All the Aces: The Best of Motörhead

AMG Review of All the Aces: The Best of Motörhead

Steve Huey
All Music Guide

Although it isn't as extensive as No Remorse, All the Aces: The Best of Motörhead does gather the best of the best of that collection, as well as the cream of the uneven, Bill Laswell-produced Orgasmatron (although the "Ace of Spades" remix that closes the original track listing could have been left off in favor of another, more necessary item). There's plenty of quality material from Motörhead's early-'80s heyday that didn't make the cut here, so it's better to think of All the Aces as a concise survey rather than a definitive encapsulation. But it is a very good concise survey. [In 1999, Castle reissued All the Aces with two live bonus tracks and a separate bonus disc titled "The Muggers Tapes," a live recording of a side project called the Muggers featuring Eddie Clarke, Phil Taylor, John "Speedy" Keen, and Billy Wrath. It's closer to heavy pub rock than metal, and it's designed to entice the Motörhead rarities collector who already has the material here; it pales in comparison to the power of the Motörhead songs, and non-collectors probably won't find it all that crucial.]