Someone help me appreciate Lemmy

[The Shepherd]

Lemmy was funny as hell live, with lines like, "Don't try and dance to this one, it's a bit fast. You'll break yer effing legs" and rip right into Overkill. He talked about the Golden Mattress Club quite often and enjoyed women with big chests.

Like him or not he has his own sound that is so unique that you can pick him out anywhere. That can't be said of most musicians.

 

[Bassmann79]

There seems to be a lot of love for him on this site and I'd like to join the party.

I like his voice, he's got the appropriate rock and roll attitude, but his basslines are rudimentary and his tone is trebley and to my ears, unpleasant.

For context, I like my music funkier and more harmonically developed (Steely Dan, Earth Wind and Fire, Tower of Power, as well as fusion artists such as Tribal Tech, etc.), however I enjoy and respect many rock bassist, i.e. Jack Bruce, John Paul Jones, Geddy Lee, McCartney, Sting.

I hear you, I like Motorhead but it has nothing to do with Lemmy's bass playing. He wasn't a bass player at all really, he was a rock 'n roll mothershager who had the total rockstar package (attitude, balls, vision). Lemmy rode the brakes off of life and went out no differently.

 

[HarveyRobertson]

I don’t care for distorted bass with a midrange swell.. not even in Metal music..

 

[SparkyLB]

Musically I admit Lemmy (and Motorhead) just ain't my cup of tea but he sure as heck had the rock star lifestyle and attitude nailed and for that he had my "like".

I think his enduring popularity is due in large part to that...probably Keith Richards is the only guy still standing that lived the life to the absolute full like that... we all know deep down its a pretty dumb reckless way of life but secretly we'd all like a taste of it...

Secretly? Oh no, sir. I'm very open about it. I'd suck off Keef's teat any day. And I'm heterosexual, for god's sakes (not that there's anything wrong with that.) LOL. Whatever secret Keef has, I want in.

Yeah, I know. It's only Rock 'n Roll. . . ..

But to the present dialogue; I've never been a great fan of Motorhead either. Never quite got or appreciated Lemmy's stature. I can say this, though--as a bassist, he didn't suck. And that Rickenbacker he played was kinda nice, too. (that IS a Rickenbacker, right?)

 

[Captain Chaos]

Motörhead for life!

 

[Killed_by_Death]

yeah! --- apparently, that's been 'popular' lately --- to delete posts.

At one time I was notorious for it, & have been refraining from that for a long time, but...
today someone purposely baited me into this thread by posting something like "Yeah, he'll post, but isn't he the guy who admitted he's never going to play a gig!".

I posted in response & then that poster deleted their comment.
I'll admit, I should have quoted their post, in case that happened, but instead I just deleted my comment after they deleted theirs.

As far as helping someone understand Lemmy's sound or his playing style, I can't.

I was watching Anthony Bourdain's trip to Thailand this past weekend & he was cringing at the ingredients to some of the meals in Northern Thailand, but admittedly loved just about everything he was served.
That's completely relatable to me, since I used to live there & ate the same things. I also loved them!

It's kind of the same with Motörhead soup. The ingredients might not seem that tasty, but to many it just hits the spot.
OTOH, I could & do play Lemmy's riffs completely solo & just love it.

I can remember standing beside Lemmy at what later became the Viper room. He brought a demo of a song from "March or Die".
Two things come to memory right away, 1. He asked me to shut-up when the song came on, LOL!
2. He complained that the D.J. infused entirely too much bass on it & made it sound like bloody disco!

If you like funky, Motörhead is not your huckleberry!

 

[HaphAsSard]

@stringthrough Ok now you got me playing salesman, my fault, I get excited about Hawkwind. You may really hook into this album and there is much more Lemmy/Lemmyless Hawkwind to enjoy. Ok Im done.......unless you need more

(To the OP: the above is a Lemmyless example).
Speaking of Lemmy, Hawkwind and Motörhead...I'd be remiss in not linking to the missing link:

It grooves too, like hell! I could dance to it...and do, every time - on the chair in my room at least.
(Sacrilege maybe, but I also like the violin-less version with Dave Brock on lead vocals.)

 

[packhowitzer]

Hell of a dresser for one thing:

View attachment 3046642




Good at holding up amps.



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hell of a dresser? yes. yes he was.

 

[5StringBlues]

 

[Frenchy-Lefty]

He looked cool, was fun and played bass like heavy sounding guitar. Lemme know if I convinced you.

 

[MYLOWFREQ]

Open up a bottle of Jack, crank up the music and try again.

 

[gungrog]

...Look, we all like lots of things. You don't have to like everything. You don't have to like Lemmy. But don't dismiss others because they might.

...Remember that punk was in its infancy in London at the time Motorhead started. Punk wasn't a style of music, it was a conscious lifestyle phenomenon. The music was a by-product. Unless you experienced London at the time you may miss the nuances...

^^^^This.

Also, good point about the punk thing, it was exactly as you describe (I was there too...) A similar 'vibe', and a similar audience for a lot of the punk bands, Motorhead, and The Pirates too, as I recall - no-one wanted to have to follow either of those bands...

 

[Killed_by_Death]

When I want to just get happier, I'll throw on some driving stuff like Motörhead or The Ramones:

Prog rock, & stuff that makes you think, just don't hit the spot for me.

 

[Diamond_Dave]

I enjoy and respect many rock bassist

I've identified the source of your confusion. Lemmy wasn't a rock bassist. He was Lemmy.

 

[Spirit of Ox]

Well as far as Lemmy's bass tone goes; he really knew how to utilize the Ric'O Sound. His bass sounds like a guitar and bass molded together.

 

[ultra60]

I was doing hard rock radio when "Ace Of Spades" came out. Was not familiar with the band. But after the first listen, I am still hooked today. I believe "Iron Fist" is almost as strong. I'd say it's more about the classic Motorhead lineup, for me, than it is about Lemmy. But without Lemmy there would have been no Motorhead.

 

[Killed_by_Death]

he really knew how to utilize the Ric'O Sound

His 4004 didn't even have a Ric-O-Sound jack.

As far as sounding like a guitar, I was just doing that on my SRX bass, playing power chords on the A & D and D & G strings.

 

[devnulljp]

I must admit that I've seen more than a few famous musician's obituaries in the four decades I spent on this planet. Seeing Lemmy Kilmister's was the one that hurt the most.
By far.

Me too. No surprising from my avatar I suppose, but I guess part of me always believed that he was immortal. Met him a few times -- did PA for a few shows they did in smaller venues in the late 80s -- and I thought he was a wonderful fella. A real honest WYSIWYG kinda guy. I was surprised just how gutted I felt when I heard he had died.

 

[Spirit of Ox]

His 4004 didn't even have a Ric-O-Sound jack.

As far as sounding like a guitar, I was just doing that on my SRX bass, playing power chords on the A & D and D & G strings.

That's right his sig is a variation of the 4004 with mono jack. Did he use the Ric'O sound in his 4001 days? I remember hearing how he ran the front pickup into 15s and the rear into 4X12s.

 

[trevcda]

I always thought that this video captured what I'd always heard about him. I never met the man, but knew a few that had (see company preference in a thread above this!), and they always spoke highly of the man and not just the celebrity.