Another Perfect Day is the sixth studio album by English rock band Motörhead.
Released in May 1983 by Bronze Records, it would be the band's last studio album
with the label. It is the band's only studio album to feature lead guitarist Brian
"Robbo" Robertson, best known for his work with Thin Lizzy.
Recording
[edit]
After lead guitarist "Fast" Eddie Clarke left Motörhead in 1982 in the midst of the
band's Iron Fist US tour, guitarist Brian "Robbo" Robertson (ex-Thin Lizzy, Wild
Horses) was recruited to complete the tour. Drummer Phil "Philthy Animal" Taylor,
who had been a huge Thin Lizzy fan, had lobbied vocalist/bassist/band
leader Lemmy to hire Robertson. The change was initially welcomed by both Lemmy
and Taylor; in Joel McIver's book Overkill: The Untold Story of Motörhead, Lemmy is
quoted at the time saying that the band's sound had:
"[the sound] changed a little now that Brian's joined the band; I think it's gotten more
musical."
These feelings would change dramatically once they entered the studio with
producer Tony Platt; Lemmy would recall years later in the Motörhead
documentary The Guts and the Glory:
"Recording Another Perfect Day was fucking torture. Brian, he'd take seventeen
hours doin' a guitar track. It fuckin' took so long compared with the other albums.
And then when it was released everybody fucking hated it."
The original vinyl release featured a lyric-sheet insert, with a cartoon storyboard of
the adventures of the new band, as it were.[4] The cassette and US LP versions had a
vastly different track list, with "I Got Mine" opening the album and "Back at the Funny
Farm" opening side two. The band supported the album with the Another Perfect
Tour tour, and almost immediately audiences and industry personnel alike took
notice of the jarring contrast between Lemmy and Taylor, clad in their usual leathers,
and Robertson, who took to wearing satin shorts and slip-on espadrille shoes
onstage, which were becoming quite fashionable in the mid-1980s. In his 2002
autobiography White Line Fever, Lemmy writes:
"Brian's fashion sense continued to shock and horrify fans throughout the tour of
Europe at the end of the year. Let's face it, ballet shoes and Motörhead do not mix!"
Lemmy began to make light of Robertson's attire during shows, but he explained
to Classic Rock interviewer David Ling:
"All that shit about being dressed differently; all the wearing of stupid shorts, it was
just to get at me. Or make sure everybody knew he wasn't in Motörhead, just a
featured guest artist, doing us a favour from the great heights as a Thin Lizzy guitar
player."
In his memoir, Lemmy put the album into perspective:
"We had to get another guitar player fast so we could continue the tour, and we
chose Brian Robertson, who had been in Thin Lizzy. Technically, he was a better
guitarist than Eddie, but ultimately he wasn't right for Motörhead. With Robbo our
slide downwards began to pick up speed, which was unfair really, because the
record we made with him, Another Perfect Day, was very good... Another Perfect
Day stood the test of time – a lot of fans have recanted now and come to like it. But
that didn't help us back then."
Following the album and tour, Robertson and Taylor left Motörhead to form the band
Operator, leaving only Lemmy to continue on with Motörhead. Since then, "Shine",
"Die You Bastard!", "Dancing on Your Grave", "I Got Mine", "Another Perfect Day",
"One Track Mind", and "Rock It" have been featured in the band's live set. In 2013,
Lemmy told Lee Marlow of Classic Rock that he hadn't spoken to Robertson since
1983 and maintained:
"I've enjoyed all the line-ups – but not that one. That was the lowest point in our
career."
Sleeve artwork
[edit]
Joe Petagno, the sleeve artist, commented that the cover was inspired by the
upheaval prevalent in the band and its members at the time:
"I didn't hear the music. I think I got a rough mix. It was different. But, I did it on a
beer box, with a drawing board on my lap and some paints and a bucket of water by
my side. And the reason it turned out the way it was – it was all chaos. Chaos in my
life, and chaos in Lemmy's life. I brought it to London with me to deliver it personally
to the guys and everyone was freaked over it. They'd never seen anything like it. And
I remember Philthy said, "Fuck man! If the kids see that on acid, they're just going to
freak!... It's one of my favourite sleeves.[5]"
In 1988 Castle Communications re-issued this album along with Overkill in a gatefold
sleeve.
Critical reception
[edit]
Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
[6]
AllMusic
[Link] 9/10[7]
Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal 9/10[8]
Kerrang! (unfavorable)[9]
Spin Alternative Record Guide 3/10[10]
John Franck of AllMusic calls Another Perfect Day "one of the most unique (albeit
misunderstood) albums in the entire Motörhead catalog", adding that it is one of "the
band's best-sounding records ever, but tinkering with a legendary formula is always
fraught with danger (is that a boogie-woogie piano on 'Rock It'?), and as one might
expect, the results here are alternately exhilarating and sometimes frustrating".
Motörhead biographer Joel McIver wrote in 2011 that it was "worth revisiting for
those who may have forgotten its genuine charms". Thrash
metal band Sepultura named themselves after the third track from this album,
"Dancing on Your Grave" ("sepultura" is "grave" in Portuguese).[11] The songs "Back
at the Funny Farm" and "Marching Off to War" were featured on the video
game Brütal Legend.[12]
Track listing
[edit]
All tracks are written by Ian Kilmister, Phil Taylor and Brian Robertson
Side one
No. Title Length
1. "Back at the Funny Farm" 4:14
2. "Shine" 3:11
3. "Dancing on Your Grave" 4:29
4. "Rock It" 3:55
5. "One Track Mind" 5:55
Side two
No. Title Length
6. "Another Perfect Day" 5:29
7. "Marching Off to War" 4:11
8. "I Got Mine" 5:24
9. "Tales of Glory" 2:56
10. "Die You Bastard!" 4:25
Total length: 44:09
Castle Communications 1996 reissue
No. Title Writer(s) Original release Length
11. "Turn You Round Again" 1983 ~ I Got Mine 3:57
12. "(I'm Your) Hoochie Willie Dixon 1983 ~ Shine 6:31
Coochie Man" (Live in
1983)
13. "(Don't Need) Religion" Kilmister, Clarke, 1983 ~ Shine 2:54
(Live in 1983) Taylor
Sanctuary Records 2006 2-CD deluxe edition
[edit]
Disc one is the original album minus the bonus tracks, except the B-
side of the "I Got Mine" single.
Disc two is a live recording at the Manchester Apollo, 10 June 1983.[2]
All tracks are written by Kilmister, Taylor, Robertson except where noted
Disc 2 (Live at Manchester 02 Apollo, 1983)
No. Title Writer(s) Original release Length
1. "Back at the Funny Farm" 1983 ~ Another Perfect 4:06
Day
2. "Tales of Glory" 1983 ~ Another Perfect 3:40
Day
3. "Heart of Stone" Kilmister, Clarke, 1982 ~ Iron Fist 3:11
Taylor
4. "Shoot You in the Back" Kilmister, Clarke, 1980 ~ Ace of Spades 2:43
Taylor
5. "Marching Off to War" 1983 ~ Another Perfect 4:48
Day
6. "Iron Horse/Born to Lose" Taylor, Mick Brown, 1977 ~ Motörhead 3:45
Guy Lawrence
7. "Another Perfect Day" 1983 ~ Another Perfect 5:38
Day
8. "(I'm Your) Hoochie Dixon 1983 ~ Shine 6:39
Coochie Man"
9. "(Don't Need) Religion" Kilmister, Clarke, 1982 ~ Iron Fist 2:43
Taylor
10. "One Track Mind" 1983 ~ Another Perfect 6:12
Day
11. "Go to Hell" Kilmister, Clarke, 1982 ~ Iron Fist 2:59
Taylor
12. "America" Kilmister, Clarke, 1982 ~ Iron Fist 4:25
Taylor
13. "Shine" 1983 ~ Another Perfect 3:08
Day
14. "Dancing on Your Grave" 1983 ~ Another Perfect 5:42
Day
15. "Rock It" 1983 ~ Another Perfect 4:38
Day
16. "I Got Mine" 1983 ~ Another Perfect 5:36
Day
17. "Bite the Bullet" Kilmister, Clarke, 1980 ~ Ace of Spades 1:34
Taylor
18. "The Chase Is Better Than Kilmister, Clarke, 1980 ~ Ace of Spades 5:42
the Catch" Taylor
Personnel
[edit]
Per the album's liner notes.[2]
Lemmy – bass, vocals
Brian "Robbo" Robertson – guitars, piano on "Rock It", Fender piano on
"Shine" and backing vocals on "Back at the Funny Farm"
Phil "Philthy Animal" Taylor – drums
Production
[edit]
Tony Platt – producer, mixing
Andy Pearce – mastering (2006 remaster)
Joe Petagno – Snaggletooth
Curt Evans – 2006 cover design
2006 deluxe edition remaster
[edit]
Steve Hammonds – release coordination
Jon Richards – release coordination
Malcolm Dome – sleeve notes
Mick Stevenson – project consultant, photos, and archive memorabilia
