d
MOTLEY CRUE
RATING: 7
PLAY THESE: LIVE WIRE, PUBLIC ENEMY #1, ON WITH THE SHOW
SKIP THESE: COME ON AND DANCE
The Crue. Rock's baddest, sleaziest, and dirtiest group of all time, a band so unpleasant that even the demented-looking guitarist Mick Mars comes across as being the most "normal" one of the bunch. We all know about drummer Tommy Lee's misadventures via the tabloids, and most of us are well acquainted the Nikki Sixx, the band's bassist, main songwriter, and token junkie. Oh, and we can't forget about the fat alcoholic lead singer Vince Neil, who is now most famous for his stint on the B-list celebrity reality show The Surreal Life. These guys have inflicted more damage on mankind than anyone bar Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin, and Oprah Winfrey, although even they might be shocked at the unparalleled depravity Motley Crue has wrought in its twenty five year existence.
Luckily for all of us (except my mother, who confiscated all of my Crue cassettes when I was 15), Motley Crue has documented much of its depravity in their music, and there is no better testimony to the group's honest-to-goodness evil (ha!) than their 1981 debut album, Too Fast For Love. This is literally the sound of a group of slimy, sleazy street rats sleazily climbing its way out of the gutters of Hollywood, and busting their way into the tape recorders of working-class teenagers all around the world. The production is low budget, the musicianship is near-amateur, but there is something very compelling about the group's early sound. If you only know Motley Crue by their later pop metal material like 'Smokin' In The Boys Room' or 'Dr. Feelgood,' you might be very surprised just how "garage" all of this is, and just how much punk-influenced the music is. Yes, American mid-70's glam still rules the day in terms of the Crue's influences, but there is something undeniably punk about this music.
So what stands out here? Well, the opening track, 'Live Wire' is great, with an aggressive riff and unusually menacing Neil vocals, making it the best on the album. I'm not so sure about Tommy Lee's tinnitus-inducing cowbell part during the bridge, but other than that the song is prime early 80's metal, although the Nikki Sixx's violent misogynist imagery goes way, way, WAY too far (e.g. "I'll either break her face or take down her legs/ get my ways at will/ go for the throat/ never let loose/ going in for the kill" ). That's pretty psycho, guys - even if you're just joking, which I suspect you are. The clunky cowbell also makes an appearance 'Public Enemy #1,' although you won't notice it because the song is otherwise a fantastic pop-rock tune, and has a pretty catchy melody going for it (it was co-written with Sixx's former band mate Lizzie Grey, who used to play with Nikki in the sleazy Hollywood glam band London circa 1979-80). The band doesn't sound very tight on this one, but that's OK, 'cause it's a gritty, energetic performance.
I'm also pretty fond of the album's token power ballad, 'On With The Show,' which tells the sordid tale of an ill-fated street punk named Frankie, and his trashy girlfriend Suzie. I'm not quite sure what drummer Tommy Lee is doing when he comes crashing in with his off-kilter and frankly just plain WRONG drum fill before the chorus, but on the whole arrangement works itself out in the end, and Mick's guitar solo is great. Even Vince sounds like a he gives a damn, which is not something you can say about most of his post-1983 vocal performances. The dirty metal track 'Take Me To The Top' is also quite good, and the menacing 'Piece Of Your Action' goes a long way in proving that Sixx was really quite good at coming up with loud, ham-fisted metal anthems.
The only song that I can't really get into is "Come On And Dance,' which suffers from a poor arrangement, as well as a pathetic performance courtesy of from Vince Neil, who sounds like he phoned in the vocals from his coke dealer's house. (the dreadful cowbell makes another appearance here as well). However, moments of craptitude like this are few and far between on this album. All in all, this is a surprisingly riveting set of performances from a band better known for its extra-curricular activities than its actual music, but this album is pretty damn solid. Unfortunately, they've never bettered it, although the next one comes close.
RATING: 8
PLAY THESE: SHOUT AT THE DEVIL, LOOKS THAT KILL, TOO YOUNG TO FALL IN LOVE
SKIP THESE: KNOCK 'EM DEAD KID
On second thought, I'm not so sure that Too Fast For Love is actually better Shout At The Devil. I hadn't listened to it for over a decade until a week or so ago, and I've come to realize that the music hasn't aged nearly as badly as the group's cheesy videos from the same era have. The band sounds tighter and the songs are better, which means that this album actually should get the nod over the last one, in spite of the appeal of Too Fast For Love's more ragged, indie-sounding production. Yes, this record's overall sound is slicker, and the songs are generally more radio-friendly, but there is something about the band's performances that elevates this above Motley Crue's earlier tracks.
The other interesting thing about this album is the obvious "Satan sells" thing going on, and rarely has a group been able to push people's buttons while generating album sales as much as Motley Crue has. The mock-satanic imagery on the front cover, when combined with the violent lyrics and the obvious devilry of the album's title made Shout At The Devil just about the worst possible nightmare for North American fundamentalist Christians. The uproar was massive - record burnings were commonplace for the first time since the disco era, and books about Satan-worshipping, backward-masking heavy metal bands topped the nation's best-selling book lists. Unfortunately, I was not a spared from the upheaval. One day in the late 80's I came home from school, only to find that my entire Motley Crue cassette (and vinyl Girls, Girls, Girls) collection had been burned by my mother, who apparently took exception to the fact that I was listening to songs entitled 'God Bless The Children Of The Beast,' or lyrics like "now I'm killing you, watch your face turn to blue" (from 'Too Young To Fall In Love'). (Years later, my new copy of 1994's self-titled Motley Crue CD would also disappear under suspicious circumstances). Of course, the passage of time has rendered the group's "shocking" faux-Devil worship imagery unbearably cheesy, and it is now clear that Motley Crue were only trying to get a rise out of the old farts.
It should also be mentioned that Motley Crue was using virtually the same faux-Satanic imagery (pentagrams, flame pots, and spikes, etc...) previously used by Blackie Lawless (of WASP fame) in the late seventies with his glam metal band, Sister. Interestingly enough, the bass player for Sister was none other than a young Nikki Sixx, who went by the name "Frank Ferano" at the time. Lawless eventually fired Sixx under acrimonious circumstances, and rumor has it that by "stealing" Blackie's trademark stage routine years later, Nikki Sixx was actually performing an "ego checkmate" on his detested old band mate.
Satanic imagery aside, this album is probably one of the few 80's metal artifacts that has actually stood the test of time. There are no wussy power ballads on this record - every track is catchy and hard hitting, and most songs boast at least a couple of great guitar riffs courtesy of the criminally underrated Mick Mars. The obvious contenders for the best track are the hit singles 'Looks That Kill' and 'Too Young To Fall In Love,' both of which are probably among the most violent songs (both musically and lyrically speaking) that have ever troubled the Billboard Hot 100. The classic title track is just as good, with a dumb shout-along-chorus and a cool guitar riff, although I'm not a big fan of Vince's "singing" on this one, especially when he squeals like an alley cat with PMS during that "he's a razor to the knife" pre-chorus bit. The Ozzy tribute 'Bastard' is a blitzkrieg of loud guitars, frantically-paced Tommy Lee drumming, and homicidal lyrics ("out goes the light, in goes my knife/ take out his life/ consider that bastard dead"), and 'Red Hot' sounds a lot like Motorhead, but with better songwriting (and wimpier Vince Neil vocals). I'm not so sure about the cover of The Beatles' 'Helter Skelter,' but it's certainly not the worst version of the song I've heard, and I guess the violent nature of the music kind of suits Motley Crue to a certain extent. It's definitely better than U2's famous version, but I guess that probably goes without saying. The brief Mick Mars-penned instrumental 'God Bless The Children Of The Beast' is also pretty decent, with an eerie semi-classical chord progression and some nifty harmony guitar soling courtesy of the Motley guitarist.
As for filler, there's plenty to be found in the album's second half ('Knock 'Em Dead Kid,' 'Danger,' etc.), but nothing comes close to being bad, and even these songs have some energy going for them. In the end, Shout At The Devil is a metal classic that will probably go down in history as The Crue's most important album. A lot of metal bands in the early 80's had a similar sound (Ratt, Dokken,' etc.), but there is something that elevates this music above the pack. If you're interested in Motley Crue, this is the ideal place to begin.
RATING: 4
PLAY THESE: SMOKIN' IN THE BOYS ROOM, HOME SWEET HOME, USE IT OR LOSE IT
SKIP THESE: KEEP YOUR EYE ON THE MONEY, TONIGHT WE NEED A LOVER, SAVE OUR SOULS
Leaving behind the exaggerated Satanic metal posturing of Shout At The Devil for an even more overblown glam-oriented image/sound, Theatre Of Pain represents Motley Crue's acceptance into the mainstream musical community. Two of the album's singles made it into the Top 40 ('Smokin' in The Boys Room' and 'Home Sweet Home'), and the album itself rested comfortably in the American Top 20 for nearly a year, selling in excess of 2 million copies. Unfortunately, the newfound success did not translate into good music. No Surrey, Bob. This album is really bad. The 80's pop-metal production is lame, the songwriting is pedestrian, and even the best songs can't match the violent grandeur of the first two records. Obviously, the group's collective descent into addiction and numbskull depravity couldn't have helped matters, and I suppose it goes without saying that singer Vince Neil may have been a little bit preoccupied by his highly publicized trial for vehicular homicide, the result of his culpability in the tragic, alcohol-fueled death of Nicholas "Razzle" Dingley (drummer of the Finnish glam rock outfit Hanoi Rocks). Predictably, Vince dealt with his inner demons by drinking even more booze, and as such sounds like he chugged a 26 ounce bottle of Jack Daniels before he laying down the vocal tracks on most of the songs. To make matters even worse, the rest of the band sounds like they're completely blitzed half the time as well. I mean, just listen to the clunky, wobbly interplay between Mars and Lee on 'Use It Or Lose It,' or the fart-like backing vocals on the abysmal 'Save Our Souls.' Truly atrocious, 'tis.
All problems aside, there are a few decent moments on the album. The group's cover of Brownsville Station's 1973 one-off hit 'Smokin' In The Boys Room' is a great one, and there's no doubt that Motley's version is better than the original. A catchy hook, passable Vince Neil vocals, a harmonica, a memorable Mick Mars solo, and a general sense of good cheer all add up to a sure-fire hit single, as this song was absolutely EVERYWHERE in 1985. Indeed, it was this song that first made me aware of this band back when I was in fifth grade, and for a while I even seriously contemplated buying Theatre of Pain with my allowance money (but didn't until years later, when I fell victim to the mulletted fury unleashed by The Crue's 1989 monster hit album, Dr. Feelgood).
The other big hit here, of course, was the uber-piano ballad 'Home Sweet Home,' a song that stood as the beacon of light that guided countless hair metal bands in their noble quest to write the ultimate 80's power ballad. The groundbreaking (sic) video was probably what made the song such a big hit (just watch the first use of slow-motion concert footage in an 80's power ballad video!), but musically speaking it's pretty generic stuff. Not only that, but the fact that Tommy Lee plays the opening descending chord sequence on a cheap Fisher Price keyboard doesn't help matters either (why not a real piano? You're Motley Crue for Pete's sake! You can afford it!).
The other song that I kinda like is 'Use It Or Lose It,' which on first glance seems to be a love song from Sixx to his stash of Persian smack, but is actually a tribute to tragic youthful Hollywood icons like James Dean and Marilyn Monroe. As I stated earlier, I can't help but think that the band should've recorded the track whilst sober, but it's still catchy, and it definitely rocks more convincingly than anything else on the album (although 'Louder Than Hell' is pretty rockin' too).
The rest of the album, unfortunately, is pure filler, and most of it is so devoid of real energy that it's pretty much embarrassing. Put it to you this way, if you can sit through 'Tonight We Need a Lover' without cringing than you're a pretty undiscerning listener, and as such your opinion doesn't count. It also doesn't help matters that the generic blues metal crap-fest 'Keep Your Eye On The Money' was made up as the tape was rolling (and is about three minutes too long), and that the absolutely RETARDED narcotic nightmare 'Save Our Souls' is just plain pathetic. All in all, this album has a few highpoints that rate among Motley Crue's best songs, but overall it is probably the very worst of the group's albums, and as such must be approached with caution - if at all
RATING: 6
PLAY THESE: GIRLS GIRLS GIRLS, WILD SIDE, DANCING ON GLASS
SKIP THESE: JAILHOUSE ROCK
A quasi-return to form, Girls Girls Girls sees Motley Crue take a slightly rawer, raunchier turn for the better - sort of. This album can essentially be described as "Motley Crue does Aerosmith," with a greater emphasis on the blues, and a more-than-usual, overblown sleazy vibe that almost screams "Steven Tyler." Unfortunately, the overall sound is still overproduced (although I do like the "punchy" sound of Tommy Lee's pounding bass-drum), and some of the songs are painfully generic, although I suppose it goes without saying that it's still demonstrably better than Theatre of Pain. The other thing that really bugs me is the fact that even though this is billed as a "full length" album, it's actually only a thirty-five minute EP, consisting only of eight "real" songs, with a musically-challenged, painfully boring instrumental track ('Nona') and a moronic live cover of 'Jailhouse Rock' thrown in to pad the album.
In spite of all of the problems, this album does contain several of Motley Crue's all-time greatest moments, including the fantastic title track, which is my favorite Crue song. Yes, it's completely braindead, and yes, the motorcycle overdubs are dumb-as-poop, but just listen to that drop-D Mick Mars riff - that's some cool sh*t. My cousin Andrew recently remarked that the riff is "all that you ever need to know about Motley Crue," and I would have to admit that he's absolutely right. Great stuff, it is. The other killer tune is 'Wild Side,' which unlike the title track doesn't feature a real Harley, but instead employs a guitar lick that SOUNDS like a motorbike. As Tommy Lee reportedly remarked to Mars in the studio, "that riffage is like totally awesome, bro!" The arrangement is good too, with a sped-up, double-bass drum-driven verse, and a slower, drive-your-head-through-the-wall chorus part.
The other well-known tune is the homicidal power ballad 'You're All I Need,' which starts off innocently enough with a generic-but-pleasant eighties piano riff, but when the vocals come in it's clear that this is one is designed to ruffle some feathers (e.g. "the blade of my life faced away from your heart/ but last night it turned and sliced you apart"). Part of me wants to laugh, part of me wants to vomit, but when all is said and done this song is just about the most hilarious parody of the 80's power ballad tradition I've ever heard. And yes, the song DID crack the American Top 40. The other song that I really like is Nikki Sixx's autobiographical 'Dancin' On Glass,' which deals with his heroin addiction and near-death experiences. It's got another great riff, and the lyrics are pretty good too.
Other than these few moments of excellence, though, the rest of the album just doesn't stand the test of time. Generic pop metal rockers like 'All In The Name Of' may have sounded pretty good back in 1987, but they haven't aged any better than Vince Neil's beer belly, and as such are nearly intolerable without excessive alcohol intake. That being said, the album does have a few good songs, and when one considers how lucky these guys were to still be alive at this point, I guess we can't be too critical here. Well, OK, we can be critical (this is Motley Crue we're talking about here), but let's dwell on the positives, which are more plentiful this time around.
RATING: 7
PLAY THESE: DR FEELGOOD, KICKSTART MY HEART, DON'T GO AWAY MAD (JUST GO AWAY)
SKIP THESE: STICKY SWEET, TIME FOR CHANGE
I remember it like it was yesterday: I was in ninth grade when I first heard 'Dr. Feelgood,' and had never really paid much attention to hair metal, apart from briefly getting into Guns 'n Roses about a year earlier. I don't know what it was about the song that really captured my teenage attention. Perhaps it was the heavy-but-catchy aspect of the sound, or maybe I liked the drug referenced lyrics (even though the band members had supposedly cleaned up their acts by this time), but regardless I was hooked by Motley Crue. Within a few months I was sporting a ridiculous trailer-trash mullet, and by the year's end I was completely sucked in by most of those god-awful hair metal bands that nearly sucked the life out of the music scene at the end of the 80's. How I crawled out of this hellhole of hairspray depravity I'll never know, but thankfully I rediscovered my childhood love for The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, and The Who a couple of years later, and forever turned my back on the metal scene.
Mullets and power ballads aside, Dr. Feelgood is one of the rare hair metal albums that has stood the test of time (OK, maybe not all of it). This is, after all, a very entertaining record. It's the ultimate party music album, and even after all these years it still makes me wanna crack open a brewski, light up a fatty, and squeeze into a pair of those tight-ass jeans that were all the rage way back in the day. All sarcasm aside, this is a really fun album, the band's first collaboration with Canadian hard rock producer Bob Rock. The only low points are on the ballads ('Without You' and 'Time For Change,' the latter of which has THE worst-ever Vince Neil vocals on record), but thankfully there are only two of these, so most of the record still rocks.
As previously mentioned, the smash hit of a title track is the primary attraction, but there are other great rockers on this album, among them the pulsating 'Kickstart My Heart,' which is supposedly about Nikki Sixx's near-death overdose experiences and is the heaviest song on the album. There are also a couple of pretty good Aerosmith clones on the album, 'Rattlesnake Shake' and 'Slice Of Your Pie,' the latter of which rips-off The Beatles 'I Want You (She's So Heavy)' during the coda in a hilarious tongue-in-cheek fashion. Naturally, the three-chord party anthems are also pretty good, with the sleazy 'Same Old Situation (SOS)' leading the pack in terms of sheer enthusiasm, although the pervy-but-good 'She Goes Down' is quite likely the catchiest tune on the entire album (sample lyric: "it's like connecting the dots/ starts at the bottom and lick it to the top" Yuck!). My favorite, though, is 'Don't Go Away Mad (Just Go Away),' which starts off as a catchy semi-ballad with a surprisingly melodic Nikki Sixx bassline, and is later transformed into a revved-up rocker near the end. Mick Mars' guitar solo is great on this one, and even Vince Neil sounds like he actually wants to be alive for once in his life. I'm not too crazy about 'Sticky Sweet,' but it's not all that bad, and even the ballads are OK for what they are.
In the end, this is a great comeback for the band - even if fails to match the hypnotic debauchery of their first two albums. It's pretty overproduced in spots, but it's still a rockin' good time.
RATING: 8
PLAY THESE: HOME SWEET HOME '91, ANGELA, PRIMAL SCREAM
SKIP THESE: TEASER, ANARCHY IN THE UK
Classic metal compilation. The only Motley Crue album you really need to own. It's also the very last Motley Crue album before Vince Neil's departure a year later, so it's also the end of the road for the band in many respects. Most of the track selections are bang-on, even if I kind of wish that both 'Too Young To Fall In Love' and 'On With The Show' would've made the cut. Nevertheless, most of the true classics are here: the relentless 'Live Wire,' the ultra-dark 'Looks That Kill,' the party-hardy 'Girls, Girls, Girls,' and the powerful 'Dr. Feelgood,' etc....you get the idea....
There's also a killer live version of 'Kickstart My Heart included, which may or may not be superior to the original studio recording, although there's little doubt that Tommy Lee's drumming is better on the live version. The band also re-recorded the massive hit power ballad, 'Home Sweet Home,' replacing Tommy Lee's original cheesy electric piano with a much more appropriate baby grand. Other than that, there's little significant difference between the two versions, although I'd have to give the 1991 re-recording the upper hand based upon the piano factor alone.
The band also includes several "new" songs, the best of which is 'Primal Scream,' which hints at the heavier, more groove-oriented sound the band would explore on the next album (but without Vince). Great drum sound, Mr. Lee! The urgent rocker 'Angela' is also quite good, with a catchy chorus and some excellent bluesy guitar riffs from Mick Mars, and 'Rock and Roll Junkie' is typical hair metal party material, and is somewhat generic. The group's cover of The Sex Pistol's 'Anarchy In The UK' isn't bad, but it's totally unnecessary. In the end, this collection is a good one, and the ideal place to start for anyone interested in exploring all things Motley.
RATING: 7
PLAY THESE: LOVESHINE, MISUNDERSTOOD, SMOKE THE SKY
SKIP THESE: UNCLE JACK, DROPPIN' LIKE FLIES, HAMMERED
Motley Crue. You'll either love it or hate it. Although many old Crue fans from the early 80's detest the album because it doesn't feature Vince Neil on vocals, an equally rabid minority of Crue fans view it as the greatest Motley album ever. I must admit that I almost side with the latter group, although I'd be the first to admit that the CD doesn't quite match the grandeur of Shout At The Devil, even if it is musically superior in some respects. The strength of this album is diversity - something that new singer Jon Corabi brings in spades. While all previous Motley Crue albums were rather one-dimensional in nature, Motley Crue (1994) demonstrates that the band's inability to experiment was largely based on the almost ludicrous extent Vince Neil's limitations, rather than any significant songwriting shortcomings on the part of his other three band mates. Indeed, it must have been frustrating watching Vince pour endless amounts of booze down his throat, rather than contributing to the creative process in any meaningful way.
The only major problem with this album - and it's a big one - is that it isn't really a "Motley Crue" album per say. The band should have come up with a new name, as it was impossible for the group to succeed while being overshadowed by their previous incarnation as the 80's most successful hair metal act. No one was going to give an old hair metal band a chance in the post-Nirvana grunge-dominated music scene of 1994. The band was presumed to be out of style, and no one even considered that the band was more vital than many of the grunge bands, which it clearly was. It's a shame, because this is one of the era's best albums.
In terms of the record's sound, it's probably the band's "heaviest" album, which is probably the result of having a good second guitarist in new member Jon Corabi. Jon's vocals also have the tenor low-range that many of the other grunge singers used a lot, although he's definitely got a pretty decent range as well. In addition, he can convincingly sing about more than just moronic sex, drugs, and rock 'n roll lyrics, which is also a major improvement over the Vince era. The other thing that really makes this album sound bigger is Tommy Lee's drumming, which is probably the best of his career. He just POUNDS the drums, and manages to do so while laying down some truly great grooves. The drum sound is also great.
As for the best songs, there are too many to mention them all by name. The album has several great heavy rockers, including the menacing 'Til Death Do Us Part' and the pro-marijuana anthem 'Smoke The Sky,' which has some great guitar riffing and fabulously hoarse Corabi screaming. The latter song's lyrics even claim that Socrates and JFK smoked pot, which I did not know before. Like, wow, dude! As mentioned earlier, Motley even has a few new tricks up its collective sleeve in the Beatlesque ballad 'Misunderstood,' which has nice harmonies and psychedelic symphonic pop vibes, as well as the Stone's-like, mandolin-augmented, roots-rock tune 'Loveshine.'
The best known song on the album, 'Hooligan's Holiday,' is also a blast, with a great hook, interesting 90's production techniques, and impassioned vocals making it a true standout. I also like the catchy 'Poison Apples,' which has a really energetic 70's glam thing going on, although Jon's distorted, modern-sounding vocals gave it a slightly Seattle-like feel to it, giving it a unique sound. The album opener 'Power To The Music' is also great, with a big chorus and some amazing double-kick drum patterns courtesy of Tommy Lee.
Admittedly, there are a few too many pedestrian grunge rockers on the album ('Uncle Jack' and 'Droppin' Like Flies' are just a few examples of this type of numbskullery), but overall this record is listenable from start to finish. It's not at all like the band's earlier stuff, so I can understand why some would hate it, but I'm not going to criticize a group when they step outside their comfort zones - especially if they succeed, as the Crue does here. It's a good album, pure and simple. Eight out of ten. Oh, and good riddance, Vince Neil.
RATING: 2
PLAY THESE: AFRAID, GLITTER
SKIP THESE: FLUSH, GENERATION SWINE, BEAUTY
I remember hearing 'Generation Swine' on radio for the first time back in 1997. It was so relentlessly horrible that I can still recall the DJ snidely remarking "what the hell was THAT?" after the track finished. If you've never heard the album (or title track) before, you're probably asking yourself why this CD would be that much worse than anything Motley had ever put out before. After all, the group has never created anything that even came close to approaching true greatness, and there was little to indicate that this album would break the overall pattern of mediocrity. True, many hardcore Motley fans were stupidly excited about Vince Neil's return to vocal duties, but just about everyone in the music business had written these jokers off years ago. To make a long story short, this album blows. Imagine a washed-up band of ageing drug-addled hair metal morons trying to sound like Nine Inch Nails, and that's about all you need to know about this CD. In a word, pathetic.
To be fair, the experiment would've had more chance of succeeding if John Corabi - whose voice is better suited to the album's modern rock sound - was still the lead vocalist for the band, but even then it is clear the band's new musical direction is a bad, bad idea. Most of the tracks are virtually interchangeable with one a another, as most are pedestrian, melodically-challenged modern rock numbers, with a few drum loops and "far out" production effects thrown in to feign the appearance of "hipness." Vince Neil is awful at times, "singing" in his lower range in a pathetic attempt to sound like the other grunge-lite bands of the day. Rumour has it that the band completed this album with Corabi on vocals, but the record company was so underwhelmed by the results that they forced the group to erase John's vocals and bring back Vince, whose rancid bleatings were overdubbed onto the music. The music just doesn't suit Vince at all, and it's clear from the start that he doesn't give a rip about the type of music Lee and Sixx were trying to create here.
Nevertheless, there are a couple of songs that aren't too bad. The up-tempo rocker 'Afraid' has a catchy chorus that harkens back to the Crue of old. 'Glitter' is a decent enough ballad with some interesting sounds that keeps things from sounding too generic. That's it though. Nothing else really stands out as being a good song.
The rest of the album stinks. The title track is a faux-industrial rock embarrassment, and nu-metal tracks like 'Flush' and 'Beauty' are so musically slight that they make Limp Bizkit sound like The Beatles. The worst offender, however, is Tommy Lee's cheesy piano ballad tribute to his son, 'Brandon,' which is just about the worst example of bloated, rock star excess that I've ever heard in my life (sample lyric: "Your mother gave birth to you with love inside"). Cripes, I hate it when rock stars write songs about their kids!
In conclusion, this album is just about the worst music I've ever heard in my life, and should be approached with extreme caution. As such, it probably deserves a rating of one out of ten, but I'll bump up the rating to a two on the basis of effort. At least the group tried to re-invent itself, but unlike the last album, which was a minor masterpiece and a real step forward for the Crue, Generation Swine is a pathetic failure.
RATING: 1
PLAY THESE: none
SKIP THESE: all. no, really.
I seriously cannot believe just how intelligence-insulting this album is. Poor old Motley Crue. After the alt-rock disaster that was Generation Swine (1997) it was clear that the band could no longer experiment if it hoped to maintain its hard-core fan base, and the group simply had to go back to its roots if it hoped to survive. Unfortunately, the retro-80's thing doesn't sound so good twenty years on. The alcoholic preservation disaster otherwise known as Vince Neil sounds like he's drowning when he sings now (wonder why?), and poor old Mick Mars plays guitar like he has a bad case of arthritis (or rickets). Worse yet, Nikki Sixx contributes an astonishingly weak selection of songs that are among the worst I've heard since the Crue's own Generation Swine. Despite an obvious effort to create a full album's worth of catchy pop metal, there are absolutely no hooks to found, and the group's lyrics - while never good - have sunk to an all-time low here (a prime example being the idiotic 'Treat Me Like the Dog I Am'). Granted, Tommy Lee left the band just before this album was recorded, so the music lacks Lee's relentless attack, but I still think things would've sounded the same even if he was playing on the record. That's probably why he left the band when he did - Lee saw the writing on the wall, and bolted.
So what's to hate here? Well, 'Punched in the Teeth By Love' sounds like Motley Crue doing a parody of Motley Crue ripping off Aerosmith. Very embarrassing. The aforementioned 'Treat Me Like The Dog I Am' is so bad you'll want to barf when you hear it, especially when the stupid lower-register, fart-like backing vocals some in near the end in the "just beat me, just bite me, just break me" part. Overall, the vulgar lyrics are so unintentionally bad that you'll find yourself in stitches - my personal favorite is the "red rover, got a bone but I can't come over" opening line. Horrible! Everything on the album is bad, from the lame power ballad 'New Tattoo' to the truly offensive 'Drag Strip Superstar,' and just about everything in between. The only song that I can stand is the Britpop ballad rip-off 'Hollywood Ending,' but it sounds good only because all of the other songs are so putrid. Likewise, 'Fake' sounds decent only because it plagiarizes both 'Shout At The Devil' and 'All In The Name Of,' but the fact that the band is stealing from itself makes the song difficult to respect, much less like. Not even the Tommy Lee-baiting 'Porn Star' lives up to its promise.
Predictably, this album isn't recommendable to anyone. Even a single listen will probably turn off casual Crue fans for life, while hard core fanatics will just feel depressed by how bad it is. We can only hope this album will be the last for Motley Crue.
RATING: 8
PLAY THESE: the old 80's stuff
SKIP THESE: everything post-1994
Released to coincide with Motley Crue's never-ending farewell tour, Red, White, and Crue is the most comprehensive Crue compilation on the market today. Featuring about 40 songs spanning the group's twenty-five year career, the collection consists of two discs, both of which tell the story of the Crue in chronological fashion. As with any compilation, there are some questionable additions/omissions, but overall it's hard to quibble with most of the choices. Of course, the fact that the Crue only had three or four decent songs per album (at most) makes the selection process rather automatic, but we'll leave that issue alone for the time being and concentrate on the positives. All of the big anthems are here: 'Live Wire,' 'Shout At The Devil,' Smokin' In The Boys Room,' Kickstart My Heart,' 'Primal Scream,' etc....Of course, the inclusion of the latter-day Motley Crue tracks from albums like Generation Swine and New Tattoo brings down the quality level of disc two, but I suppose that goes without saying. In addition, the Corabi-era material sounds out of place surrounded by drunken Vince Neil squealing, even if it is some of the best material the band ever came up with. Still, the first disc is stellar, and even some of the "new" songs tagged on to the second disc aren't too bad (with the notable exception of the cover of 'Street Fighting Man'), so overall this is the only Crue album you'll ever need to own - unless you feel the need to support Vince Neil's costly cocaine/alcohol habit, that is.