Ace of Spades

by Motoerhead

Overview

With the 1980 release of Ace of Spades, Motoerhead had their anthem of anthems -- that is, the title track -- the one trademark song that would summarize everything that made this early incarnation of the band so legendary, a song that would be blasted by legions of metalheads for generations on end. It's a legendary song, for sure, all two minutes and 49 bracing seconds of it. And the album of the same name is legendary as well, among Motoerhead's all-time best, often considered their single best, in fact, along with Overkill. Ace of Spades was Motoerhead's third great album in a row, following the 1979 releases of Overkill and Bomber, respectively. Those two albums have a lot in common with Ace of Spaces. The classic lineup -- Lemmy (bass and vocals), "Fast" Eddie Clarke (guitar), and "Philthy Animal" Taylor (drums) -- is still in place and sounding as alive and crazed as ever. The album is still rock-solid, boasting several superlative standouts. Actually, besides the especially high number of standouts on Ace of Spades -- at least relative to Bomber, which wasn't quite as strong overall as Overkill had been -- the only key difference between this 1980 album and its two 1979 predecessors is the producer, in this case Vic Maile. The result of his work isn't all that different from that of Jimmy Miller, the longtime Rolling Stones producer who had worked on Overkill and Bomber, but it's enough to give Ace of Spades a feeling distinct from its two very similar-sounding predecessors. This singular sound (still loud and in your face, rest assured), along with the exceptionally strong songwriting and the legendary stature of the title track, makes Ace of Spades the ideal Motoerhead album if one were to choose one and only one studio album. It's highly debatable whether Ace of Spades is tops over the breakthrough Overkill, as the latter is more landmark because of its earlier release, and is somewhat rougher around the edges, too. Either way, Ace of Spades rightly deserves its legacy as a classic. There's no debating that. ~ Jason Birchmeier

Product Details

Release Date:	02/28/2025
Label:	Bmg
UPC:	4099964126914

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Motoerhead   Primary Artist
Girlschool   Primary Artist,Featured Artist
Michael Burston   Guitar
Eddie Clarke   Guitar,Vocals
Phil Campbell   Guitar
Ian Kilmister   Bass,Vocals
"Fast" Eddie Clarke   Vocals,Guitar
Lemmy Kilmister   Bass,Vocals,Guitar (Bass)
Lemmy   Bass,Vocals,Guitar (Bass)
Denise Dufort   Drums
Phil "Philthy Animal" Taylor   Drums,Percussion
Phil Taylor   Drums,Percussion

Technical Credits

Michael Burston   Composer
McAuliffe   Composer
Motoerhead   Composer
Brian Holland   Composer
Girlschool   Composer,Musician
Heath Robinson   Composer
Kim McAuliffe   Composer
Tony Williams   Composer
Eddie Clarke   Composer
James Wilkinson   Reissue Coordination
Peter Gill   Composer
Guy Robinson   Composer
Edward Clarke   Composer
Martin Poole   Design
Curtis Evans   Reissue Design
Steffan Chirazi   Liner Notes
Charlie Watts   Mastering
Alan Ballard   Photography,Sleeve Photo
(Ex) Cat Heads   Performer
Phil Taylor   Composer,Composer
Dinah Williams   Composer
Ian Kilmister   Composer
Ian Kilimister   Composer
"Fast" Eddie Clarke   Composer,Lyricist
Lemmy Kilmister   Composer,Lyricist
Steve Hammonds   Reissue Coordination
Lamont Dozier   Composer
Kelly Johnson   Composer
Fred Heath   Composer
Eddie Holland   Composer
James Taylor   Composer
Vic Maile   Producer
Lemmy   Composer,Liner Notes
Denise Dufort   Composer
Phil "Philthy Animal" Taylor   Composer,Lyricist