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A review by bent
Beer Drinkers and Hell Raisers: The Rise of Motörhead by Martin Popoff
2.0
Disappointing. I'm usually a big fan of Martin Popoff and I've been a big Motorhead fan for years, although I haven't listened to them since Hammered as I felt that they had got to the point where they were just putting out the same, competent but unexciting album over and over again. I was looking forward to hearing from Philthy and Fast Eddie - I've read a lot of Lemmy's words over the years. And Popoff, in his two books on the history of the NWOBHM, included a couple of quotes from Philthy and Brian Robertson that piqued my interest in Lemmy as a band mate. Everyone always speaks so glowingly about Lemmy that I thought it would be interesting to get another take.
This was not to be. There was a bit of angry vitriol towards the man from Phil Taylor once he was out of the band, and a little bit of good-natured criticism from Fast Eddie, but nothing major. And then Popoff makes sure he lays it on with a trowel finding guys to sing Lemmy's praises. Dee Snider, a couple of the guys from Anthrax, managers, industry guys - he's so intelligent, he's just a regular guy, great lyricist, underrated musician, true blue dyed-in-the-wool rocker - on and on. I don't need a hatchet job done on Lemmy, but there are already tons of books and magazine article out there singing his praises. I think the slight criticisms presented here don't need to be countered with the deluge of bystanders talking about what a saint he is. Unless it's there merely as filler, which there seems to be a lot of in this book.
I usually find Popoff's books sharp, full of insight and well-edited. This book feels flabby and poorly put together. In the chapter talking about the first Motorhead album, he establishes early on that Bronze records wouldn't put out an album but would put out a single, and then based on the success of that single, they would commit to an album. Then, later, when Fast Eddie is talking about the album, he tells that whole story again. We don't need that twice. Edit, dammit. He does the same thing later when Dee Snider tells a story about Lemmy introducing the band at an early gig in England. Snider was very impressed with Lemmy doing this. But he does what a lot of us do when we tell a story. He tells the story, and then basically repeats the salient points of the story a second time in admiration. Great for conversation, boring in a book. Story once, not twice.
This happens again when Fast Eddie talks about Mick Farren's death. Early in the book, Clarke mentions that Farren died on stage, the way he thought Lemmy would go and the way that he thought he would go. Then much closer to the end, Clarke rambles on at length about Farren dying on stage, dying with his boots on, etc. Do we need this twice? Did Popoff re-read this at all before sending it to the publisher?
The last chapter, in which Popoff describes Lemmy's death and funeral and Phil's death, is written poorly. He describes Lemmy's funeral in great detail, touches on Phil's death, and then has an extensive quote from Eddy prior to their deaths talking about getting in touch with Phil, going to see Phil, hoping the three of them could play together once more. Put that before the deaths. Otherwise, you're just trying to milk it for poignancy and the reader is sitting there going "nice sentiments, but they're dead." It spoils the effect.
The description of the funeral with a list of which rock stars attended and who sent greetings was a little too Entertainment Tonight for me. But Popoff (and Lemmy) both seem to use praise from other stars as vindication. Several times, it's mentioned that Ozzy and Lemmy were lifetime friends. When Popoff wastes a couple of pages defending Lemmy's collecting of Nazi regalia as just interest and not a sign of his being a Nazi, Ozzy is listed as also collecting Nazi regalia, amongst others. When Lemmy is lamenting how no one ever took the band seriously as musicians, he cites Ozzy's friendship and Lars Ulrich's declaration of Motorhead's influence as vindicating Motorhead against the naysayers. Motorhead was around for a long time. Is it surprising that they influenced people, and that they knew other rock stars?
The book leans heavily on interviews with Fast Eddy Clarke. I appreciated that, as his is a voice that I haven't heard much over the years. But I would have appreciated a little more Philthy, a little more Lemmy, and especially the interplay between the band members which Popoff has done so well in his most successful works - books on Blue Oyster Cult, Deep Purple, Rainbow, the Scorpions, etc. Here it's mostly Fast Eddie, with interjections from the others. There's no back and forth. And after awhile, you start to tire of the one voice. I found this with Popoff's book on Dio. Once it was just Ronnie talking, you started to get tired of hearing him. I was a little tired of Fast Eddie by the end.
When he does include extensive quotes from Lemmy - Lemmy on religion, on war, on being underappreciated - I find him really boring. I think I've read enough quotes from him to know where he's coming from, and I no longer find him that interesting. And so earnest too. What happened to his fabled sense of humour?
All in all, this book was not really worth the read. I would maybe recommend it as a supplement to other books, something that can help round out your understanding, but not as a primary source.
This was not to be. There was a bit of angry vitriol towards the man from Phil Taylor once he was out of the band, and a little bit of good-natured criticism from Fast Eddie, but nothing major. And then Popoff makes sure he lays it on with a trowel finding guys to sing Lemmy's praises. Dee Snider, a couple of the guys from Anthrax, managers, industry guys - he's so intelligent, he's just a regular guy, great lyricist, underrated musician, true blue dyed-in-the-wool rocker - on and on. I don't need a hatchet job done on Lemmy, but there are already tons of books and magazine article out there singing his praises. I think the slight criticisms presented here don't need to be countered with the deluge of bystanders talking about what a saint he is. Unless it's there merely as filler, which there seems to be a lot of in this book.
I usually find Popoff's books sharp, full of insight and well-edited. This book feels flabby and poorly put together. In the chapter talking about the first Motorhead album, he establishes early on that Bronze records wouldn't put out an album but would put out a single, and then based on the success of that single, they would commit to an album. Then, later, when Fast Eddie is talking about the album, he tells that whole story again. We don't need that twice. Edit, dammit. He does the same thing later when Dee Snider tells a story about Lemmy introducing the band at an early gig in England. Snider was very impressed with Lemmy doing this. But he does what a lot of us do when we tell a story. He tells the story, and then basically repeats the salient points of the story a second time in admiration. Great for conversation, boring in a book. Story once, not twice.
This happens again when Fast Eddie talks about Mick Farren's death. Early in the book, Clarke mentions that Farren died on stage, the way he thought Lemmy would go and the way that he thought he would go. Then much closer to the end, Clarke rambles on at length about Farren dying on stage, dying with his boots on, etc. Do we need this twice? Did Popoff re-read this at all before sending it to the publisher?
The last chapter, in which Popoff describes Lemmy's death and funeral and Phil's death, is written poorly. He describes Lemmy's funeral in great detail, touches on Phil's death, and then has an extensive quote from Eddy prior to their deaths talking about getting in touch with Phil, going to see Phil, hoping the three of them could play together once more. Put that before the deaths. Otherwise, you're just trying to milk it for poignancy and the reader is sitting there going "nice sentiments, but they're dead." It spoils the effect.
The description of the funeral with a list of which rock stars attended and who sent greetings was a little too Entertainment Tonight for me. But Popoff (and Lemmy) both seem to use praise from other stars as vindication. Several times, it's mentioned that Ozzy and Lemmy were lifetime friends. When Popoff wastes a couple of pages defending Lemmy's collecting of Nazi regalia as just interest and not a sign of his being a Nazi, Ozzy is listed as also collecting Nazi regalia, amongst others. When Lemmy is lamenting how no one ever took the band seriously as musicians, he cites Ozzy's friendship and Lars Ulrich's declaration of Motorhead's influence as vindicating Motorhead against the naysayers. Motorhead was around for a long time. Is it surprising that they influenced people, and that they knew other rock stars?
The book leans heavily on interviews with Fast Eddy Clarke. I appreciated that, as his is a voice that I haven't heard much over the years. But I would have appreciated a little more Philthy, a little more Lemmy, and especially the interplay between the band members which Popoff has done so well in his most successful works - books on Blue Oyster Cult, Deep Purple, Rainbow, the Scorpions, etc. Here it's mostly Fast Eddie, with interjections from the others. There's no back and forth. And after awhile, you start to tire of the one voice. I found this with Popoff's book on Dio. Once it was just Ronnie talking, you started to get tired of hearing him. I was a little tired of Fast Eddie by the end.
When he does include extensive quotes from Lemmy - Lemmy on religion, on war, on being underappreciated - I find him really boring. I think I've read enough quotes from him to know where he's coming from, and I no longer find him that interesting. And so earnest too. What happened to his fabled sense of humour?
All in all, this book was not really worth the read. I would maybe recommend it as a supplement to other books, something that can help round out your understanding, but not as a primary source.