REVIEWS:
Probably the single biggest influence on the glam metal scene of the 80s, Motley Crue were also the most dangerous band around that time on account of their outrageous sex, drugs, and rock and roll excesses. The dangers they've faced throughout their career as a result probably would have ended most bands, but Crue are possibly the luckiest band on Earth and have overcome the tragedies (singer Vince Neil's drunk driving charges which killed Hanoi Rocks' drummer Razzle), near fatal overdoses (bassist Nikki Sixx nearly dead on account of heroin), and jail sentences (drummer Tommy Lee's well-publicized domestic violence incidents with his second wife Pamela Anderson Lee).
They started out with their rough party metal debut, Too Fast For Love, in 1982, which combined glam rock, traditional metal and punk for a volatile sound. The band then became more infatuated with the dark and cartoonish on Shout At The Devil the following year (which was of course when the "devil worship" accusations began). Theater Of Pain ditched that image in favor of an even more obviously glam and commercial sound before reinventing themselves again with the "leather and tattoos" street metal of Girls, Girls, Girls. They followed that up with their most song and production oriented (and also most commercially successful) effort to date with Dr. Feelgood.
It's here in the Crue history when things began to get a little shaky for the band. After their first hits package Decade Of Decadence, Vince Neil was fired from the band and replaced by John Corabi, who made his debut on the band's underrated self-titled effort (their first album in 5 years), which sold poorly. The long-awaited Generation Swine didn't fare much better, although Vince Neil had returned to the lineup, and was even more heavily criticized. After his personal troubles with the law and his wife, Tommy Lee then left the band, as his musical tastes had changed to a more hip-hop oriented sound, and the band carried on in his absence with a return to their roots in New Tattoo (shuddering).
--Nick Karn
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(reviewed by Nick Karn)
Motley Crue's second effort presents the band as Satanists with utterly evil and 'youth corrupting' lyrics that wear ugly as hell makeup, or at least that's what parents at the time wanted you to think. Many of those hard rock fans who know better consider this one of the great metal releases of the 80s, and for good reason. The material may be somewhat cheezy and not threatening at all by today's standards, but oh man, the riffs and choruses present throughout Shout At The Devil are just too damn fun for me to deny, and it's never more evident than the two best known singles - the title track is driven by a propulsive drum beat and turns into a booming chant with a vicious, not very intelligible, vocal delivery, and "Looks That Kill" has unbelievable band energy and an immediately distinguishable, cutting riff.
Elsewhere, "Bastard" has similarly powerful energy (and lyrics which pissed off the PMRC), the opening spoken intro "In The Beginning" and instrumental interlude "God Bless The Children Of The Beast" are effective setups for the songs that follow them, and the band's version of the Beatles' "Helter Skelter" is a raw update of the song for the 80s metal crowd, and definitely well suited for the Crue. "Too Young To Fall In Love" has one of the catchier choruses and a great guitar solo, "Ten Seconds To Love" has nice intensity, especially when it comes to its' middle section, and the closing "Danger" is a haunting, apocalyptic 'sort-of' ballad that closes the album on a high note. The fierce but not quite as effective "Knock 'Em Dead Kid" and the stale speedster "Red Hot" are the two weaknesses of this all around very good record, besides its' too short length.
Note: If you're going to purchase this album on CD, make sure you grab the remastered 'Crucial Crue' version, with better sound quality than the original (or at least I would think so), plus four bonus tracks - two very interesting and just as intense demo versions of "Shout At The Devil" and "Looks That Kill", plus two unreleased tracks "Hotter Than Hell" and "I Will Survive", both of them solid.
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(reviewed by Nick Karn)
Motley Crue switched their look from glam to leather, and their music got on the tougher side with Girls, Girls, Girls. The pure attitude, entertaining sleaze, biting riffs and grooves absolutely hit hard within the first four killer tracks. The opening "Wild Side" features a great 'motorcycle' riff and the performance is positively convincing, with the bridge sections containing venomous attitude in the lyrics (sample: 'a baby cries, a cop dies, a day's pay on the wild side'), while the following title track is one of the most entertaining party metal sing-alongs of the era, with a powerful chorus hook, "Dancing On Glass" continues the hard-hitting night feel with the added addition of subtle piano backing and a 'gospel' section and "Bad Boy Boogie" cements this fun stretch of songs with a phenomenal groove.
Unfortunately, Crue then seems to hit a songwriting brick wall on the next four tracks - hard. The minute and a half, repetitive, fillerish drivel of "Nona" begins the decline, and the slide continues with the half-hearted and faceless "Girls, Girls, Girls" rewrite "Five Years Dead". The corny and generic "All In The Name Of..." suffers from awful vocals in the chorus, and "Sumthin' For Nuthin'" is dull and pedestrian. The album gets back on track for a bit with arguably the best ballad of the band's career, where the perfect guitar and piano combination is found to push the emotion forward on "You're All I Need" (a power ballad about killing someone? ouch!), but loses itself again on the probably fake live closing cover of Elvis Presley's "Jailhouse Rock", which ends a minute and a half longer than it should have. The first four songs and "You're All I Need" make this album decent, though, despite the noticeable weaker tracks.
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(reviewed by Nick Karn)
Employing Bob Rock for the production duties, Motley Crue's commercial breakthrough Dr. Feelgood is a polished and heavily infectious effort that still maintains their earlier edge, and it's one of the better albums of the late 80s hair metal scene as a result. Inspired by the near fatal heroin overdose of bassist Nikki Sixx, the band was scared into sobriety as a result, and sounds revitalized here, and on the aggressive, chugging force of the motorcycle-esque top highlight and hit single "Kickstart My Heart" (which is one of the band's ultimate sing-along arena anthems), main songwriter Sixx sounds most lucky to be out of his ordeal alive.
The title track is also an intense raw display of prime Crue, with a grinding Mick Mars riff and pulverizing Tommy Lee drum work (Lee shows here why he was one of the top drummers of the decade) coming through amongst the top-notch chorus and groove. "Same Ol' Situation" and "She Goes Down", meanwhile, showcases the band's ability for writing party anthems that are dumb rock songs at their core, yet are so entertaining and melodically strong they rise above generic status. They are also more than capable in their ballad writing here - "Without You" and "Don't Go Away Mad (Just Go Away)" have not only infectious melodies and strong musicianship (particularly the latter track) but have actual feeling and emotion within the lyrics, making them so much more than similar endeavors around that time, and "Time For Change" is even an uplifting, though of course generic, sing-along closer that definitely leaves an impression.
The rest of the tracks aren't quite that good, which keeps this from anything that great. The unfulfilling "Sticky Sweet" is the only real insignificant filler, while "Slice Of Your Pie" and "Rattlesnake Shake" (this one featuring horns circa Permanent Vacation-era Aerosmith) have decent sexual energy and top-notch production, although they are a little bit too cheesy. Still, a pretty good album.
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COMMENTS
I have to be honest and say I haven't heard Motley Crue's chart topping record, but after reading "The Dirt", it offered a compelling insight into the band. easily the most rock n'roll band of all time (ie - the lifestyle, not the music). Dr Feelgood was actually the first record the Crue put any effort into making!
Shout at the Devil and Girls Girls Girls are slipshod by comparison, it's only when Bob Rock got involved in production duties, the Crue employed a work ethic and put actual effort in the songs. It's really a shame the band really screwed their career's up by sacking Vince Neil and taking 5 years to record a follow-up self-titled record that failed on every level. But with the extra-circular activities playing in the background, it's a great surprise Tommy Lee, Nikki Sixx, Mike Mars, in-out-in Vince Neil and temporary replacement John Corabi managed to make music at all!
(reviewed by Nick Karn)
A collection of Motley Crue's best from the first incarnation of the Vince Neil era covering 1981 to 1991, which adds a couple songs already featured on various soundtracks, which are fairly weak by their standards, and three new studio songs (more on these later). With 10 of their most significant classic singles, plus these more recent tracks, Decade Of Decadence seems to sum up the band's history and overall influence in powerful fashion, with such songs as "Looks That Kill", "Wild Side", "Home Sweet Home", and "Kickstart My Heart" very much defining the 80s glam metal scene as a whole. As for the three new studio songs, "Primal Scream" is simply a powerfully aggressive number with all the intensity of an untamed beast, while "Angela" is a great, catchy, and energetic rocker, and the closing cover of the Sex Pistols' "Anarchy In The U.K." (a somewhat overcovered song), is done capably in biting fashion to end this excellent package of one of rock's most dangerous bands.
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(Nick Karn's review)
After vocalist Vince Neil was fired from the band, the band replaced him with John Corabi, and recorded their self titled release, which was very much ignored among music fans in general, and as a result it's one of the most frequent used bin CDs you can find. Those who have actually heard it generally consider it either one of the best hard rock albums of the decade or a total bomb. In my opinion, it falls somewhere in between, as there are enough in-your-face performances here in the riffing and gritty vocals to prove it's far from a total waste. The opener "Power To The Music" defines the album and sets the mood here right away - the opening line, 'who said music's dead in the streets?' says it all. It gets even better with the phenomenal top highlight "Uncle Jack", where the band pulls off dark, moody intensity reminiscent of prime Alice In Chains exceptionally well, and the subdued hook of the aggressive and ignored single "Hooligan's Holiday".
However, apart from those first three tracks it's a very inconsistent and frustrating affair. Quite a few of the songs drag on too long and seem unfocused or boring - among them the dragging "Misunderstood" (which isn't, it's just an insignificant ballad), the riff-heavy "Hammered", the potentially haunting but ultimately unsatisfying "Til Death Do Us Part", "Welcome To The Numb", the cliched rock number "Poison Apples" and "Smoke The Sky", with the beautiful Zeppelin-ish acoustic number "Loveshine", the challenging, dark and epic "Dropping Like Flies" and the melodically and emotionally uplifting closing ballad "Driftaway" being the highlights scattered around Motley Crue that manage to make the album worthwhile overall.
HIGH POINTS: Hooligan’s Holiday, Til Death Do Us Part, Hammered, Droppin’ Like Flies, Drift Away, Babykills. LOW POINTS: Smoke the Sky, Hypnotized.
I posted a comment about this album a while back, and now I’m doing a full review. I feel a need to expound, so indulge me.
There are Motley purists who dismiss this album, and for one simple reason: John Corabi. Exit the pop/glam/hair metal of the 1980’s and enter the 1990’s. Four-bar riffs and lyrics about tits and parties and drugs have been staples of rock music from day one, and the Crue rode this formula all the way to the bank. But when Vince Neil departed, he took complacency with him. Motley Crue sat well with about seven people, and I can’t disparage Motley fans’ discontent. Purity and consistency of a band can be vital. But at the same time, change can mean growth. This album scores massive points for growth. Vince Neil’s departure allowed for this, if only for a brief moment.
The songs on this album are dark, they are introspective, and they have grit to them. Try this analogy: Girls, Girls, Girls is to the Dave Clark Five as Motley Crue is to the Doors. Both are enjoyable, both are rock n’ roll, but they aren’t nearly the same. The difference between John Corabi and his predecessor is stunning. More on that later.
“Power To The Music” sets the tone nicely, but “Hooligan’s Holiday” really begins the momentum of the album. (This song is about the only reference the Crue will make anymore to this period of their existence.) From there, the album drifts between ballads and rockers. It’s a bit inconsistent, but not irritatingly so. “Driftaway” is a gorgeous ballad. “Smoke The Sky” is really “Kickstart My Heart, 1994”; a little over the top. “Til Death Do Us Part”, “Loveshine” and “Hammered” are heavy, medium-tempo ballads. Enough said. “Poison Apples”, “Welcome To The Numb”, and “Babykills” are straight-ahead rockers, fun to listen to. “Livin’ In The Know” is a “Primal Scream” derivative. Nothing original here, but it’s nicely done. “Planet Boom” is just plain cool. “Hypnotized” is a waste of 3 minutes of your life.
One last note: Imagine Vince Neil singing any of these songs. Yikes. I have a deep fondness for the Crue of the 1980’s, and Vince Neil was an integral part of them, but in hindsight, he really sucks. He’s the Ringo Starr of Motley Crue. John Corabi could have taken the band forward, if only the fans would’ve given him a chance. He has a much better voice, much more range, and he simply is a better songwriter/musician. Too bad the Crue soon went back to the screecher and their tits and booze schlock.
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COMMENTS
I've been a Crue fan for years. In my opinion, I believe that album got poor sales because Vince was gone, not because the album sucked. I think it rocks!!! I'm a drummer and Tommy is one of my idols. In my opinion, I believe that Motley Crue is he's best album. I think if Vince was in the band singing those tunes, the album would of been on the charts almost as high as Dr. Feelgood, if not at #1 with it!!!!
This album did not do well for two reasons. 1st one is because Vince was not part of it and the 2nd one is because Rock/music had already begun it metamorphsis into this crap we are forced to listen to today! Grunge hit the scene in 1992 and I believe Motley tried to change their style and they should not have! 1980s and early 90s hard rock/metal is best music of all time and Motley was the leader of the pack!
Most bands don't hit a homerun right off the bat. It takes them a couple - sometimes several releases to get in synch with each other, get their songwriting abilities polished, and to "find their groove." With this release, the new lineup Motley found their groove on at least 3 of the songs, "Hooligan's Holiday", "Misunderstood" and "Smoke the Sky." In my opinion, these three are as good or better than anything they ever did with Vince. I love the classic Crue stuff, but Corabi was just starting to take this band to a whole new level, and these three songs succeed wildly. Mick Mars stretched himself artistically and laid down 3 and 4 guitar tracks in some songs. I just discovered this album after seeing the video on a Motley DVD. Overall, this is a much more heavily 'produced' album than any of their others, and indeed, "Misunderstood" is clearly reminiscent of "I am the Walrus," with backing strings and heavily effects-laden guitar work that sounds like George Martin could've produced it. In fact, I find myself singing this song in my head all the time. To me this album represents a creative high-water mark for the Crue, where their collective efforts broke like a wave coming apart, and New Tatoo doesn't even bear mention - except that the chick they got to drum for them on the Video/DVD concert release really did a nice job filling in for Tommy ( who's a hard act to follow! ) All that said, I'm still going to see them on their re-union tour ( 2005 ), even though Vince probably won't sing "Smoke the Sky," which is just a killer, killer heavy metal tune.
I have never been a huge Motely Crue fan. Sure I listened to them, and liked a lot of their stuff. I tend to like harder music better, like older Judas Priest and Iron Maiden stuff. I considered Motley Crue more "pop metal" or "kiddy metal". I bought this CD against the advice of many people who said it sucked. Much to my surprise, it is one of the best CD's I own! To me Motely Crue moved to a new, and higher, dimension with this CD. It's got some pretty hard core heavy music on it, and Tommy pounds the Hell of the drums. This album rocks!
(reviewed by Nick Karn)
You know, fans often complain when their favorite bands sell out, and they always go crying for them to go back to their roots (Metallica anyone?) Well, this is a shining example of just why bands don't revert back to the past as they get older. In Motley Crue's case, forced does not even begin to describe the effort put forth on New Tattoo. Immediately, it's easy to see why this is such a pathetic effort - long gone are the days where the Crue could make fun of themselves with great riffs and hooks to boot (Shout At The Devil) and even where they could make something so stupid and sleazy on the surface so unabashedly entertaining ("Girls, Girls, Girls", "She Goes Down").
Instead, what we get here is a godawful parody of the band's former selves - absolutely flat and braindead punk riffs, lifeless performances overall (I don't even know if Tommy Lee would make a difference here), and lyrics that are so juvenile and sickeningly vile even by their standards in inane statements like "Punched In The Teeth By Love", "1st Band On The Moon", "Porno Star" (about porn sites - take a guess who it's inspired by), "She Needs Rock 'N Roll", "Treat Me Like The Dog I Am" and "Hell On High Heels". I mean, just look at these song titles.
Not that this is all horrid, though - the title track, even if it's a little much on the generic side, is a nice acoustic ballad with a singable enough melody (so it easily stands out as the best song here), although they lamely rewrite it on "Hollywood Ending" later. "Dragstrip Superstar" and "Fake" also have semi-decent choruses, even if the remainders are just as horrible as the other songs, and "White Punks On Dope", probably because it's a cover, has a nice riff to close the album (not that it's all that much better overall). However, those minor highlights can't save this from being a serious waste of tape. Thank God the Crue had enough sense to not make this one any longer than 43 minutes - it's so boring and cringe inducing I could almost give it a 2 if it were any longer, and you know how often I give those out.
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REVIEWS:
After his departure as lead singer from Motley Crue (he subsequently returned in 1997), Vince Neil released two relatively ignored solo albums, a party metal album with flashy guitar work in the debut Exposed, and a more experimental effort in the lackluster Carved In Stone.
--Nick Karn
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(reviewed by Nick Karn)
While his former band was struggling with their self titled release, both commercially and among fans, Vince Neil delivered a very good record, which comes through in both the party metal / attitude laden aspects of Motley Crue's finest songs and stunning guitar work which will please those craving quality performances, from start to finish. Of course the record wouldn't be as strong as it is without Steve Stevens, formerly in Billy Idol's band, who simply blows Crue guitarist Mick Mars out of the water in ability, feel, technique and personality. Stevens turns a fairly good, but sort of generic, riff-oriented opener "Look In Her Eyes" into something electrifying, with his mind-blowing solo on the song that must be heard to be believed setting the tone for what will come.
"The Edge" is another example of an otherwise average song turned upside down by the virtuosic playing, and when mixed with Neil's attitude and distinctive voice, it yields some very impressive results: the irony laden "Living Is A Luxury" certainly earns more power, and the party anthem "You're Invited (But Your Friend Can't Come)" turns into something spectacular not unlike early Van Halen. Stevens and the backing band even add considerable instrumental dimension to the ballads, which sound far more than standard fare as a result - the closer "Forever" and "Can't Change Me" have guitar work even more emotional and affecting than the lyrics and vocals, and are the crowning moments of this album.
There are a few weaknesses here, though, in that a few songs that sound slightly like rehashes of old Crue riffs ("Sister Of Pain" sometimes sounds like a "Girls, Girls, Girls" rewrite, and "Can't Have Your Cake" almost replays the chugging riff to "Kickstart My Heart"). "Fine, Fine Wine", meanwhile, is entertaining but feels a bit too much like filler, and the cover of Sweet's "Set Me Free" is good, but feels a little out of place here. Nevertheless, the good moments far outweigh the unsatisfying ones, and it's a debut to check out before disappointment would hit.
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COMMENTS
Hey, i love that "You're Invited (But You're Friend Cant Come)". Despite the incrdibly inane party boy lyrics, the riff is irresistable. BTW, i think Damn Yankees backed Neil for that song as it seems to be listen all over Napster like that. Dont quote me on that though. Somebody also posted Pantera as the writers of Hallowed Point on that particular music service. Where was I? Oh yeah, great song. Great early-EVH style driving riff and acceptable Neil vocals.
Oh and i first heard this song while watching Encino Man. And now i will go cower in a corner consumed with shame.
I use to play this cd for my friends and ask them to tell me "what band is this". Every single person I asked, would tell me the same answer...."Motley Crue". Not only because of Vince's voice, but also because of the music. Vikki Fox sounds just like Tommy's style. Steve's riffs sound like Mick (only the solo's are better). The Vince Neil band did a great job on this album, because they gave the fans what they wanted to hear......"MOTLEY CRUE"!!!!!!!!
(reviewed by Nick Karn)
Vince Neil's sophomore effort Carved In Stone is a radical departure from the previous album, as he tries to get very experimental musically - and ends up simply falling flat on its' face. It's alarmingly apparent things just aren't right when the first thing you hear are the turntable sounds of notable electronica artists the Dust Brothers on the opening track "Breaking In The Gun" (which is actually one of the few semi-decent tracks throughout the album). Such changes wouldn't be that big of a deal if they actually worked, but they simply don't. He's just not the kind who can pull off mixing electronica, grunge, psychedelic stuff, and the like, and most of the electronic experiments are soulless and unnecessary, while the riffs come off as third rate Alice In Chains and Black Sabbath, with the exception of "Black Promises", which is actually well-written.
It's a great shame this release couldn't have been as downright brilliant and incredibly emotional as his piano-laden dedication to his daughter Skylar, who died of cancer at age four, in "Skylar's Song". There's considerable life and substance to that timeless performance, and practically all of the rest of the album (particularly in the wasted second half) is just sung by Neil in such a droning, lifeless and depressing manner which makes me want to wallow in a hole somewhere. A stunning fall from his debut, and an essentially wasted album that pretty much deserved to be ignored.
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