CDReview: Motorhead, The World is Yours

Motorhead

The World is Yours

(UDR)

I’m in the home stretch now before reaching my said destination of home. I’m less two hours away. No, I’m not driving, and I have passed up a couple of rides along the way. Instead, I’ve been walking; hoofin’ it so to speak. I don’t mind. After all that time traveling and working all over the world, I ate rather well for a hard working man. And when you do that, along with the fine taste of French wine, you tend to gain a pound or two. So, I didn’t mind the last day or two walking in the welcomed Texas sun. The Texas sun and the humidity did do a number on my body. I had been out of it for too long and had become spoiled to other worldly comforts. The other night I needed a break from walking and actually found a place to relax and re-juice…that’s not a typo. I meant “re-juice”.

Just the other night when I was taking the afore mentioned break, I caught part of a crowd leaving a concert. I sat on the back steps of the venue next to yet another tour bus; apparently I was drawing them like flies. Anyway, I found the monologue very funny as well as uplifting and inspiring. It was a something that motivated me, it was time to get myself back in shape and become the unstoppable force I once was a couple of years ago. As the people walked back and forth, I thought about what all I would need to change when I got back home. Gone would be the luxuries and welcomed would be the bare boned essentials to make me a fighting machine. One of the driving forces for me behind a workout and motivation is heavy music, and I found it…

Every time I think of Motorhead, I think of the British comedy series The Young Ones. Though I had heard of Motorhead before then, it wasn’t until that episode of the show that I actually heard the band. At that time I was in high school and enjoying various genres of music, but metal was still the front runner of my preferences. The World is Yours is the bands 20^th studio release in their 30+ year career of being the hardest working band in metal.

The one thing that I have learned to appreciate and love about Motorhead is how they can add an influence of a genre to their music without disturbing their familiar, signature sound that has made them kings of the metal mountain. The World is Yours lives up to Lemmy’s claim that the band is a rock ‘n’ roll band versus a metal band, and proudly presents it on this maverick release.

The bluesy roots of rock music origin combined with the British Metal sound are tattered through the CD and prominently noticeable on Get Back in Line and Bye Bye Bitch, Bye Bye. One thing to note, Lemmy states in the documentary Lemmy that his influences and still the best musicians he has ever listened to (and still does) are legends Little Richard and The Beatles. Rest assured, the band has not lost its sound or mellowed out in any way; this just happens to be the influence of music that made “the world yours”.  There are plenty of heavy hitters, like the piercing highlight Outlaw, packed with killer pounding drums that sound like massive gunfire, and scorching guitar work.

As my player shut off, a team of muscle bound bodyguards came out the back door of the venue and made sure the coast was clear to make it to the tour bus. They eyed me, thinking I was some kinda bum or something. Seeing I was no threat, they walked forward and unlocked the bus. Several more people followed, many being hot lively females of all persuasions; it looked and felt like being lost in a parade of women. I looked at the dancing gals as their strutted their way to the magical land that was encased inside the tour bus.

After the women were on the bus, a couple of more people walked by, surrounding a familiar face in the middle of them. He stopped walking and looked down at me. He nodded and smiled at me, then tossed his head towards the bus, obviously an invitation to join the traveling fun party. I had been in too much trouble having fun in parties lately, and now the opportunity to join this circus. It would be a once in a lifetime chance, but it was time for me to bite my tongue and decline the prestigious offer.

With shame, I sadly shook my head no to the offer, but thanked him anyway. The familiar face nodded with closed eyes that he understood. As a constellation prize, he tossed me a baseball cap and a couple of t-shirts as he boarded the mobile funhouse.

“Take that advice and The World will be Yours….” The man said as the door closed and the bus pulled off into the night.

I looked at the cap, and then to both shirts. Besides different images on the clothes, they all had one word in common…

Winning…