Motley Crue: The
Decadent Days Of Our Lives

It's the Decade of Decadence scrap-book items that prove to be Vince Neil's greatest source of pride. Culled from each Motley Crue member's personal collection, the collage of snapshots, articles and ticket stubs that decorates the album's cover Is almost as important in relaying the band's tumultuous history as the music chosen for this special platter.

Because, truth be known, there were more doubters than believers when the Crue first clomped out onstage in their gaudy stack-heels. "What we did," says Vince from the Los Angeles hotel room he's been living in since separating from his wife, Sharise (they're attempting a patch-up, however), "was everybody got their scrapbooks from the old days, and we just put them together and came up with some really cool stuff; articles and stuff saying that we'd never make it, and right next to them a ticket stub from the LA. Forum. "

Leave it to Motley to have the last laugh. Ten years ago the biggest event of their lives (after the opening of a bottle of Bombay gin) was playing a weekend night at one of the clubs on the Sunset Strip, Now, although they're still the same thrill-seeking kids at heart, they live in a world light years from their previous existence. They'll never again have to starve; they'll never have to wonder where they'll sleep for the night: most of them know that when they return from their next tour, their respective female sou/mates will be waiting for them at home; and, most importantly, they've put themselves in the enviable position of being able to personally plan their tours and albums and actually see their visions come into being.

Decade of Decadence is the most current example of the band exercising their freedom of choice. Their eight-date mini-tour of Europe in August was another. But enough babble from me. Let's get Nikki and Vince in on the conversation.

RIP: How did you choose the songs that went on the album?

NIKKI SIXX: We took two songs from each album that, in our opinion, represent that time. "Don't Go Away Mad," "Without You" and "Too Young to Fall in Love" are songs we �didn't put on the album, because it's not a greatest hits package. Instead, we put on 'Live Wire" and "Piece of Your Action" from the first album, "Shout at the Devil" and "Looks That Kill" from the second, "Smokin in the Boys Room" and "Home Sweet Home" from the third, "Girls, Girls, Girls" and "Wild Side" from the fourth, and "Dr. Feelgood" and a live version of "Kickstart My Heart" from the fifth. We also have new stuff. We have a song called "Primal Scream." It's the first video. Then we're releasing a song called Angela, which is kind of an upbeat, honky-tonk rock and roller. We recorded parts of "Home Sweet Home" and are remixng it. so we might do a brand-new video while we're playing the Monsters Of Rock festivals in Europe. So you'll have an '85 version of "Home Sweet Home" and a '91 version. And we're cutting "Anarchy in the U.K.," the Sex Pistols song, We're doing a real night-in-your-face guitar arrangement of it, so it's real cool. There's also "Rock 'n' Roll Junkie" from the Ford Fairlane soundtrack, and a song called Teaser" from the Make a Difference album.

RIP: So "Primal Scream" and "Angela" are the only new songs that you actually wrote?

NIKKI: Yeah. With "Primal Scream," I'm really into the kids, the fans, where their heads are at, I'm really a big kid, I tap into this whole thing of being suppressed and being told what not to do and the American Dream and all that. The song goes, "Broke dick dog, my head slung low, my tail knocked in the dirt Time and time of being told trash is all I'm worth/When I was just a young boy, I had to take a little grief/And now that I'm much older, don't put your shit on me." It's about being put down by your parents and everyone, and reaching up and fuckin' screaming, man! Going, "Get outta my face!' Primal screaming. It's something that's just teenage wasteland I can't explain it.

RIP: If you could look back on each of your albums and assign a mood to them, what moods would you immediately think of?

VINCE NEIL: For Too Fast for Love, I'd say we were young and eager, Elektra remixed the Leathur Records version, but we were young back then, and didn't know any better. We thought. "Yeah! Roy Thomas Baker is producing! That sounds great!" We didn't know he was really gonna slick it up. For Shout at the Devil, those were kind of hazy days [Laughs]. First time, first real record...it was like. "Whoah!" That album was recorded on quaaludes, krell and Jack Daniel's. That kind of epitomizes that album! For Theatre of Pain. I just look at that album and go, ''What the fuck were we thinking of?" That was kind ot a rebellious time. Girls, Girls, Girls was just a lot of fun. Although now that I think of it, the song itself was fun, but it was kind of a dark and angry album. At that point I would be in Palm Springs, and I'd just come in and do the vocals and leave again. Nobody was really talking to anybody at that time. Dr Feelgood was a revival for us.

RIP: How much remixing and meddling with the songs actually took place?

NIKKI: With "Home Sweet Home," I hadn't really analyzed the song since we first wrote it and recorded it. Bob Rock did such a great sound on it. We wanted to redo the bass on the song, because Tom Werman didn't really record it at the quality of 1991. I mean, it was six years ago It's not Tom's fault. It's just the equipment's better now. We wanted to put a few more guitars on it and add some more background vocals, so it just sounded a little bit richer. Instead of copying the old bass track, I said, "Guys, bury the bass track. Lose it. I just want to do whatever I've been doing for the last six years onstage," Because I don't play it the same as I used to. The song is the same, but the bass is a little bit different. Vince re-sang a couple of choruses and stuff, so that's a little bit different too. I did a lot more progressive running with it, but we didn't want to mess too much with the original stuff. We just wanted to give a little incentive to the real Crue-heads to go, "Wow, I'd like to have that. That's a special thing That's different." This album is really sort of dedicated to the kids who've been there with us for the whole ten-year ride. This is their album.

RIP: Isn't it strange for you to go back in time to do this?

VINCE: Yeah. It's really weird when people go, "What are you guys doing now?" "Oh, putting out our Great Hits, Best Of, Celebration. Ten Year, fuckin' album." Listening to the old stuff just brings back a lot of memories. But it's kind of scary when you...I was talking to this girl, and she said, "Yeah, I was really into you guys when I was 14." I was like, "What do you mean?" It's really good that our fans have stuck by us even through the weird times, It's like they want to experiment with us. When we went from Snout at the Devi! to Theatre of Pain, that was a drastic change, but it was okay. If our fans could stick with us through that, they'll stick with us through anything.

NIKKI: It was also strange sitting in the studio with Michael Wagner again, and him saying, "Man! It was ten years ago we were sitting in a room together doing these songs, and here it is now, ten years later." And ten years in this band is like 20 years in most!

RIP: Are you influenced at all by what's going on now, musically?

VINCE: No! With me right now, its 1978. It's just the updated disco era. The only thing out right now that's decent is the new Skid Row album. That album's great. It's gonna do really well for them.

NIKKI: I'm just really focused on our stuff. I love the new Skid Row album. They just fuckin' kill me. It's really cool.

RIP: What is the status of your lives ? In a state of upheaval? Getting together?

VINCE: Well, things are a little strange tor me right now. I'm separated, but we're trying to work things out.

NIKKI: I don't get cranky about things anymore. I've decided to let everything go. I'm sick of being uptight about other people's problems. I just moved to a new house. I get bored really easy. You know what's really weird? Tommy and Heather kept trying to talk me and Brandi into moving out where they live, and I kept going [in a whiny voice], "It's too far! It's too tar!" I was in Calabasas at the time, which is only ten minutes away. But of course I was going, "It's too far!" I already live an hour from Hollywood. What's it fuckin' matter ! So one day they said, "Come on. Just come look at the houses, and if you don't like it, we'll never bug you again.' So Tommy and Heather took us around. It was raining, and all these houses were just frames. Any-way, it's right in their neighborhood, and we found a house. I swear to God, it's not even half a mile away. Tommy lives on one hill, and I live on the other. Tommy asks me, "Heather's out of town. Can I borrow Brandi for a few hours?" Nice guy, huh [laughs]. But I built a cool 16-track recording studio. I had one in my other house, but I have a proper studio room now. And I've got five TVs in my front room. Yeah, we're still fuckin' decadent!

RIP: Do you spend a lot of time in the studio?

NIKKI: I do it in creative spurts. It depends. Sometimes it's solid, sometimes it's nothin'. I write songs in, like, ten minutes anyway I don't spend a lot of time on them, because they're either from your gut, or they're fake. You can't spend days and days on one song Then it's not real. Most stuff comes real quick, and you keep the quality and spontaneity that way. Rock and roll is not supposed to he "dictionary' rock and roll. It's supposed to be 'from the gut" rock and roll.

RIP: Your songwriting has always been a sort of glimpse into the darker side of life, with just enough inspiration to give the listener hope. If Motley Crue were a movie, you'd probably be Terminator 2.

NIKKI: I like that! Well, life's still not a bed of roses. I've never really written a love song, except for when I wrote "Without You." And still, when it says, "Without you in my life, I'd surely wilt and die/I'm like a sailor lost at sea,' I think it was a very desperate look at love. That's my outlook on things. I really come from the American work-ethic mentality. You come from nothing and become something. The whole American Dream You are what you are, and you should be proud of it and your background and all that stuff. I really buy into that whole thing.

RIP: Did you see the Doors movie?

NIKKI: No. I think the Doors suck. The Doors blew! If they wanted to fuckin' do a movie, why didn't they do a movie about [AC/DC singer] Bon Scott? Now there was a genius. He was a brilliant songwriter/lyricist. Everyone's like, "Jim's a great lyricist!" I went out and got the Jim Morrison lyric book and threw it in the trash! It's garbage! The guy couldn't write to save his ass!

RIP: Is it a case of the more things change, the more they stay the same for you?

NIKKI: I don't know how to answer that. I think we are art in motion. [Laughs] I don't know. I feel like the ultimate pain in the ass lately. I'm really just tapped into just being a big kid, having a lot of fun. It's been exciting letting down the front. The front's gone.

RIP: Isn't that a relief?

NIKKI: Yeah! It's like. "Hey, man! I am what I am. Dig it or don't!"