick, harmonious listen. Arguably Robertson's leads are a little intrusive at times -- he obviously saw this as a showcase for his considerable talents, and squeezed in licks where they shouldn't always have been -- but there's no doubt that the sound he honed with Thin Lizzy found its fullest expression here, and added something hugely valuable to the Motörhead sound, from the melodic riffing on 'Dancing on Your Grave' to the blues workout of 'One Track Mind'. And check out 'Rock It' if you think this is a less 'heavy' sound that what went before.

My (probably heretical) view is that Eddie Clarke was an excellent but limited guitarist who had done all he could with Motörhead, and whose production on 'Iron Fist' bordered on the egotistical and marred a very strong set of songs. 'Another Perfect Day' is a stronger set of songs from a more musical group and with better production. I doubt that this line-up could have survived long, but I'm glad it made this record.

And the cover is awesome.

1983 was quite a bizarre year for two of the giants of hard rock and heavy metal namely Black Sabbath and Motörhead both experiencing very strange line ups in a one album situation what with Gillan joining Sabbath and erstwhile Thin Lizzy guitarist Brian `Robbo' Robertson replacing `Fast' Eddie Clarke.

Musically this album is a departure from the sound of the `Fast' Eddie albums which truth be told had become a little stale by the time of `Iron Fist' which although quite good wasn't up to the standard of the previous three classic albums. This can be put down to the more melodic sensibilities of Robbo's guitar playing but this is still a loud and fast rock `n' roll album, Motörhead haven't suddenly turned into Opeth, don't worry. Even if you don't like the change in direction surely any Motörhead fan can appreciate these are some of the best songs the band ever put out.

Particularly of note especially to me as a guitar playing is Brian Robertson's guitar playing, especially his lead work which is always astounding, clean and melodic yet energetic and never descending into pointless shred exercises. Lemmy said this album had `too much guitar' for once he was wrong, ok, there may be three or four solos in each song but these solos are always perfectly crafted and add to the songs instead of detracting. It could be said that Robbo was the wrong guitarist for Motörhead, maybe this was true on the following tour in which he refused to play other Motörhead classics, but as far as his work in the studio goes, he was an excellent choice for the band. This album, I feel has Philthy Phil's last truly great performance on drums and goes to show just as `Overkill', `Bomber', `Ace of Spades', `No Sleep till Hammersmith' and `Iron Fist' did that he was a phenomenal albeit unorthodox drummer in league with other mentalists such as Keith Moon. Lemmy's bass as per usual sounds like a plane taking off. This particular Motörhead line up had a unique chemistry with the combination of Robbo's musical force and Phil and Lemmy's force of nature.

Song wise this album is particularly strong with nine out of ten of these either being good or masterpieces. Only `Die you Bastard!' lets the side down, while not being a bad song, it's not up to the high standard set by the rest of the record. My favourites are the opener `Back at the Funny Farm' which is a fast, furious number with guitar solos reminiscent of Hendrix's `Purple Haze', Shine a upbeat melodic song driven along by harmonised riffs, the title track which as other reviewers have pointed out is strangely beautiful for a Motörhead song and `Dancing on your Grave' which has many guitar solos and a classic riff, which along with the excellent `I Got Mine' remains in the Motörhead live set to this day. The production on this album is also particularly good; crystal clear yet still giving the band its raw heaviness, it's a definite improvement on the thin sound on `Iron Fist' although not quite as heavy as the `Ace of Spades' production.

On this album Motörhead once again prove that they were not spent force after `Ace of Spades' (and they would continue to do so). Also they show a versatility that few would give them credit for. It may be their most hated album but its certainly one of the best.

It seems 1983 was quite the year of Hard Rock and Heavy Metal one offs what with Gillan in Black Sabbath and of course what we have hear Brian Robertson lending his extraordinary guitar talents to Motörhead. This is something very different from Motörhead it is a departure or sorts from the more straight ahead material of the 'Fast' Eddie Clarke era into a more musical directions, saying that this isn't exactly Coldplay, and Still is loud and fast Rock 'n' Roll.

The Song writing hear ranks easily amongst the bands and best. The trio of Lemmy, Robbo and Philthy Phil give amazing performances throughout with 'Back at the Funny Farm', 'Shine', 'Another Perfect Day', 'Dancing on your Grave' and 'I Got Mine' being standouts (the later two still live favourites). Simply put the album is fantastic with great performances (perhaps Robbo and Phil's best!), excellent lyrics and a crystal clear production you can't afford not to have this. So if you think the be all and end all of Motörhead is 'Ace of Spades' think again and give this a try.