A former Hendrix roadie who got kicked out of a pioneering space rock band for doing the wrong kind of drugs pulled together some like-minded speed freaks, picked up a bass guitar with a busted muffler, and proceeded to destroy the nascent punk rockers at their own game. Motörhead’s masterpiece covers some of Lemmy’s favorite subjects (women, drugs, road crews) while never letting off the gas. And then there’s the title track – the harrowing story of playing cards while in a tour van careening through Germany – which would define them forever. They never forgot the joker.

– Jeff Treppel