Simon RushworthHere at rushonrock we have a habit of coming over all nostalgic and this time we just can’t get those Hollywood heroes Motley Crue out of our heads. So sit back and enjoy the post which celebrates the new sounds of old favourites and recalls their 1980s classics.
Now 2008: Saints Of Los Angeles (Motley) is supposed to be a return to form by Vince and the boys but the jury’s out on one of the most cliched and cringeworthy records of the year.
Of course it boasts Motley Crue’s trademark sleaze grinder sound and the vocals are actually 20 times better than you could possibly expect from a frontman who has surely seen better days. But titles like Motherfucker Of The Year and Chicks = Trouble simply serve to make your toes curl and your stomach churn.
Now it’s not as if tunes like Dr Feelgood or Girls, Girls, Girls were designed to get you thinking but the Crue’s latest record is mind-numbingly blatant even by their simplistic standards. Worst of all, on Saints Of Los Angeles it just doesn’t sound like the boys are having fun or, after a tumultuous history and too many reality TV checks, they will ever do.
Like Kiss before them it seems Motley Crue have become a multi-million pound business at the expense of being a good-time rock and roll band. At least they’re releasing new material but if this is the best they can do then maybe they just shouldn’t bother.
rushonrock rated: 4/10 Rock Saints Become Sinners
…And Then 1987: Girls, Girls, Girls (Elektra) sat right at the heart of the hair metal revolution and it’s finer moments ranked alongside anything that new releases by Def Leppard, Whitesnake or Guns ‘N’ Roses could offer.
This party album was released in a vintage year for MTV-friendly rock when big hair and big videos were just as vital as big chords and even bigger choruses. Those who predicted the one-domensional Crue would already have imploded by 1987 were rocked back on their heels as Vince Neil, Tommy Lee and co. produced their most outstanding record to date.
Anthemic songs like the title track and Wild Side are wonderful examples of how, at their creative best, this band could really kick ass. And in the case of uber-ballad You’re All I Need it’s even possible to argue a case for the Crue crafting the odd tune with true emotional depth.
Follow-up Dr Feelgood might have been Girls, Girls, Girls with added polish but the latter is the perfect Motley Crue record. Raw enough to get the adrenaline pumping but packed full of radio-friendly hooks it’s impossible to imagine the four piece ever bettering this heroic effort.
rushonrock rated: 9/10 Boys Like Girls