Motorhead - Another Perfect Day
Sanctuary
Heavy Metal, Hard Rock
10 songs (44:09)
Release year: 1983
Motorhead, Sanctuary
Reviewed by Goat
Archive review

Motörhead's strangest album, Another Perfect Day divides opinion automatically among the 'Head faithful. The sudden addition of ex-Thin Lizzy guitarist Brian Robertson to the line-up changed the band dynamic and sound massively, moving from the relatively straightforward Iron Fist to a far more melodic and textured sound. Lemmy and drummer Taylor clearly struggled with Robertson's sound and style (ballet shoes and green shorts! There's a great story in Lemmy's autobiography White Line Fever where some Hell's Angels took offence to Robertson…) and the album has something of an uncomfortable vibe as a result.

 

Yet by no means is it actually a bad album, that brilliant cover summing it up well - fire and water in elemental chaos. Robertson, for all his faults, was clearly an excellent guitarist, and with a wonderful sound courtesy of producer Tony Platt that allows each instrument to shine, there are plenty of great songs on show. Opener Back At The Funny Farm alone is a stone cold classic, opening with Lemmy's typical bass rumble and soon becoming overladen with Robertson's rock star guitar wailing. Top notch, as the man himself approvingly remarks, a perfect summary of Motörhead's classic sound given an extra bit of classic rock shine.

 

It's hard to pick holes in the following tracks, whether the groovy rocking of Shine or the nicely tuneful Dancing On Your Grave. The biggest criticism of this album that you seem to hear from ‘Head fans is the length of some of the solos, and yes, some do fall into the self-indulgent camp, but never are they actually irritating to my ears or lengthy enough to spoil the song in question. Frankly, criticisms of the song writing are ridiculous when you hear earworms like Rock It, an infectious surprise with boogying piano and almost proggy (well, for Motörhead!) instrumental passage that dies away far, far too soon.

I don’t love each and every track on this album - the nearly six-minute One Track Mind does drag on just a little too long - but it’s hard not to enjoy them all while you’re listening. The title track’s bluesy wooziness is perfect, followed by the epic Marching Off To War and the almost Judas Priest-y metal of I Got Mine with some really beautiful guitar playing. Seriously, any fan of guitar-based music will love this album for Robertson alone, it can’t be stressed enough how wonderful his performance was.

By the time you’ve reached closing tracks Tales Of Glory and Die You Bastard (both wonderful songs) the shine has faded somewhat, and indeed Robertson’s behaviour on the tour for this album would see him unceremoniously booted from the band. Listening to Another Perfect Day, it’s hard not to regret the more melodic, more experimental Motörhead that was lost to us fans as a result. Yet, of course, this isn’t some random metal band we’re talking about, and that Motörhead went back to killing your neighbours’ lawns with subsequent albums is, of course, a good thing. Appreciate Another Perfect Day for what it is, however: a wildcard album in the band’s discography that is, rarely, a positive despite that, a grower full of vintage songs and wonderful playing that always deserves your ears, having aged better than certain other Motörhead albums.

Killing Songs :
Back At The Funny Farm, Shine, Dancing On Your Grave, Rock It, Another Perfect Day, Marching Off To War, I Got Mine  
Goat quoted 86 / 100
Other albums by Motorhead that we have reviewed:
Motorhead - Rock 'N' Roll reviewed by Goat and quoted 80 / 100
Motorhead - Bad Magic reviewed by Goat and quoted 78 / 100
Motorhead - Aftershock reviewed by Goat and quoted 80 / 100
Motorhead - 1916 reviewed by Goat and quoted 90 / 100
Motorhead - The Wörld Is Yours reviewed by Goat and quoted 82 / 100
To see all 21 reviews click here
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