UMUR "On Parole" was recorded in late 1975/early 1976 and was originally intended to be Motörhead´s debut full-length studio album, but United Artists Records felt the recorded material lacked commercial potential and refused to release it. The band, which at the time consisted of Lemmy Kilmister (Vocals, Bass), Larry Wallis (Guitars, Vocals), and Phil "Philthy Animal" Taylor (drums), were of course disappointed by the label´s rejection of their recorded material, but soldiered on playing live shows and were with hard work and a bit of luck offered a new label deal by Chiswick Records, who would release the band´s self-titled debut full-length studio album in 1977. It was only after the success of "Overkill (1979)" and "Bomber (1979)", that United Artists Records chose to release "On Parole" though, and not with the consent of the band.

Motörhead was formed by Lemmy after he was kicked out of Hawkwind following a drug bust on the US/Canadian border, which rendered Lemmy unable to play a couple of Canadian tour dates while in prison, which ultimately meant that Hawkwind had to cancel those shows. This was only one episode in a longer line of erratic behaviour episodes which led to Lemmy´s dismissal from Hawkwind. Considering the rumoured intake of huge amounts of psychadelic drugs in the band, Lemmy´s behaviour must have been really bad for them to kick him out. I´ve read Lemmy joking about his dismissal that he took too many "upper" drugs like amphetamine and cocaine, as opposed to the other members of the band, who were primarely into psychadelic drugs, and those two states of mind didn´t go well together.

"On Parole" features 9 tracks and a full playing time of 36:59 minutes, and 3 of those tracks are re-recorded and rearranged versions of tracks that Lemmy wrote while he was in Hawkwind. The eponymously titled "Motörhead" track was featured on "Warrior on the Edge of Time (1975)", "Lost Johnny" on "Hall of the Mountain Grill (1974)" and "The Watcher" was featured on "Doremi Fasol Latido (1972)". Especially the latter features some space rock influences, but other than that the musical style on "On Parole" is blues based hard rock (although "Fools" actually features a less heavy Beatles influence).

All tracks, except "Fools" and "Leaving Here", were re-recorded during the sessions for "Motörhead (1977)" although only 5 of them made it unto the original version of that album. They appear on "On Parole" in more straight rock´n´roll versions, and the gritty punk influences, the raw vocals and massive distorted bass, which are pretty dominant features on the versions of the tracks which appear on "Motörhead (1977)", are only heard in sequences here. "On Parole" certainly isn´t a polished release, and there are some of the badass wildness of the successor present here, but it´s predominantly a much more accessible hard rock release with clear melodies (even some harmony vocals here and there) and a relatively clear sound production. I hear influences from The Stooges and MC5 here, but the savage attitude which Motörhead would adopt on their debut album, is only here in small doses. This is still pretty hard and heavy rock music though.

It´s not exactly an album that has spawned many Motörhead live stables, but the eponymous track and "Iron Horse / Born to Lose" are tracks that were played on occasion (especially the former) up until Lemmy´s death. While "On Parole" isn´t my first recommendation to a Motörhead novice, it´s actually quite an enjoyable listen and overall a quality heavy rock release and a 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.

Vim Fuego It is surprising how many Motörhead fans are unaware of the existence of the band's debut album. Perhaps the fact it was released well into their career has something to do with it…

The album kick–started in a storming fashion, with the rumbling "Motörhead", a tune Lemmy originally wrote for Hawkwind. Far from the space rock style of his previous band, "Motörhead" is a straightforward rock song, as unstoppable as the heavy metal of the bike sampled as an intro.

Then things start to get a bit strange, for long time Motörhead fans. "On Parole" definitely doesn't sound like latter day Motörhead. There's a definite AC/DC vibe to the song, along with bluesy passages. "Vibrator" also seems to take cues from Bon Scott and co., with its filthy double entendre lyrics

"Iron Horse/Born To Lose", Lemmy's ode to Hell's Angels, almost sounds like something BB King or some other old blues legend would produce. It is excellent for kicking back with a couple of beers in the summer sun. The same style is evident throughout 'On Parole'. Lemmy has said more than once Motörhead is just a loud blues influenced rock and roll band. It is probably more evident here than on any other album. The velocity and the "everything louder than everything else" production philosophy were still developing, and the hard–edged blues sound shines through. This certainly isn't metal, not by today's standards.

Most fans would probably find this album too slow and lacking the punch of later albums. Lemmy's gravelly voice is several thousand cigarettes and uncountable gallons whiskey short of his famous rasp, Philthy was yet to develop his manic double bass which first surfaced on "Bomber", and guitarist Larry Wallis, while technically more proficient than most later guitarists in the band, seemed to have a penchant for Jimi Hendrix/Angus Young hybrid solos.

The embryonic versions of the classics "Motörhead", "Iron Horse" and "Leaving Here" are excellent, but there is really little else on offer here for the casual listener. For completists and die–hard fans only.

slow man Motörhead was formed in june 1975 by singer/bassist Ian Lemmy Kilmister with the intention to form a band like mc5. He found his first bandmembers in guitarist/singer Larry Wallis and drummer Lucas Fox, who was during the On parole recordings replaced by Phil Taylor. On parole was recorded for United artists,but the recordcompany hadn't faith in it and decided not to release it at that time. It was released in late 1979,only after the succes of Overkill and Bomber. Almost all songs from On parole were re-recorded for the official 1977 début Motórhead and the forthcoming singles. I like the older On parole the most.It's filled with heavy rock songs which contains some spacerock and rock'n'roll influences.Sometimes it sounds a little pre-punk. The opener Motörhead was done earlier by Hawkwind and now it becomes the first Motörhead all-time favourite. There are more great tracks on the album like Iron horse/born to lose, Leaving here, City kids and many more. Larry Wallis was replaced by Eddie Clarke in early 1976 and this became their most succesful line up. They made classic albums from Motörhead 'til Iron fist, but On parole is really having style and is essential for Motörhead fans.