MOTÖRHEAD
We Play Rock'n'Roll - Live At Montreux Jazz Festival '07
(BMG)
87:28min

“Here’s a bit of Jazz for you… We are MOTÖRHEAD, and we play Rock’n’Roll!” With that statement, Lemmy Kilmister kicks off this live album. Recorded during the “Kiss Of Death” tour at the legendary auditorium Stravinksi on July 07, 2007, during the then world-famous Montreux Jazz Festival, this show is such an amazing statement of how powerful and perfect the trio of Lemmy, Phil Campbell and Mikkey Dee was. It was known not only for one of the most diverse set-lists of the decades of touring together, but also for individual performances that proved just how top of the class each was. And indeed, another live album from MOTÖRHEAD. Since the death of the iconic frontman Lemmy (2015), more new and re-releases have probably become available than in the previous ten years. It’s almost impossible to keep up. Especially for fans and followers who want a special edition of all those records with a hoodie, poster, t-shirt and all kinds of other stuff. The sound quality of “We Play Rock’n’Roll – Live At Montreux Jazz Festival ’07” is excellent. That could not always be said of some live recordings that have become available in recent years, although they were usually bonus material with a re-release. The recordings are even so good that occasionally you can hear that the second voice is quite thin. Lemmy sounds fit here, his bass grumbles like a monster and vocal grunts like in his best days. Phil Campbell and Mikkey Dee equally showed their charisma and power with full force. Bearing on both sides, the classics are reviewed, interspersed with a lesser-known, later song or a cover, making the whole listening experience slightly different than usual. MOTÖRHEAD without ‘Ace Of Spades’, ‘Stay Clean’, ‘Killed By Death’ and ‘Overkill’ is almost unthinkable, but live versions of ‘Killers’, ‘Over The Top’, ‘Sword Of Glory’, ‘Sacrifice’, ‘Whorehouse Blues’ and the Bob Seger cover ‘Rosalie’ provide a change of taste and showcase bravados of this trio. All in all, it sounds thrilling and it’s an entertaining show with the usual jokes and witticisms of Lemmy and it’s once again the fantastic energetic music that you can never get enough of. That issue will arise more often in the coming years, because there will undoubtedly be more live recordings on the shelves. This now legendary performance is available on double black vinyl, double CD in a gatefold and digital format to thrust the appetite of any MOTÖRHEAD Rock’n’Roll aficionados. To find out more about the band and label, visit www.facebook.com/officialmotorhead or www.bmg.com.

Randolph Whateley

Randolph Whateley

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