Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Artist: Motörhead
Label: UDR
Released: 2016
Running time: approx. 125.00 min
Rating: 3.5/5
So there it is. The story has come to an end. For good. The chieftain of rock’n’roll and the legendary first icon of rock is no longer with us! Ian Fraser Kilmister, better known as »Lemmy« has said his goodbye, and with him went the one-of-a-kind rock’n’roll punks Motörhead. »Clean Your Clock« is the final live manifesto, released posthumously, after Lemmy’s death and the band’s breakup. According to the label UDR, they recorded it with absolutely no inkling that in just over a month the band would no longer be on the scene.
The title of this live document comes from the iron chancellor’s famous opening greeting, captured at the start of the live DVD and CD »Boneshaker«, released in 2000 on the band’s round 25th anniversary, which goes: »If you are by mistake on a wrong show, we are Motörhead, and we ‘re gonna clean your clock!«. Why Lemmy wedged the letter »L« into the word »clock« is anyone’s guess. Without that »L«, the word fits the whole saga of these eternal rock’n’roll hooligans considerably better and makes a lot more sense.
Anyway, the last tour for the 40th anniversary, also dedicated to promoting the final Motörhead studio album »Bad Magic«, which came out at the end of August last year, didn’t escape the cancellation of some shows on this last European-British autumn-winter run, especially the December ones. Still, Motörhead, led by a visibly exhausted and ailing Lemmy, played two nights in a row at Munich’s Zenith Halle. It’s a concert fortress the band has always loved to visit on tour, and visit regularly. Not a single year went by without them showing up there with their infamous blitzkrieg »Mötorhead«.
If you compare the DVD and the CD, the CD is a lot easier to take. No need to explain why. And even though you can hear on the CD that Lemmy’s vocals are visibly worn out and battered, the band keeps that untamed energy of eternal rock troublemakers, holds on to the deafening noise, and keeps the stance of passion and raging fury of the spike-clad trio. Lemmy drops some words from the verses, the first example being the first chorus of the opener Bomber, where the third time around he doesn’t repeat the word »bomber«; the guy also has a much harder time hitting the ideal melodic line, often trailing a little lower, and he can’t summon that power that has always marked the unique punch of his voice. Still, unique remains unique, and even with the wear and tear it’s downright astonishing where such power and such a one-of-a-kind charisma of vocal delivery came from, the kind Lemmy’s vocal performance built up over the years. Like he had a circular saw in his throat.
The band plays superbly. Over all these years Phil Campbell has grown into an outstanding guitarist, who masterfully dressed up some of the classic songs with solos that are technically far better played than those of his predecessor Eddie Fast Clark.
The DVD offers an identical recording to the CD, only it’s of course a concert film. Most of you will probably find it hard to watch, since Lemmy looks like death warmed over, or the ghost of the departed, skin and bones, to the point of pure »desiccation« where a pair of little legs barely hold Lemmy upright. Grotesque or not. The show is excellent. Lemmy keeps his incredible sense of humor and never stops entertaining the crowd with his usual lines, like the one before Over the Top, where he dedicates the song to everyone who made noise in the hall and, of course, to himself. The concert film is shot with multiple cameras. Two are set up on stage, one stays in the photo pit the whole time, there’s also a »giraffe« and extra shots from way in the back. The footage is stitched together so that the crowd is more present than you’d otherwise expect. An outstanding keepsake for everyone who found themselves at Zenith Halle on 20.11.2015 and 21.11.2015 (counting the RockLine crew).
So. If you’re an undying Motörhead fan, of the older kind, meaning with “Fast” Eddie Clarke in the lineup, as well as the newer kind, meaning with Phil, then you have this document at home. If you only bet on the albums up to and including »Iron Fist«, then you won’t miss this one. But one thing remains clear. This live document radiates the genuine final days of the band, where it’s clear the story has come to an end, where it’s clear there won’t be another tour after this one and that the album »Bad Magic« is surely the last Motörhead album. However heartbreaking Lemmy looks, it’s not hard to keep coming back to watching and listening to this document. If nothing else, in all its excellence and uniqueness, you’re fascinated by the band’s defiance and Lemmy’s stubborn persistence, who decided to die in his boots, nowhere else but on stage. Just like the greats do. No compromise, and they do it when they know their time has come, to say goodbye in the style of true heroes.
Motörhead – When the Sky Comes Looking For You (official video taken from “Clean Your Clock” DVD):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MtfGxK1cX_I
Lineup
Ian “Lemmy” Kilmister – bass, vocals
Phil Campbell – guitar, backing vocals
Mikkey Dee – drums
Track list
01. Start
02. Live Intro
03. Bomber
04. Stay Clean
05. Metropolis
06. When The Sky Comes Looking For You
07. Over The Top
08. Guitar Solo
09. The Chase Is Better Than The Catch
10. Lost Woman Blues
11. Rock It
12. Orgasmatron
13. Doctor Rock Pt 1
14. Drum Solo
15. Doctor Rock Pt 2
16. Just ‘Cos You Got The Power
17. No Class
18. Ace Of Spades
19. Whorehouse Blues
20. Overkill
