Lemmy, Slim Jim, & Danny B

A lifelong lover of rock ‘n’ roll, Motörhead’s Lemmy Kilmister recorded this album of old rockabilly and honky-tonk classics at the turn of the century with Stray Cats drummer Slim Jim Phantom and guitarist Danny B. Harvey of Lonesome Spurs and The Rockats. (At first they used the moniker Lemmy, Slim Jim, & Danny B, which they changed to The Head Cat with their 2006 sophomore album.) None of these tunes will melt off your face like “Silver Machine” or “Ace of Spades,” but the fun the trio had recording them is palpable, starting with a true-to-form cover of Johnny Cash’s “Big River.” Over the simple boom-bap-boom of Slim Jim’s snare-and-kick-drum combo, Danny B squeezes out classic-toned leads while Lemmy strums an acoustic guitar and croons like Cash through swampy layers of reverb. He returns to the raspy-throated roughneck we all know and love on a bouncy rendition of Lloyd Price’s “Lawdy Miss Clawdy” before revealing a love for all things Buddy Holly with endearing takes on “Peggy Sue Got Married” and “Learning the Game.”