MÖTLEY CRÜE — Mötley Crüe (review)

MÖTLEY CRÜE — Mötley Crüe album cover Album · 1994 · Hard Rock Buy this album from MMA partners
2.5/5 ·
Pekka
A lot happened between Dr. Feelgood and the self-titled Mötley Crüe album that came out five years later. The single most important thing I guess was the breakthrough of Nirvana and rest of the Grunge scene - overnight the most popular and powerful Glam Metal act turned uncool, a ridiculous relic of the past. As if that wasn't enough, somewhere during the sessions for the follow up album Vince Neil departed, not amicably.

Usually referred to as a "hoarse shouter" or in other derogatory phrases, the new singer John Corabi is actually a big improvement in ways. Vince Neil has the instantly recognizable tone, but Corabi is far superior in power and versatility. A rather fantastic rock voice, only somewhat lacking in unique character, which combined with a new super heavy band sound makes the album altogether very very different from its predecessors. And so it's no wonder the old fanbase didn't exactly embrace the new Mötley incarnation.

By the time the album was released in 1994 Kurt Cobain was already loading his shotgun and grunge was losing ground to the new wave of punk rock, spearheaded by The Offspring and Green Day, but Mötley were riding the grunge train. The difference from Dr. Feelgood is indeed huge. In some songs, such as Uncle Jack and Droppin' Like Flies it's easy to imagine Jerry Cantrell harmonizing with Corabi on a Black Gives Way to Blue outtake, Corabi's voice sometimes being very close to William DuVall's. Corabi being a guitarist as well as a vocalist, the band was able to experiment more with guitar layering, and overall the riffing style is far heavier than on the earlier albums, but with traces from their past popping up here and there. And Bob Rock's massive production suits the new pounding music wonderfully.

But if the pencil isn't sharp, there's not much that a great performance and production can save. Apart from the somewhat catchy opener Power to the Music, some really ballsy parts in for example 'Til Death Do Us Part and Smoke the Sky and the lighter numbers Loveshine and Driftaway, there's very very little that I remember after many listens. And the endless adlibbing closing many of the songs makes the album drag on way too long. A classic case of an album that one listens to with relative enjoyment, but without a lasting impression.

A brave attempt at progressing as a band or a wimpy attempt at riding the mainstream, you decide. This album has many merits but just as many flaws. Not really bad, not really good, nothing you need to hear but something you might enjoy anyway.
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