Upon its release in 1980, MOTÖRHEAD‘s “Ace Of Spades” album was nothing short of a gamechanger for all forms of hard rock. Like lightning in a bottle, it perfectly captured everything great about hard rock, heavy metal, and punk, amped it all up to 11, and came racing out of the gates at what felt like a million miles an hour, pushing at every musical boundary. Nothing was harder. Nothing was faster. And certainly nothing was louder.
Now, following on from last year’s fan and media acclaimed anniversary editions of the seminal “Overkill” and “Bomber” albums, comes the record that launched MOTÖRHEAD into the stratosphere and carved their name into the walls of rock n’roll history forever: “Ace Of Spades”. To celebrate the 40th anniversary of this milestone album, it is being presented in new deluxe editions on October 30. There will be hardback book-packs in two CD and triple LP formats, featuring a previously unheard concert from the “Ace Up Your Sleeve” tour, the story of the album and many previously unseen photos. Also, the album will be released as an ultimate fan, collector edition “Ace Of Spades” box set, containing a bevvy of era-specific treasures and some 42 previously unreleased tracks.
The “Ace Of Spades” deluxe box set contains:
* The “Ace Of Spades” album, half-speed mastered and created from the original master tapes.
* Two double live albums of previously unheard concerts from the “Ace Up Your Sleeve” tour.
* “A Fistful Of Instrumentals”: A 10″ EP of previously unreleased, instrumental tracks from 1980.
* “The Good, The Broke & The Ugly”: A double album of B-sides, outtakes and rare tracks.
* “Ace On Your Screens”: A DVD compilation of rare TV appearances from 1980-81, a live concert from 1981 and a 5.1 audio mix of the original album.
* The “Ace Of Spades” story. A 40-page book telling the story of “Ace Of Spades” through previously unpublished interviews with the people that were there. Includes never before seen photos and memorabilia.
* The “Ace Up Your Sleeve” tour program
* The MOTÖRHEAD Rock Commando comic.
* A set of 5 poker dice that can be played on the game board inside the box set lid.
* All encased in a classic Wild West dynamite box.
* A limited edition 7″ reproduction of the Dutch “Ace Of Spades”, with a previously unreleased instrumental version on Side B. (while stocks last!)
The unboxing video for the “Ace Of Spades” deluxe box set is available below.
In 1980, off the back of two essential albums, “Overkill” and “Bomber” the previous year, MOTÖRHEAD continued to get bigger, better, louder and faster by the second. This time, on “Ace Of Spades” they teamed up with producer Vic Maile and came up with twelve songs; each and every one of which crams a regular band’s ten minutes of playing into an average of three. The songtitles alone made ears bleed; “Love Me Like A Reptile”, “Shoot You In The Back”, “The Chase Is Better Than The Catch” and “The Hammer” were a few examples. This landmark album saw the three amigos of Lemmy, Fast Eddie Clarke and Philthy Animal Taylor at the helm of the juggernaut that was MOTÖRHEAD, gaining phenomenal growth in popularity as they forged onward. The band’s and fans ideas, wants and inspirations, converged at a perfect tangent. Anyone disputing this fact need look no further than any heavy metal gig of the time and play “spot the MOTÖRHEAD T-shirt and jacket.” They outnumbered anyone else by at least five to one. A statistic that is still accurate some forty-five years since they first began!
The “Ace Of Spades” album release was a magical moment in rock ‘n’ roll history, an album which had enormous global impact and continues to resonate and inspire people worldwide. Fans to this day still remember where they were when they first heard it, and it immediately inspired bands worldwide to absorb the album’s energy, speed, and attitude into their own work. “Ace Of Spades” is ground zero for thrash, speed metal, and punk/metal crossover.
Box set track listing
“Ace Of Spades”
Side One
01. Ace Of Spades
02. Love Me Like A Reptile
03. Shoot You In The Back
04. Live To Win
05. Fast And Loose
06. (We Are) The Road Crew
Side Two
01. Fire Fire
02. Jailbait
03. Dance
04. Bite The Bullet
05. The Chase Is Better Than The Catch
06. The Hammer
“A Fistful Of Instrumentals”
Side One
01. Ace Of Spades (demo)
02. Hump On Your Back (demo)
03. Shoot You In The Back (demo)
04. Fast And Loose (demo)
Side Two
01. Dirty Love (demo)
02. Love Me Like A Reptile (demo)
03. Dance (demo)
“Riders Wearing Black”
Live At Whitla Hall, Belfast – December 23, 1981
Side One
01. Ace Of Spades
02. Stay Clean
03. Over The Top
04. The Hammer
05. Shoot You In The Back
06. Metropolis
Side Two
01. (We Are) The Road Crew
02. No Class
03. Bite The Bullet
04. The Chase Is Better Than The Catch
Side Three
01. Jailbait
02. Leaving Here
03. Capricorn
04. Too Late, Too Late
Side Four
01. Overkill
02. Bomber
03. Motörhead
“Dead Man’s Hand”
Live At Parc Expo, Orleans – March 5, 1981
Side One
01. Ace Of Spades
02. Stay Clean
03. Over The Top
04. Metropolis
05. Shoot You In The Back
Side Two
01. The Hammer
02. Jailbait
03. Leaving Here
04. Fire Fire
05. Love Me Like A Reptile
Side Three
01. Capricorn
02. Too Late, Too Late
03. (We Are) The Road Crew
04. No Class
Side Four
01. Bite The Bullet
02. The Chase Is Better Than The Catch
03. Overkill
04. Bomber
The Good, The Broke & The Ugly
Side One
01. Ace Of Spades (Alternative Version)
02. Dirty Love
03. Love Me Like A Reptile (Alternative Long Version)
04. Shoot You In The Back (Alternative Version)
Side Two
01. Hump On Your Back
02. Fast And Loose (Alternative Version)
03. (We Are) The Road Crew (Alternative Version)
04. Fire Fire (Alternative Version)
05. Jailbait (Alternative Version)
Side Three
01. Waltz Of The Vampire
02. The Hammer (Alternative Version)
03. Dirty Love (Alternative Long Version)
04. Bastard
05. Godzilla Akimbo
Side Four
01. Love Me Like A Reptile (Alternative Version)
02. Dirty Love (Alternative Version)
03. Please Don’t Touch (Performed by HEADGIRL)
04. Bomber (Performed by GIRLSCHOOL)
05. Emergency
“Ace On Your Screens” DVD
Part 1: Motörhead on TV 1980-1981
Part 2: BBC In The City; Live In Belfast ‘81
Part 3: 5.1 audio mix of Ace Of Spades
