The World Is Ours – Vol. 2: Anyplace Crazy As Anywhere Else
Motörhead Music, 2012
REVIEW BY: Christopher Thelen
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED: 05/19/2017
If you haven't read my review of The World Is Ours – Vol. 1 yet, you need to do so to understand why I was hesitant going into this set. Not only was it another collection of shows from the same tour featuring almost the exact same set list, but it was being filmed by the same people who gave us a black-and-white, cameras out of time with the music show from Santiago, Chile. What was going to be the result of the show recorded at Wacken Open Air in 2011?
After watching it, my reaction was simple: Now, this is more like it! Everything that went wrong on the first disc is corrected on The World Is Ours – Vol. 2: Anyplace Crazy As Anywhere Else (hereafter referred to as The World Is Ours – Vol. 2).
Gone is the artistic style of black and white film; in is seeing Lemmy and crew in full color, as they should be, in front of about 80,000 crazed (and wet) fans. Despite the set list still being a bit lacking, Lemmy and crew do plow through this one with vigor, making sure to leave the crowd hungry for much, much more. The return of “Bomber,” complete with the lighting rig, is a welcome change of pace.
Also gone is the annoying timing issue that at least two cameras suffered from on The World Is Ours – Vol. 1, where the action on screen didn't match up with the sounds coming from the speakers. This time around, everything is perfectly in sync – as it should be. Finally, there are no problems with the sound being slowed down a bit, as was the case with the footage from Manchester on the previous release.
Adding to the power of this release is the inclusion of portions of Motörhead's sets from Rock In Rio and Sonisphere in 2011, both of which could have easily been released as full shows as well. The Sonisphere gig is special because it came one day after the death of former guitarist Wurzel, something Lemmy notes prior to starting the show. It's a bit heartbreaking, but still an important part of Motörhead's history.
The sole bonus feature features two “superfans” taking the viewer on a trip around the Wacken grounds, even getting face time with all three members of Motörhead (as well as Rudolf Schenker from the Scorpions). For those of us who will never get a chance to go to Wacken, it's interesting in some aspects, but overall fails to impress the viewer as being something special.
The audio CDs exactly mimic the DVD and Blu-Ray of the show (except for the bonus feature), so those are nice to keep in the car to rock out to when you can't be in front of the television.
The overall question, naturally, is why we needed two separate releases from the same touring cycle. Then again, we live in an age where some bands release every show from specific tours on CD, and diehard fans snap those up, so maybe I'm just missing something. Be that as it may, if you could only choose one of the two releases from The World Is Ours series, you'd best be served picking this particular release, as it is far superior in so many ways.