Courtesy: UDR Music/Motorhead Music
2016 has not been kind to the entertainment industry. Legendary actor Gene Wilder just passed away this week as did Mexican music star Juan Gabriel. Noel Neill, who played Lois Lane in The Adventures of Superman opposite George Reeves, also passed away this year along with hockey star Gordie Howe and boxing legend Muhammad Ali and so many others. That list also includes Motorhead front man and rock legend Lemmy Kilmister. Not long after Kilmister died, UDR music released one of the final concerts that the band held as a way to pay tribute to Motorhead and to Kilmister’s legacy. The recording, Clean Your Clock, released June 24th, is an interesting effort. That is because while it is enjoyable in its own right, it is not exactly a perfect recording. Even with that in consideration it is still a recording that any diehard Motorhead fan will appreciate.
UDR’s recently released live Motorhead recording Clean Your Clock is an enjoyable tribute to both Motorhead and while it is not perfect it is still a recording that any diehard Motorhead fan will appreciate. That is due in part to the concert’s set list. The concert’s sixteen song set list takes listeners all the way back to the band’s 1979 sophomore album Overkill and reaches all the way up to the band’s final album, 2015’s Bad Magic. There are also bits and pieces of the band’s early albums peppered throughout the performance, too including the title track from the band’s 1979 album Bomber, ‘Rock It,’ from the band’s 1983 album Another Perfect Day, ‘Doctor Rock,’ from the band’s 1986 album Orgasmatron, and a number of other hits. Considering the fact that the band released some twenty-two albums over its life, there was no way that one single performance could cover all of that ground. Keeping that in mind, the sixteen songs that are included in the album are still a good snapshot of the band’s body of work if only that. One can only hope that more live recordings are to come; recordings that have an even bigger amount of the band’s material if not at least another swath of the band’s catalogue. While the set list presented in this recording is a clear positive for the recording’s presentation, that presentation also suffers from at least one con. The con in question is the concert’s audio mix.
The set list that makes up the body of Clean Your Clock is a major high point to the recording’s presentation. It isn’t the concert’s only positive either. That will be discussed later. While the concert’s presentation does have one more positive, it sadly does have at least one con. The con in question is the recording’s audio mix. Hopefully this only applies with the recording’s CD presentation since the recording is presented in multiple platforms. The audio mix presented in the concert’s CD platform is “muddy” to say the absolute least. Kilmister’s vocals sound almost completely overpowered by his own bass line and by band mates Mikkey Dee and Phil Campbell. The only times during which he can be clearly understood is those moments between songs in which Kilmister takes time to interact with the audience. Other than that, Kilmister’s vocals sound completely muffled throughout the majority of the set’s songs. Again, this seems to be the case at least on the concert’s CD platform. Hopefully that isn’t the case with the concert’s other platforms. Speaking of those other platforms, they are the recording’s other major positive. They collectively more than make up for the one con of the issues with the recording’s audio mix.
The set list that is featured in Clean Your Clock and the audio mix throughout the concert are both key elements to consider in examining the recordings overall presentation. That is because they show at least in terms of the recording’s CD platform, it isn’t perfect. Though, it is still enjoyable. While the concert’s audio mix is clearly an issue in terms of the recording’s CD platform, hopefully that is not the case in its other platforms. Those other platforms are the recording’s other major bright spot. Along with its availability on CD, the concert is also available on double vinyl gatefold presentation as well as CD/DVD combo pack, a digital download, Blu-ray/CD combo set, and two separate limited edition box sets. This means that Motorhead fans have plenty of options from which to choose in terms of taking in the concert. More often than not, most live recordings’ video presentations far outshine their audio only counterparts. So it’s very possible that the DVD and Blu-ray combo packs present much more impressive audio mixes as well as their own impressive video mix. Keeping that in mind, the fact that the concert is available in a number of platforms makes the concert’s overall presentation that much better. That is because it offers audiences more options from which to choose, and in turn, better odds of a presentation with a better audio mix (as well as an impressive video mix). When this is set against the positive of the concert’s set list and the one con of its troubled audio mix, the combination of all three elements still leaves Clean Your Clock one more welcome addition to any Motorhead fan’s collection.
UDR’s presentation of Motorhead’s new live recording Clean Your Clock is not a perfect recording. That is clear in listening to the concert’s audio mix in its CD platform. The concert’s set list and the variety of platforms in which it is available partner to make up for the CD’s one con. Even with that one con, the CD presentation of Clean Your Clock is still a welcome addition to any Motorhead fan’s collection. One can only hope that when Motorhead’s next live recording is released, its CD platform will have a better audio mix so that it can be said that it is a perfect recording. In the meantime the CD presentation of Clean Your Clock still passes the test even if it isn’t perfect. It is available now in stores and online. More information on Clean Your Clock is available online now along with more Motorhead news at:
Website: http://www.imotorhead.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/OfficialMotorhead
Twitter: http://twitter.com/myMotorhead
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