Bomber

I am not going to review the original album in too much detail as it's so well known. In my opinion its got some great tracks that are Motorhead classics , the title track, 'Dead Men Tell No Tales,' and 'Stone Dead Forever' and a lot of other good tracks. It does betray a too fast follow up as it was the second album in less than a year and Lemmy and the band always said they should have road tested some of the tracks before recording which would have perhaps better developed some of the songs. Also the slight dip in song quality is amplified in that for me personally, it sits between the two greateest Motorhead albums of the classic era 'Overkill' and 'Ace of Spades'The reason to get this reissue is the live recording. Like the 'Overkill 40th Anniversary' release it finally gives long term fans a good quality almost full lengh live recording of the great Bomber tour. I say almost as 'White Line fever' I think has an edit but I can't be sure. Maybe they shortened it as it was a festival gig and also missing is one of my all time favs from the tour, 'Stone Dead Forever'. It maybe a timing issue on the limits of the cd format or maybe again they did not play it at this particular festival gig or even the tape for that part was damaged. No matter, you already have a great version fron the 'Golden Years Live EP' if you already have the earlier cd deluxe reissues. Or if not it is still widely available and worth getting for the extras for which there are none on the first cd here. Like I said on my other 40th deluxe review of Overkill, I think it is probably a soundboard so there is only so much that can be done but it is a good warts and all recording from the tour.Again I would have liked to have had more info about the tape source. I always wondered how much more there was in the archives from the multi track recording that Vic Maile did of the 'Bomber; tour and whether it was still archived. There was always the impression given from interviews at the time that due to the volume that they played, some of the live recording was unusable. It would be nice to know if it was only one concert recorded on that tour or more than one. In addition to the four tracks on the 'Golden Years' EP we did of course get 'Iron Horse / Born to Lose' from the Bomber tour multi track which ended up on 'No Sleep till Hammersmith' classic Live album - still the definitive classic line up live recording. We do know that from the problems of recording them on this earlier tour was the reason they recorded three gigs on the 'Ace of Spades' tour for the above.I am giving five stars for the music and the addition of an unreleased good quality recording but only four overall for the missed opportunity for not including the Golden Years EP and the B sides from singles but also due to the shortcomings of the deluxe booklet. Frankly I think the deluxe cover booklet is a big missed opportunity. Great to see pictures of Lemmy with a German Heinkel 111 bomber - the inspiration for the Bomber rig - but I don't see the point in trying to cram lots of pictures on one page so that they overlap and obscure parts ofother photos while other photos are off the page. Like I said in my review of the 'Overkill 40th Anniversary deluxe edition' I would have liked less thick guage paper to allow more pages with more full size live colour pictures of the band, including some with the Bomber rig. .All in all I have been waiting for a good quality full Bomber show so this ticks the box nicely. (My only disappointment with 'No Sleep till Hammersnith' when it came out was that 'Overkill' was not the opening number as it was on this tour and the Overkill tour. I still remember the shock and surprise (no social media to spoil things then and at that stage there had been no reviews of the concerts in the music press) when I saw them at Mancheter Apollo on this tour. It was truly amazing when the lights went down and we heard for the first time the sound of a bomber's engines starting up and then the Bomber rig rising in all its majesty and then Phil Animal Taylotr starting the great drum intro of Overkill and then through dry ice Lemmy and Fast Eddie Clarke striding from the back of the stage on each side to their microphones to sing the first verses. What an entrance. I also clearly remember s at the end of the number Fast Eddue Clarke shaking his guitar over his head and into the audience as if ringing out the last notes on what had been his third solo at the end of the song. Just brilliant. For me this live cd brings it all back to what for me personally is still the greatest opening to a live concert I have ever seen and I have seen a lot of the greats (Bowie Zeppelin, The Clash, the Stones etc). The ending was also pretty impressive with the Bomber lighting rig coming down and giving several bows to the audience and then when it all went dark the all clear siren going off.If you are a fan of the classic line up you have to have this despite the faults mentioned.What next? Hopefully a second cd record on each reissue of all the tours from the Bronze era and rectifying the issues with the current booklets. Ace of Spades full concert in the right order maybe from the versions not used on the second cd on the previous deluxe 'No Sleep till Hammersmith' if the versions are usable, if not, the full concert in the right order would tick most fans boxes. . From the 'Iron Fist' tour I know there are two good recordings a Leeds soundboard and one from a scottish radio broadcast as these have been widely bootlegged. Here's looking forward to the next releases which will probably only happen if enough buy these current two deleux editions so lets be having you and buy them if you haver not already. You know it makes sense.

Great album and nicely presented in hardback book format. Lost star due to the live double being a soundboard tape and obviously not the best of mixes. Certainly worth the £30 I paid especially as the single disc is over £20

Brilliant stuff from Motorhead, great Lemmy Vocals

Superb

Here we have the 40th anniversary edition of Motörhead's "Bomber" album, a stellar album that fell between two absolute Rock classics in "Overkill" and "Ace Of Spades" so therefore gets a bit forgotten about. I've always thought if the title track kicked off the album (like every other "Fast" Eddie Clarke era album did) it would have fared better. I understand why they didn't as it would have made the album too similar to "Overkill", "Dead Men Tell No Tales" is a good track but a low key opener. Elsewhere there are plenty Motörclassics like "Lawman", "Stone Dead Forever" and "Poison". "Sweet Revenge" is a the last bastion of Hawkwind styled wierdness that wouldn't return until "Orgasmatron", the track has a psychedelic eeriness that still disturbs. Eddie Clarke gets his only album lead vocal on the Bluesy "Step Down". The hardback book is nice to look at but the sleeve notes are a bit dull. The real highlight here is the second disc live show, a rough and ready show from the "Bomber" tour where we finally get official live versions of many of that albums tracks, they would subsequently disappear from setlists never to return (only the immortal title track would represent "Bomber" for the most part, lots of funny pidgin French banter with the crowd and the band is on fire. If this edition had "The Golden Years" E.P. tracks and "Over The Top" it would have been the definitive version. As it is have no hesitation in buying this purely for the live show. Outstanding.

Not quite as good as Overkill or Ace of Spades but good enough. No regrets

Had this on vinyl in the 1980s & sold every thing in the 1990s so just getting some memories back from the concerts I went to back then , good sounds in the car

Motörhead at the height of their powers. A great extra live CD also. Bomber is my favourite all time Motörhead track so I am biased but this is a quality release. Buy it!