Various Artists: Built For Speed: A Motörhead Tribute

Motörhead is not so much a band as it is a venerable institution in rock. It's a deity, a punchline, an inspiration, a common ground for punks, metalheads, rockers, and more. Still, when the band toured with Ozzfest last year, it was criminally shunted off to either the side stage or the first slot of the main stage. As if to rectify this heavy-metal crime of the century, CMC has released Everything Louder Than Everyone Else, a double-disc live album recorded last year in Hamburg. A great live album—though it is the group's third in 25 years—Everything Louder captures the rawness, energy, and speed that made Motörhead famous. The band sounds as loud and tight as ever, Lemmy's unmistakable growl hasn't let up, and the material spans the band's colorful, if one-note, career. Rather than listing the tracks, just remember this rule of thumb: If it's a classic, it's on here, from "Ace Of Spades" to "Iron Fist" to "Sacrifice." Everything Louder is a great testament to Motörhead's talent, staying power, and influence on metal, punk, and rock 'n' roll. More obvious a testament to the group's influence is the tribute album Built For Speed. Though the album focuses only on punk bands, the scope of punk covered is wide. The monster-pop band Groovie Ghoulies does a peppy version of "R.A.M.O.N.E.S.," the power-punkers in Electric Frankenstein play a faithful cover of "We Are The Road Crew," and the goof-punks in Zeke pull off "I'll Be Your Sister." Most of the tracks are decent, considering the source material was so solid to begin with, but that's not always the case. While it deserves credit for messing with the song structure, it's amazing that the hardcore band Blood For Blood could make "Ace Of Spades" such an unpleasant experience. Meanwhile, Terra Firma's "Bomber" strays from the original blueprint by mellowing the song considerably, with far more interesting results. Like most tribute albums, Built For Speed begs the question: Why listen to straightforward covers of Motörhead's songs when you could just go to the source instead But it's a fine effort and a richly deserved, long-overdue salute to a great, great band.