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octanemage's review
3.0
A great series of interviews, detailing the wild life of Lemmy and the creation and early years of Motörhead. While engaging, the middle of the book gets very dense and jargon heavy. The best pets are when it allows Lemmy to shine as the interesting character he was socially, but the e story tends to linger to often on technical details. Worth reading for any metal fans, but can be a slog to get through at times.
royzee's review
3.0
Not sure about this one... have read about the man himself, watched the biopic, seen him on stage a few times... TV too... but does this do the man/icon justice? Who can tell. Kind of academic now anyway.
I think if you like rock music you could do worse than delve into this tome; it took me just over a week to read it - it was a birthday pressie and I was halfway through by the time the plane landed. Sadly the rest of the book is as you might expect painful to read... and like a whodunnit when you've guessed the villain early on. But then I felt like that about the Freddie biog I read a while back... no doubt Bowie will also have that effect, no author can treat the subject perfectly but his old mate Mick likely comes close... that compromise of reverence and "just the facts ma'am".
Other impressions that flitted through this addled brain were just how remarkable Lemmy was... but at the same time nihilistic and self-indulgent. How someone can treat their body so casually is beyond me and I am no health nut. He should have been studied by medicos to discover how his body coped maybe even thrived with such poor nutrition let alone over-indulgence in chemicals and booze... not to mention sex... how did this bloke escape the fate of some other rock n rollers et al?
Never boring, always near the precipice the world is somehow a bleaker place now the likes of Lemmy no longer walk the boards...
Oh yes, one thing... it does not mention his hearing... I saw Motorhead but once (that infamous support gig to BOC at HO... and we loved 'em! How fitting that the support became (in time) mightier than the main band! But I refused the opportunity to buy tickets later on when the decibel count went off the scale...
I think if you like rock music you could do worse than delve into this tome; it took me just over a week to read it - it was a birthday pressie and I was halfway through by the time the plane landed. Sadly the rest of the book is as you might expect painful to read... and like a whodunnit when you've guessed the villain early on. But then I felt like that about the Freddie biog I read a while back... no doubt Bowie will also have that effect, no author can treat the subject perfectly but his old mate Mick likely comes close... that compromise of reverence and "just the facts ma'am".
Other impressions that flitted through this addled brain were just how remarkable Lemmy was... but at the same time nihilistic and self-indulgent. How someone can treat their body so casually is beyond me and I am no health nut. He should have been studied by medicos to discover how his body coped maybe even thrived with such poor nutrition let alone over-indulgence in chemicals and booze... not to mention sex... how did this bloke escape the fate of some other rock n rollers et al?
Never boring, always near the precipice the world is somehow a bleaker place now the likes of Lemmy no longer walk the boards...
Oh yes, one thing... it does not mention his hearing... I saw Motorhead but once (that infamous support gig to BOC at HO... and we loved 'em! How fitting that the support became (in time) mightier than the main band! But I refused the opportunity to buy tickets later on when the decibel count went off the scale...
bent's review
3.0
I would give the first half of this book four stars, up until about Pete Gill leaving the band. Maybe even when Lemmy fires Doug Smith for the second time and moves to LA. The rest of the book would rate about two. I give Wall full marks for not turning out a book of blind hero worship, of showing the young Lemmy as he was, without trying to protect his cool aura, and for letting some of the former members and associates- Fast Eddie, Brian Robertson, Pete Gill, Doug Smith - a chance to give their sides of the story. It makes for an interesting read and humanizes the man.
The problem comes with Lemmy's move to Los Angeles. Once he's ensconced in LA, with the lineup that would stay consistent for the rest of his life (with the exception of Wurzel who would play with the band until 1995's Sacrifice), the story gets boring. No major conflict or upheaval, just a lot of Lemmy quotes and quotes from other's praising Lemmy. It's boring.
I can't entirely blame Wall for this because there's just not a lot to report, although he does spend about 40 pages dealing with Lemmy's failing health and then eulogies from others talking about what a great guy he was. That's on Wall. The blow-by-blow of each new health diagnosis, doctor's advice taken or ignored, cancelled shows or tours, wears a little thin. And we've just read a whole book on the man - do we need to know what other celebrities thought of him?
My main complaint is with the Lemmy quotes. I have had this with several other biographies that I've read about him. The more I hear from him, the less I like him. Biographers always include at least one person commenting on how intelligent Lemmy is. Wall also had almost everyone he dealt with talk about what a great guy he was, even if their relationship ended acrimoniously. But reading his quotes, I just think it's the same crap over and over.
His comments about religion or war don't display any great insights, his view of the music industry and Motorhead's place in it are full of the usual carping against the business or whining about how authentic they always stayed and that's why they never got any bigger - because they wouldn't compromise. It's a broken record, and he doesn't sound any different from thousands of other rock stars. I don't see any great insight from his years playing rock and roll. What you're left with is an aging musician, putting out the same album over and over again (I stopped listening to Motorhead around Hammered because the albums became indistinguishable from one another), playing lots of shows, and spending the rest of his time at a bar on playing video poker. Lemmy ceases to be cool - he's just kind of sad. And having Lars Ulrich or Slash or Ozzy saying he's not doesn't make it any less true.
So four stars for the first two-thirds of the book, and then you can stop reading because the rest is silence.
The problem comes with Lemmy's move to Los Angeles. Once he's ensconced in LA, with the lineup that would stay consistent for the rest of his life (with the exception of Wurzel who would play with the band until 1995's Sacrifice), the story gets boring. No major conflict or upheaval, just a lot of Lemmy quotes and quotes from other's praising Lemmy. It's boring.
I can't entirely blame Wall for this because there's just not a lot to report, although he does spend about 40 pages dealing with Lemmy's failing health and then eulogies from others talking about what a great guy he was. That's on Wall. The blow-by-blow of each new health diagnosis, doctor's advice taken or ignored, cancelled shows or tours, wears a little thin. And we've just read a whole book on the man - do we need to know what other celebrities thought of him?
My main complaint is with the Lemmy quotes. I have had this with several other biographies that I've read about him. The more I hear from him, the less I like him. Biographers always include at least one person commenting on how intelligent Lemmy is. Wall also had almost everyone he dealt with talk about what a great guy he was, even if their relationship ended acrimoniously. But reading his quotes, I just think it's the same crap over and over.
His comments about religion or war don't display any great insights, his view of the music industry and Motorhead's place in it are full of the usual carping against the business or whining about how authentic they always stayed and that's why they never got any bigger - because they wouldn't compromise. It's a broken record, and he doesn't sound any different from thousands of other rock stars. I don't see any great insight from his years playing rock and roll. What you're left with is an aging musician, putting out the same album over and over again (I stopped listening to Motorhead around Hammered because the albums became indistinguishable from one another), playing lots of shows, and spending the rest of his time at a bar on playing video poker. Lemmy ceases to be cool - he's just kind of sad. And having Lars Ulrich or Slash or Ozzy saying he's not doesn't make it any less true.
So four stars for the first two-thirds of the book, and then you can stop reading because the rest is silence.
toomanybarts's review against another edition
5.0
I liked this as much as White Line Fever. There’s a fair amount of crossover but that’s ok. Read white line fever first then this.
The section about Lemmy as his health deteriorated wasn’t in the autobiography.
The section about Lemmy as his health deteriorated wasn’t in the autobiography.
pogodragon's review against another edition
5.0
I loved this book. I don't think there's anything groundbreaking in it. It's clearly written from a place of love and admiration. But I loved it. It's funny, it's sad, it clearly evokes the eras it's written about. And I cried at the end.
I've been a fan of Lemmy for years - even named one of my cats after him (hey, he had black hair and an independent attitude, it was obvious), this book just reminded me of what a giant we lost when he died.
I've been a fan of Lemmy for years - even named one of my cats after him (hey, he had black hair and an independent attitude, it was obvious), this book just reminded me of what a giant we lost when he died.
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