Tag: Lemmy Kilmister

Head Cat – Fool’s Paradise… album review

I don’t do many album reviews, but this one, I had to write something. I spent this weekend totally locked in on this 2006 album, having it on my computer and phone. It’s a fun rockabilly album well done, and the song selection is terrific. I was going to review another artist, but I got stuck on this one, so I’ll post him next weekend. After the Motörhead post on Friday, CB brought up a rockabilly band that Lemmy was in. I was surprised, to say the least, because I didn’t remember this from the documentary but it’s been a while. I love what I heard. 

I don’t skip tracks because one is as good as the other. There is a bounciness to this album…if that is a word. I could have written a one-word review… FUN. 

Let’s get with the members of this band. On drums, you have Slim Jim Phantom from the Stray Cats. This man pops up everywhere by the way. On Guitar and piano, you have a rockabilly guitarist named Danny B. Harvey. On bass you have Lemmy Kilmister taking a break from Motörhead to play some rockabilly. His voice fits this music well. 

The origins of The Head Cat trace back to a casual collaboration. Lemmy Kilmister, Slim Jim Phantom, and Danny B. Harvey teamed up in 1999 to record a tribute album to Elvis Presley, titled Swing Cats: A Special Tribute to Elvis. The band’s name? Can you guess? Combining Motörhead and The Stray Cats. They released 6 studio and live albums combined. 

They didn’t always pick the most popular rockabilly songs which I love. You have Buddy Holly, Eddie Cochran, Jimmy Reed, and The Crickets songs on this album. Rather than covering Peggy Sue, they cover Peggy Sue Got Married instead which personally I like more. You have a Buddy Holly title cut Fool’s Paradise. You also have Crying, Waiting, Hoping, Not Fade Away, and one of my favorite Holly songs in Well…All Right. 

The reason this and other similar rockabilly albums work is because 1:  The musicians love this type of music and…that damn word again…FUN. 2: The songs are simple and that is not a put-down but they don’t have 12 chords and studio tricks. The songs sound good on backyard porches and would sound great in the Royal Albert Hall or Ryman Auditorium. I think music has moved too far away from this style. 3: When I said these songs were simple I was NOT implying they are easy to play right…on the contrary because you have no distortion box or tricks to hide behind. It takes pure musicians and a love for this music to play it right. These guys grew up with this music so they pour their heart into it. 

I’ll get off my soapbox now but how I wish I would have had this music growing up. I didn’t grow up in this era when the songs were real time but I see why all of the great artists I like… cling to this music. Everyone from The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, The Who, Stones, Springsteen, Dylan, and The Kinks spent their career trying to recapture the spirit in these wonderful songs. The Head Cat did a great job!

Here is the tracklist:

1 Fool’s Paradise
2 Tell Me How
3 You Got Me Dizzy
4 Not Fade Away
5 Cut Across Shorty
6 Lawdy Miss Clawdy
7 Take Your Time
8 Well…All Right
9 Trying To Get To You
10 Learning The Game
11 Peggy Sue Got Married
12 Crying, Waiting, Hoping
13 Love’s Made A Fool To You
14 Big River
15 Matchbox

If you want the complete album on YouTube…here is the link

Well…All Right

Well, alright, so I’m being foolish
Well, alright, let people know
About the dreams I know that you wish
In the night when lights are low

Well, alright, well, alright
We’ll live and love with all our might
Well, alright, well, alright
Our lifetime love will be alright

Well, alright, so I’m going steady
It’s alright, let people say
That those foolish kids can’t be ready
For the love that comes their way

Well, alright, well, alright
We’ll live and love with all our might
Well, alright, well, alright
Our lifetime love will be alright

Well, alright, well, alright
You know we’ll live and love with all our might
Well, alright, well, alright
You know our lifetime love will be alright

….

Stiff Records Week – Motörhead – White Line Fever

I had no clue Motörhead was on Stiff Records but here they are! They did not mess around about turning it up either. It’s everything you would think Motörhead would be…bombastic and in your face. We are going to extend the Stiff Records Week to one more post after this coming in the next hour. 

In 1976, Motörhead was struggling to gain traction in the music business. Their manager, Douglas Smith, helped secure a one-off deal with Stiff Records because they featured unconventional artists. The deal with Stiff Records aimed to produce a single, and the band recorded three tracks: White Line Fever, Leaving Here, and Instro.

The label didn’t release this single right away…they thought the band was too loud and abrasive. They didn’t release it until the end of 1977 on the album A Bunch of Stiff Records. Which was basically a compilation album with the label’s early signings. There was just a promo single of the song. Another label released it in 1993.

I’ve really started to appreciate Motörhead more and more…Lemmy was awesome. He is one of the best interviews you will see. He was who he was and he wasn’t changing for anyone. He reminds me a little of Keith Richards…but a rougher version.

He was a roadie for Jimi Hendrix, played with Hawkwind, and later formed his band…Motörhead. They took punk and heavy metal and cross-pollinated the two forms in some ways.

I recommend you see a documentary on Lemmy. Even if you are not a fan, you will like it. 

White Line Fever

We can move around nowYou know it’s so goodBut I know you wouldn’t come clean now, babyEven if you couldwhite line fever

White line fever made me a believer nowWhite line fever, yeahTake me away from youJust come to me babeWe can stay right hereBut you don’t remember me, honey, ’cause of all you’ve done this yearWhite line fever

We’re gonna make you a dreamerWhite line fever, yeahIt’s a slow deathHey

Bye, bye, bye baby‘Cause there I comeWon’t go to sleep tonightBecause the white line turns me on

White line feverMade me a believerWhite line fever, yeahIt hasn’t killed me yetOh

…

Lemmy …A Documentary

This is about Lemmy Kilmister the founder of Motorhead. The documentary is called Lemmy: 49% motherfucker. 51% son of a bitch. His name was Ian Fraser Kilmister…better known as Lemmy.

I’m not a huge fan of Motorhead but I do like a few of their songs. Lemmy though is another matter. He is a great subject for a documentary. This was made in 2010 and it’s hard not to like the guy. He was who he was and he wasn’t changing for anyone. He reminds me a little of Keith Richards…but a rougher version.

Lemmy saw The Beatles in the Cavern and is a huge fan which surprised me. He was a roadie for Jimi Hendrix and he played with Hawkwind and later formed his band…Motorhead. They took punk and heavy metal and cross-pollinated the two forms in some ways.

This documentary was released in 2010. Some of the people in this documentary per Wiki are Slash, Duff McKagan, Ozzy Osbourne, James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich, Robert Trujillo, Kirk Hammett, Nikki Sixx, David Ellefson, Scott Ian, Dave Vanian, Captain Sensible, Peter Hook, and Marky Ramone, as well as Nik Turner and Dave Brock of Lemmy’s former band Hawkwind. The filmmakers were also able to capture many candid moments with colleagues such as Dave Grohl and Billy Bob Thornton conversing with Lemmy in bars and recording studios.

Lemmy passed away on December 28, 2015. Even if you are not a fan…you probably will enjoy this.

This is the complete documentary.