
Motörhead – Classic Album Selection
This box set compiles the bands second through to sixth studio albums, as well as their first live album. The albums in question are 1979’s Overkill & Bomber, as well as 1980’s Ace Of Spades, 1981’s No Sleep `Till Hammersmith, 1982’s Iron Fist and finally 1983’s Another Perfect Day.
All these albums feature the classic line-up of Ian `Lemmy’ Kilmister, Phil `Philthy Animal’ Taylor and `Fast’ Eddie Clarke, with the exception of Another Perfect Day on which Clarke is replaced on guitar by Thin Lizzy’s Brian Robertson.
As you can imagine, these albums contain all sorts of fan-favourite tracks and memorable singles like `Ace Of Spades,’ `(We Are) The Roadcrew,’ `Overkill,’ `Damage Case,’ `Iron Fist,’ `Metropolis,’ `Speedfreak’ `(Don’t Need) No Religion,’ `Shine’ and `Stone Dead Forever.’
The albums come housed in a 14cm x 13cm x 3.5cm thick cardboard box, which contains the CDs in six separate two-paneled cardboard sleeves that are a hybrid halfway-point between digipaks, vinyl replicas and free-with-a-magazine cardboard sleeves. The outside front and back of the cases replicate the album artwork and the inside features one panel of band photos and one panel with a circular hole through which the disc is visible, although the disc actually exits out of the side. The cases even have a little spine each so you can tell which sleeve is which without having to dump out the whole thing just to get to the one you wanted.
You don’t get any linear notes or any bonus tracks such as B-Sides or non-album singles, nor do you get the band’s self-titled debut album (or it re-released as `On Parole’) so if you are after an absolutely complete collection this set may hinder you in the long run, but if you just want some great albums all at once for a relatively low price then it is worth your time.
If you already own these albums or are feeling cynical you can talk about how this boxset is just a cash-in by the record companies or whatever, but as a new fan (or a fan who lost their copies and wants to repurchase) if you simply want to pick up some great Motörhead albums but don’t want to spend too much doing that, or indeed don’t want to have them take up too much space in your home or vehicle then this set does serve a purpose and is worth checking out.