Better Motorhead Than Dead: Live at Hammersmith

This reviewer has always been sceptical about live albums, past experience tells me that they never deliver the same punch as actually seeing the band play, and never provide the same sound quality for home listening as a studio album or compilation.

So it was with some trepidation that I sat down to listen to this 2 Disc, 23 track goliath.

Welcomed by the dulcet tones of Lemmy growling "WE ARE MOTORHEAD, WE PLAY ROCK AND ROLL" we launched straight into "Dr Rock" and from that point on, the punded drums and roaring guitars never let up, dragging the listeners along at the same breakneck speed that the erstwhile singer ploughs through Jack Daniels.

However, my fears about sound quality were sadly realised, and as was remarked by my flatmate; "That soundman needs shot"

Don't get me wrong, it's not the worst sound I've heard on a live recording, but it's far from good. The bass had a muffled quality that no amount of equalizer fiddling would correct, and Kilminster's voice sounded as though he was performing with a blanket over his head. At the other end of the scale, the guitars had a tinny quality which made them sound as though they were being played through a pocket radio, which made the whole listening experience very distracting.

It's not all bad I suppose- I can't fault it for energy, it's got wry asides from Lemmy, and it is a big package covering a broad spectrum of the bands back catalogue. However it's difficult to get excited about it when the sound is so poor.

In short, this is one for Motorhead completists only. For any other fans I couldn't recommend it over buying one of the studio albums or going to see the band live.