Mötley Crue was once my favorite band. Seriously, they made good
music, although admittedly their lifestyle brought more discussion. Yes,
Mötley Crue was the poster band of the so-called glam rock. The
hairspray, tattoos, girls, drugs, alcohol, bar fight,
leaked sex tape (yes, the famous Tommy and Pamela video), Nikki Sixx's
near death experience, band break-up and make up. But hey, I'm serious,
they really made good music.
Mötley Crue was not just a band. They were four musician with four personas who blend together as a team. Nikki Sixx led most of songwriting task. Mick Mars worked on the music and production. Vince Neil deals with the crowd. And Tommy Page - well, let him create headlines that will boost the band's popularity.
I first knew the band in 1988 when my classmate in junior high school lent me a copy of their second album, Shout at the Devil. I instantly liked their music - it was dark, a bit heavy. A lot of distortion in Mick Mars' guitar; something that I kinda looked for. Even the album cover was also scary looking (or tried to be).
After Dr. Feelgood, the band broke up. Vince Neil left the band. But the 1990s was tough for most '80s metal band (especially the glam, hairmetal band). Grunge killed the metal stars. A couple years ago the Crue reunited, quite successfully. I heard that they plan to do a farewell tour next year before going for a retirement.
Favorite tracks: Shout at the Devil, Kickstart My Heart, Dr. Feelgood, Time for Change
They are truly fascinating... as musicians and as 'rockstars'! I guess, they lived the rock n roll life in a 'holistic' manner... hahaha.... Personally I felt all their 5 albums in 80s (from Too Fast... to Dr.Feelgood) were good in their unique ways, and it's interesting to listen to them back to back and notice how their sound evolved. They started a bit glam/punk with Too Fast..., moved closer to heavy metal (SATD), then became a bit of a rock n roll party band (TOP/GGG) before achieving (I think) the best balance of heaviness/fun/good musicianship with Dr.Feelgood. Whatever silly things they did in the 90s and beyond, their place in heavy metal history is assured (and btw, I really enjoyed playing SATD on Guitar Hero III... hahaha)!
ReplyDeleteHell yeah, so true.. They were (are still) one of my favorite bands. I remember getting the SATD album from Adhi Kodrat. And copied the bootlegged "Best of Motley Crue" from Sabri Lubis, among other people...
Deleteminor correction: they never broke up after up after feelgood but replaced vince neil with john corabi for a self titled album that had a heavier, less glammy sound to fit with the times. it was actually not a bad album for what it was, but the masses had trouble accepting a vince-less crue and the band knew that. so corabi lasted exactly one album before they brought vince back in.
ReplyDeleteThanks Ran! Agree - breakup was not the term I should use..
Deletetheir next album will supposedly be their swan song. which is fine i guess, because i think public interest in any new crue music really has dwindled. they're now more a nostalgia act, which is of course fine and hugely profitable :)
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