Mötley Crüe

[Vic2012]

Good grief what absolute, unadulterated, knuckleheaded fun.

Anyone else like ‘em? Not sure how I got on this kick. A couple years ago I bought “Dr. Feelgood” on the strength of so many great reviews. You know, you see these thrashers being interviewed and they go on about how the Motleys were the enemy of “true metal” but when they heard Bob Rock’s production work on that album they were all blown away. I was familiar with the title track and really liked it, but I hated the rest of the album and gave it away.

A few weeks ago someone played a song called “Wildside” on a juke box. Man I really liked it. So I thought I’d give these knuckleheads another chance. I found the first 2 albums, and Girls,Girls,Girls, remastered and for cheap. Been enjoying the crap outta these albums.

I think the only “musician” in this band who’s worth a damn is Mick Mars/Bob Deal. The guy has an interesting history. He managed to reinvent himself later in life and made it big. Love his guitar playing. The crunch rhythm playing and his lead work is badass. IMO, he blows away a lot of thrash/metal guitarists.

Vince Neil: Awful singer. No range, no balls, but I like the attitude and snottiness. I guess for this band he’s the right fit.

Tommy Lee: What is the big deal about this guy? He’s just a run-of-the-mill rock drummer.

Nikki Sixx: He writes the songs, and he’s sort of the “leader” of this crew. All I’ve ever read or heard about this guy is that he can’t play bass worth a lick. So who’s playing bass on the albums? It’s gotta be a session cat because the bass sounds pretty good on the first album. I mean, I guess the guy must’ve learned enough bass to play live.

Of the 3 albums I got, my favorite is Shout At The Devil. What a killer, heavy metal album. According to Nikki Sixx he never wanted Motley Crue to be a heavy metal band. I guess they aren’t “metal” but this album kicks ass all over the place. To me it’s as snotty and obnoxious as “Kill ‘Em All.” Take a listen to “God Bless The Children Of The Beast.” It’s a creation by Mick Mars that rivals anything early Metallica was doing (imo). And their cover of “Helter Skelter” is nothing short of GREAT! Love it!

“Too Fast For Love” is raw, but that’s the charm. It’s a little punky, and power-poppy but I dig it on just the attitude more than anything. Favorite track is “Come On And Dance.”

“Girls, Girls, Girls:” You gotta have a sense of humor to enjoy this. Again, the guitar is what makes this album so cool, besides the whole sleazy, Sunset Strip attitude. Mick Mars comes up with some sick guitar riffs. It’s not metal, not quite “glam” but it’s Rock and Roll. C’mon, a little Motley Crue never hurt anyone…..

[zravkapt]

One of my fave bands when I was a preteen. I still think Theatre Of Pain is their best.

[Vic2012]

I'm thinkin of getting Theater Of Pain but I've heard Vince Neil say it's a terrible album. I've heard the cover of Smoking In The Boys Room. Pretty good. The covers they've done are all good.

[Digital_Man]

Never owned any of their albums but I always liked some of their songs. I've always heard their first album was their best or one of their best. I don't think I would get anything past their third one though.

[Vic2012]

The first album is pretty good. It's very raw, and has that do-it-yourself vibe. Good songs, bitchin' guitar playing, and some really terrible lead vocals. The opening track, "Live Wire" is a stone classic.

[Jerjo]

Knuckleheads indeed. I had Shout at the Devil back in the day and a couple others, mostly because I was always on the lookout for new metal. Never really scratched my itch though. There were some good songs. "Dr Feelgood" has a pretty insane riff. But the bass and drums were pedestrian at best. They did their best to put on a spectacular show in the 80s but like all the hair metal bands they got blown into irrelevance by grunge.

Vince Neal was on a rerun of Ghost Adventures last night. That's how far they've fallen.

[Vic2012]

The remasters I have sound great. They might've beefed up the sound a bit by overdubbing the bass. Love the guitar crunch. Can't gush enough about it. Yeah they became hair-metallish by GGG, but the first 2 albums were balls out hard/rock and heavy metal.

[Vic2012]

Well, one thing I do like about Tommy Lee's playing is that he likes cowbell. I love cowbell in hard rock. I feel like a knucklehead saying that but it's true. Mo' cowbell is good.

[SteveSly]

Not really a fan, but I do like some of their individual songs. "Shout At The Devil" was a good one and I always though "Dr. Feelgood" rocked.

[dropforge]

Anyone else like ‘em? Not sure how I got on this kick. A couple years ago I bought “Dr. Feelgood” on the strength of so many great reviews. You know, you see these thrashers being interviewed and they go on about how the Motleys were the enemy of “true metal” but when they heard Bob Rock’s production work on that album they were all blown away. I was familiar with the title track and really liked it, but I hated the rest of the album and gave it away.

I still like the first two albums and a couple other songs, but overall they haven't recorded a consistently solid album since the '80s.

I think the only “musician” in this band who’s worth a damn is Mick Mars/Bob Deal. The guy has an interesting history. He managed to reinvent himself later in life and made it big. Love his guitar playing. The crunch rhythm playing and his lead work is badass. IMO, he blows away a lot of thrash/metal guitarists.

His tone on the first two albums was the foundation. He worked on it until it was thick enough to emulate two rhythm guitarists. Unfortunately, he's a terrible soloist.

Tommy Lee: What is the big deal about this guy? He’s just a run-of-the-mill rock drummer.

He's not famous for his drumming.

[Vic2012]

^Disagree about Mick's lead guitar. He's not EVH but his solos are better than Kirk Hammet's solos. I love Metallica but Kirk can be embarrassingly bad. I think Kirk is tone deaf.

[Vic2012]

Another thing about Mick's playing that's cool is that he's obviously rooted in blues and boogie. He plays slide guitar for crying out loud. The album GGG is almost all slide guitar solos floating on top of crunch and balls rhythm playing. I love the guy. He paid his dues and he hooked up with the right group of knuckleheads....

[Jerjo]

Yep, this riff still works

[ThomasKDye]

"Dr. Feelgood" (the song) is fun, and I do like the "I Want You(She's So Heavy)" tribute in "Slice of Your Pie." That's about it.

[Vic2012]

^ Yeah that was good, and that was it. I might end up buying that album again.

[Vic2012]

^ No way.

[trurl]

Not a fan but I tend to echo the original post. Shout is an album with some good riffs. It's one of those albums like Master Of Puppets where you wait for the bass to come in and it never does *lol* I also think Mick has a cool history and I respect him. Nikki seems reasonably intelligent and he does seem like a perfectly solid player for someone who says they don't really know how to play; think Phil Lynott. Tommy... what a friggin' tool but the guy CAN play. He's like the Ringo of metal, big sound and just solid solid solid. He's 100 times better than, say, the guy for Guns and Roses (the 1st guy, I mean). And Vince... well at least be's a better singer than Brett Michaels.

Dr. Feelgood sux, imo btw.

[Vic2012]

^

Great post.

[markwoll]

Ah come on, Dr Feelgood is Hair Metal at it's best. Roll down the car windows and Crank it UP!
The rest of it......it sure is hair metal all right.

[JJ88]

^ No way.

Based on the songs I know, the best stuff they did is on that album IMHO. Well, the really dodgy singles to me are earlier. 'Smokin In The Boys' Room' and 'Home Sweet Home' is 80s hair-metal at its cheesiest IMHO. I know the former was a cover, I don't care for the original either. And 'Girls Girls Girls' is a stupid song and video IMHO.

[trurl]

Well, the really dodgy singles to me are earlier. 'Smokin In The Boys' Room' and 'Home Sweet Home' is 80s hair-metal at its cheesiest IMHO. I know the former was a cover, I don't care for the original either. And 'Girls Girls Girls' is a stupid song and video IMHO.

All of this is true... Crue have never had a hit that's particularly good imo. Looks That Kill is probably the closest... it's kind of a dumb song but the beat is good and it has that little tiny 3 bar bridge that is actually cool.

[Progatron]

Always loved the song "Danger" that closes the Shout album. Another one there is a short instrumental called "God Bless The Children Of The Beast" which reminds me a lot of Ozzy and Lita Ford's "If I Close My Eyes Forever".

[dropforge]

Always thought Vince was a much better singer than his knockoff Bret or that Axl Foley guy who should've stuck to his day job with the Detroit PD.

[Gruno]

If you're even mildly interested in Crüe, grab their boxed set "Music To Crash Your Car To" vol. 1. Nikki Sixx was very smart and Crüe goes down in history as one of the only bands to own all their masters and rights to ALL their music. They released this boxed set on their own Mötley Records. Volume 2 is good, but most here seem to only be into first wave Crüe.

I enjoy a lot of their material with Theater, Devil and Feelgood being my faves. Having said that, my overall favorite Crüe songs are "Hooligan's Holiday" and "Power To The Music", which appear on their 1994 self-titled album. That's also the Neil-less disc that features John Corabi on lead vocals and guitar.

Anyone grab the early 90s Vince Neil solo albums? One had Steve Stevens on guitar. They opened for Van Halen around that time. I received an advance cd of his 2nd album that had a kickass version of "25 or 6 to 4". Unfortunately, when the album was officially released, that track was replaced by a track Vince wrote in tribute to his young daughter, Skylar, who had recently passed away. "Skylars Song" is ok and I understand the point, but the Chicago cover rocks. If you find this track around, grab it. I can upload it later tonight if anyone wants to hear it.

[Vic2012]

....And 'Girls Girls Girls' is a stupid song and video IMHO.

Of course it's stupid, but that's the point.
It's just dumb fun, and hilarious, and the guitar riff kicks ass. The only song I skip is the hair ballad at the end. I even dig the live cover of Jailhouse Rock.