rip-wurzel-thumbnail

RIP Würzel

. . .

The first Motörhead guitarists I heard were Würzel and Phil Campbell. I was in high school. I had heard of this band called Motörhead, and I wanted to see what they were about. So I bought their latest album, 1916 (CD longbox edition). To my teenage ears, it was weird. It sounded like the Ramones, but with dirtier tones (one song was even called “R.A.M.O.N.E.S”), and some parts sounded like metal. I didn’t know what to think.

Two decades later, I know exactly what to think. (It’s dangerous to think you know what to think, but in this case I’m pretty darn sure.) Even though I didn’t realize it at the time, much of the metal came from Würzel, and he was instrumental in the absorption of Motörhead into my metal vocabulary.

Würzel and Campbell formed Motörhead’s two-guitar period. Campbell’s style was more considered; Würzel was the wild one. His highlights included the solos in “Killed by Death” and “Love Me Forever”, and the slide guitar outro to “Stone Deaf in the USA”. Some thought Würzel’s flash was “too metal” for Motörhead. I find it fantastic in this age of faceless shredders.

Exhibit A is his break in “No Voices in the Sky”: 20 seconds of pure electricity. Bluesy bends, wiggly flash, more bluesy bends, a brief melodic run, more bluesy bends faking left and going right, then greased lightning flowing down and flying back up into a feverish squawk. It’s like a Slayer solo with soul.

. . .

“No Voices in the Sky” (solo)
[audio: MOTORHEAD_NOVOICES(SOLO).mp3]

. . .

The rest of “No Voices in the Sky” is crackling, too. For most bands, it would be an anthem that ends sets. Motörhead doesn’t even play the song live now. For filler, it’s killer.

. . .

“No Voices in the Sky”
[audio: MOTORHEAD_NOVOICES.mp3]

. . .

You can see a tribute to Würzel in the video above. It looks like it comes from the tour(s) for 1916. It has good interview footage with Würzel and shows off his lead style well. Seeing the man speak is cool and a little haunting. Long may his guitar speak for him.

— Cosmo Lee

. . .