Motörhead - Over The Top (1977)

When Ian 'Lemmy' Kilminster left Hawkwind in 1975 with the intention of forming a heavy metal band with Larry Wallis and Lucas Fox, the scene was awash with them, but for him it was the perfect time. Punk exploded shortly afterwards and the band were caught up in that exciting time, helped by the fact that they were signed to the indie Chiswick label, and also that the punks loved them. In March 1976 Lemmy decided that they needed a second guitarist and 'Fast' Eddie Clarke was recruited, following which Wallis left the band, and with Phil 'Philthy Animal' Taylor replacing the unreliable Fox, the classic Motörhead line-up was complete. Motörhead are typically classified as heavy metal, but their fusion of punk and metal helped to pioneer speed metal and thrash metal, with their lyrics covering such topics as war, good versus evil, abuse of power, and, most famously, gambling, the latter theme being the focus of their hit song 'Ace of Spades'. They never looked back following the chart success of that single, and their popularity with the fans and esteem from their peers carried on throughout their career. Their early singles tended to use album tracks as b-sides, but they did keep a few songs back for flip-sides from their 1978 'Louie Louie' single onwards, so there are enough spare non-album songs around to compile this collection of great heavy rock. Added to those is the 1980 Big Beat Records EP of old tracks recorded in 1977, and I've tagged on an alternate version of 'Ace Of Spades' at the end, simply because it's my favourite of their songs. Lemmy died on 28 December 2015 from heart failure, after being diagnosed with prostate cancer, and Motörhead ceased to exist with his passing, leaving behind a legacy of 40 years of classic hard rock. 

Track listing

01 Hell Raisers And Beer Drinkers (1977 recording released as a single 1980)
02 On Parole (1977 recorded b-side of 'Beer Drinkers And Hell Raisers')
03 Instro (1977 recorded b-side of 'Beer Drinkers And Hell Raisers')
04 I'm Your Witch Doctor (1977 recorded b-side of 'Beer Drinkers And Hell Raisers')
05 Louie Louie (single 1978)
06 Too Late, Too Late (b-side of 'Overkill' 1979)
07 Like A Nightmare (b-side of 'No Class' 1979)
08 Over The Top (b-side of 'Bomber' 1979)
09 Dirty Love (b-side of 'Ace Of Spades' 1980)
10 Remember Me, I'm Gone (b-side of 'Iron Fist' 1982)
11 Turn You Round Again (b-side of 'I Got  Mine' 1983)
12 Ace Of Spades (alternate version)