You’d think I would have learned my lesson. After listening to Blitzkrieg On Birmingham ’77, you’d think I’d recognize that any live Motörhead show released on Receiver Records was bound to be a pseudo-bootleg with poor sound, questionable cuts and the overall feeling like I should reach into my wallet and send Lemmy Kilmister a $20 bill just for even listening to this shit – ’cause chances are no one in the band is seeing a dime from these.
Yet, on the back of Lock Up Your Daughters – which, along with the aforementioned disaster, were both repackaged into the two-disc set Keep Us On The Road in 2002 – is a claim that this particular concert was recorded off of the sound desk, and was released with the permission of the band.
As for that latter claim, two words: My arse.
There is no way Lemmy, “Fast” Eddie Clarke and “Philthy Animal” Taylor would have okay’ed the release of a live show featuring a sudden, unexplained cut in the middle of “Iron Horse (Born To Lose)” or the sound going straight down the crapper on the disc closer “Instro” (though this could well be the first time the latter was ever released live).
Granted, Lock Up Your Daughters does have a slightly better sound overall than its predecessor, and it is interesting to hear early live versions of “I’ll Be Your Sister” and “Tear Ya Down,” so this disc at least has some different material. Other than that, it’s the same story: an early Motörhead concert recorded with sub-primitive equipment, resulting in a sound which makes one think the master tapes have been in the bottom of the canary cage for several years.
Look, I have no problem with bootlegs (though I know several artists who would like to, ah, “discuss” this in a dark alley with me), but when I listen to a bootleg, I know that the overall sound is going to be a crap shoot. But when I drop coin on a disc which claims to be authorized by the band, I don’t necessarily expect to hear something that sounds like it was recorded by the Rolling Stones Mobile studio, but I sure don’t expect it to be so much sonic sludge.
Lock Up Your Daughters is admittedly a better release, albeit slightly, than Blitzkrieg On Birmingham ’77, and there is some historical significance to this disc. But, like its predecessor on this label (and, thankfully, the last), this is one for the diehard collector only.
