1916 (album)

1916
Studio album by Motörhead
Released	21 January 1991 (1991-01-21)
Recorded	1990
Genre	Heavy metal
Length	39:28
Label	Epic, WTG
Producer	Peter Solley and Ed Stasium
Motörhead chronology
Nö Sleep at All (1988) 1916 (1991) March ör Die (1992)
Singles from 1916
"The One to Sing the Blues" Released: 24 December 1990 (7" vinyl and CD), 5 January 1991 (12" vinyl)

1916 is the ninth studio album by the British rock band Motörhead. It was released on 21 January 1991 on WTG Records.

History

1916 was Motörhead's first studio album in nearly four years, and their first release on WTG after their legal battle with GWR Records was resolved. In the album's liner notes, the band says "...to the people we left behind - we didn't want to leave ya, but we really had to go! This album is the better for it. Stale and on a treadmill in our career, a change was needed." Some of the songs (including "The One to Sing the Blues", "I'm So Bad (Baby I Don't Care)", "No Voices in the Sky", "Going to Brazil" and "Shut You Down") were originally performed live on Motörhead's 1989 and 1990 tours.^[1][2][3]

The title track is a reflection on World War I killings, it is an uncharacteristically slow ballad in which Lemmy's singing is only lightly accompanied. "Love Me Forever" is a ballad which was later covered by Doro Pesch. "R.A.M.O.N.E.S.", a tribute to punk band the Ramones, was later recorded by the Ramones, which can be found as one of the two studio tracks on Greatest Hits Live. The Ramones also performed it at their final show with Lemmy, with that show being released on video and CD as We're Outta Here.

In the studio the band recorded four songs with the producer, Ed Stasium, before deciding he had to go. When Lemmy listened to one of the mixes of "Going to Brazil", he asked for him to turn up four tracks, and on doing so heard claves and tambourines Stasium had added. Stasium was fired and Pete Solley was hired as producer.^[4] The story, according to Stasium, was Lemmy's drug and alcohol intake had far exceeded the limitations of Stasium's patience so he quit.

Due to an unintentional oversight, the French, Bulgarian, Russian, Serbian and Portuguese flags were not featured on the album artwork.

The postergramme would be the last programme for the band until the 30th Anniversary Tour in 2005.

Reception and awards

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[5]
Robert Christgau	A− [6]

1916 reached number 24 in UK charts and number 142 in the US. It was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance at the 1992 Grammys, but lost to Metallica's Metallica, which was released approximately six months later.

1916 received mostly positive reviews. Allmusic's Alex Henderson gave it three stars out of five, and said that "the band's sound hadn't changed much, and time hadn't made its sledgehammer approach any less appealing." He also added, "Whether the subject matter is humorously fun or more serious, Motörhead is as inspired as ever on 1916."^[5] Robert Christgau gave the album an A-, calling the album "Sonically retrograde and philosophically advanced"^[7]

Track listing

All songs written and composed by Lemmy, Würzel, Phil Campbell and Phil Taylor unless otherwise stated. 

Credits

Motörhead

• Lemmy – bass, vocals
• Phil "Wizzö" Campbell – guitar
• Würzel – guitar
• Phil "Philthy Animal" Taylor – drums, except "1916", which featured a drum machine.

Additional Credits

• All tracks except 3, 4, and 6 – produced and mixed by Peter Solley, and engineered by Casey McMackin
• Tracks 3, 4, and 6 – produced by Ed Stasium, and engineered by Paul Hemingson
• Mastered by Steve Hall at Future Disc Systems, Hollywood, USA

References

External links

• Motörhead official website