Motörhead’s debut album has a very interesting story. It was finished in 1976 but was turned down by United Artists who deemed it too violent and raucous. On Parole wasn’t released until the end of 1979 on the label Bronze which would shape the trio’s future. The trio had already made waves by releasing two benchmark albums that year: Overkill and Bomber. Initially recorded with Larry Wallis on vocals and guitar, Lucas Fox on drums and of course the unstoppable Lemmy Kilmister on bass and vocals, On Parole was released in an already-modified version since Philthy “Animal” Taylor, who had become the group’s drummer in the meantime, was asked to re-record most of Fox’s parts (only the track Lost Johnny remained unchanged). Five of the nine tracks had already appeared on the group’s first eponymous album (1977) but that didn’t matter – it was time to capitalise on the wind in their sails. This was another time, with other norms. What was originally considered raucous hardly raised any eyebrows four years later. Vibrator could almost pass for sped-up Beach Boys with its sweet chorus, while Iron Horse/Born To Lose is, strictly speaking, blues. Hugely influenced by MC5, Motörhead’s hard rock was still far away from their hectic Ace Of Spades. On Parole is particularly interesting album because it showcases the influences that Lemmy has often cited over the years, which became much harder to detect in his music later on. The cherry on the cake is that this “definitive” remastered re-release is supplemented by six demos produced by Dave Edmunds, the very first producer of the LP who gave up halfway. Dusted down magnificently, it’s almost a shame that the whole album didn’t benefit from his signature. It would have perfectly suited the trio that later became the rock legends we know today. Beautiful archives! © Charlélie Arnaud/Qobuz