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“English rock band Motörhead released 23 studio albums, 10 live recordings…” No. Scratch that. Because what we have here is a Motörhead prequel, a ‘new’ studio album, true dirty gold from the vaults. The Manticore Tapes is a lovingly restored recording of the first full-length session the legendary Three Amigos ’Head line-up – Lemmy, ‘Fast’ Eddie Clarke, Phil ‘Philthy Animal’ Taylor – made, recorded at Emerson Lake & Palmer’s Manticore Studios in a converted ABC cinema on London’s Fulham Palace Road in August 1976.
Following the departure of Pink Fairies guitarist Larry Wallis, it was more a ‘Fuck you we’re going to document this’ gesture than a serious attempt at fame. Voted “the best worst band in the world” in NME, no one rated Motörhead’s chances for success very highly.
Yes, this is as raw as fuck. Yes, this is as brutal, high-velocity, downright mean and nononsense hard-rockin’ as you’d expect.
The Manticore Tapes comprises 11 previously unheard takes on songs, some of which later surfaced on 1977’s Motörhead and 1979’s semi-official release On Parole. And sure, that means some of these pale a little in comparison to later versions; for example Keep Us On The Road, with its overlong guitar solo, and a riotously throwaway second version of Leavin’ Here that still manages to blister paint from every surface it lands on. But hell, this is Motörhead we’re talking about here. Let’s not quibble over the finer points of musicality, which don’t matter anyway.
Many of the early favourites are here, alive and kicking: a version of Motörhead that sounds even more frantic and speed-addled (if that’s possible) than the single; Iron Horse/Born To Lose howling its defiance into a bleak wind of noise; two versions of The Watcher (Lemmy’s first composition for Hawkwind) with its unsophisticated tripped-out beauty. Outtakes or no outtakes, this reissue manages to pull off the considerable trick of feeling like a complete whole – the first iteration of the classic line-up after Motörhead’s formation in 1975. And yes, it’s being released just in time to celebrate the band’s 50th anniversary, along with the unveiling of a statue of Lemmy in his home town of Stoke-on-Trent.
The Manticore Tapes will be available as a single LP, CD and digital release, or deluxe expanded book-pack containing two LPs and a seven-inch single featuring live recordings from 1977 (Blitzkrieg in Birmingham).
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