Rock/Blues
BMG
Release Date – September 2024
Tracklist:
Disc 1
Intro from Eddie2Cloud – By Curtis Knight Zeus
The Confession – By Curtis Knight Zeus
People, Places And Things – By Curtis Knight Zeus
Takin’ It Easy – By Continuous Performance
In the Morning – By Continuous Performance
White Lightning – By The Muggers
(Just A) Nightmare – By The Muggers
Summertime Blues – By The Muggers
Disc 2
Ace Of Spades – By Motörhead
Step Down (Alternate Version) – By Motörhead
Lawman (Bomber demo) – By Motörhead
Alligator (Bomber demo) – By Motörhead
Dead Men Tell No Tales (Bomber demo)
Emergency – By Motörhead
Motorhead (Live In England 1981) – By Motörhead
Stone Dead Forever (Alternate Version) – By Motörhead
Iron Fist – By Motörhead
Bomber – By Motörhead
The Chase Is Better Than the Catch – By Motörhead
The Hammer (40th Anniversary Master) – By Motörhead
Overkill – By Motörhead
Disc 3
All I Need Is Your Love (Pete Way demo) – By Fastway
Say What You Will – By Fastway
Feel Me, Touch Me (Pete Way demo) – By Fastway
Easy Livin’ (Live from Loudpark 2007) – By Fastway
Trick or Treat – By Fastway
Heft – By Fastway
All Fired Up – By Fastway
Change of Heart – By Fastway
Deliver Me (Remix) – By Fastway
Fade Out (Remix) – By Fastway
Leave the Light On (Remix) – By Fastway
Lovin’ Fool (Remix) – By Fastway
Sick as a Dog (Remix) – By Fastway
Disc 4
Snakebite (New version)
Laugh at the Devil (New version)
All Over Bar the Shouting
No Satisfaction
Make My Day
Heavy Load
Walking Too Slow
Ethereal Blue
Mountains to the Sea
My New Life
Over and Out
21st Century (Alternate Mix)
Fantastic box set of 4 CDs which span his early years with Curtis Knight, Continuous Performance and The Muggers. Motorhead and Fastway, obviously, then his solo career along with a superb biography written by Kris Needs with contributions from Eddie’s wife, which gives a real insight into the man. Needs had a manuscript written for a biography of Motorhead way back in the early eighties but for whatever reason it never got published and the manuscripts went missing until Lemmy found one and gave him his. Wonderful source material from a guy who spent time on the road with Motorhead and saw them rise and develop, especially Eddie who proved to a consummate professional when it came to his music. Clarke did however fall foul of the dreaded booze and drugs which proved to be the end of the classic incarnation of Motorhead, but it didn’t stop him, and he went on to prove that he was much more than the former Motorhead guitarist.
The music he produced with Fastway was solid heavy rock that showed how Clarke could write great riffs and solo with the best of them.
Four CDs of classic Fast Eddie Clarke starting with ‘The Early Years’ where Eddie showed his chops playing with Curtis Knight Zeus. Born Mont Curtis McNear he was a singer with his band The Squires which once included a young Jimi Hendrix (wonder what happened to him?). After Hendrix sloped off to England and therefore walking out on a management contract with Ed Chalpin both he and Knight released a lot of content featuring Hendrix, making them both a lot of money. Knight then also tried his hand in England forming a blues prog band and enlisting a young Eddie. Remember this was the beginning of the 70’s so anything goes but the seeds of Eddie’s development are there to see on some stunning guitar work especially on ‘The Confession’ and the boogie romp ‘People, Places And Things’. After toying with the band Blue Goose which didn’t really go anywhere other than some demos he formed Continuous Performance which was a bit more in the heavy rock vein with a keyboard player. Just listen to ‘In The Morning’ where I doubt you’ve ever heard Clarke play with such feel. Ignore the vocals and concentrate on Eddie’s lines which are smooth and soulful.
There’s three rough live tracks from The Muggers which include a pissed up version of ‘Summertime Blues’ and a couple funky rockers where the singer sounds remarkably like Pete Way – more of whom later.
Continuous Performance couldn’t get arrested, so Clarke gave up on the music business becoming a T.V engineer and general handy man until he was working with a young man who said he played drums, that was Phil Taylor, who said he was having a jam with a bloke who was booted out of Hawkwind. Eddie turned up for fun but the actual guitarist, Larry Wallis of The Pink Fairies, decided he didn’t want to share the limelight plus the trio of Lemmy, Taylor and Clarke had locked into a spectacular groove that they just couldn’t stop. The ‘Motorhead’ CD gives us some classics like ‘Bomber’, ‘Iron Fist’ and ‘Ace Of Spades’ plus there are demos of ‘Lawman’, ‘Alligator’ and ‘Dead men Tell No Tales’ along with tracks that Eddie gave the lead vocal on – ‘Step Down’ and ‘Emergency’. The CD is rounded off with ‘The Chase Is Better Than The Catch’, ‘The Hammer’ and ‘Overkill’.
Depending on who you talk to Clarke was ousted or left Motorhead after 1982’s ‘Iron Fist’ which he produced. Circumstances were such that he did a lot of the work on the album himself with Lemmy and Taylor mainly absent doing other recreational things. Things came to head when a collaboration with New York punkstress and all-round nutter Wendy O’Williams was muted. Eddie heard her voice in the studio and that was that. Having met former UFO bass player Pete Way at a festival they decided to form a rock n roll band. Long story short Pete Way was still tied to contract with Chrysalis so he couldn’t record under the CBS offer the band had secured. The ‘Fastway’ CD has some real gems including a couple of demos that feature Pete Way – ‘All I Need Is Your Love’ and ‘Feel Me Touch Me’. A fabulous live version of ‘Easy Livin’’ from Loudpark 2007 is followed by, for me, the best song Fastway ever recorded – ‘Heft’. You also get ‘All Fired Up’ plus some remixed versions ‘Deliver Me’, ‘Fade Out’, ‘Leave The Light On’, ‘Lovin’ Fool’ and ‘Sick As A Dog’ all featuring the golden voice of Toby Jepson. Eddie met Toby and told him that he wanted to make raw bluesy rock record and that’s exactly what they did on ‘Eat Dog Eat’.
Final CD is ‘The Solo Years’ and we start with a new version of ‘Snakebite’ where Eddie takes the mic before his old Motorhead cohort Lemmy helps out on the new version of ‘Laugh At The Devil’. We then get some slow blues on ‘All Over Bar The Shouting’ where Eddie shows where he came from. ‘No Satisfaction’ has a real Motorhead feel. It’s heavy, nasty and bluesy. Now we get some surprises where Eddie collaborates with Bill Sharpe who was keyboard player in jazz funkers Shakatak, as well as playing with Gary Numan. It was a departure for both Bill and Eddie, but they made some smooth soulful bluesy sounds. ‘Make My Day’ is a bit clunky for my liking but ‘Heavy Load’ more than makes up for it with its bluesy rolling riff before the slow boogie of ‘Walking Too Slow’ takes Eddie back to his club days. Eddie on an acoustic – I never thought I would ever see the day, but ‘Ethereal Blue’ is the evidence and he doesn’t disappoint. ‘Mountains To The Sea’ is a traditional blues complete with a couple of female backing singers then the blues continues on another clunker ‘My New Life’ before we get darker and heavier on ‘Over And Out’ then to close it’s the smoky drunken roll of ‘21st Century’.
Overall, this is a fabulous box set that highlights the talent of ‘Fast’ Eddie Clarke. He was steeped in the blues from early on and expanded that blues basis in Motorhead, hopefully this will enhance his reputation as great guitarist who could, at times, play with great feel and subtlety – not words usually associated with Motorhead. Fastway offered the chance of adding some real melody to his rock n roll and the solo stuff is played and sung from the heart. What I got from both the book and the music is a man who just loved to play his guitar. And I love to hear that guitar.
Written by: Smudge
Ratings: 8/10
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