| |
|
The early years of the 21st century were an eventful time
for Mötley Crüe. The album intended to be their
return to form, New Tattoo (2000), and the subsequent
tour flopped. Illness forced drummer Randy Castillo to the
sidelines; his replacement was Hole’s Samantha Maloney.
Castillo eventually was diagnosed with stomach cancer and
passed away in 2002. The year 2001 saw maybe the most important
development of the latter portion of the band’s career:
the publication of their autobiography, The Dirt.
An episode of VH1’s Behind the Music had hinted
at the debauchery that followed the Mötley men wherever
they went; this book elevated it to legendary status.
It was during this time that a new generation of music-lovers
found their way to the Crüe and older fans rediscovered
the band many had grown up with. Demand was go great that
it seemed to be only a matter of time before the four original
band members put aside their differences and realized that
apart they could never match the magic they created together.
So Tommy Lee, Mick Mars, Vince Neil and Nikki Sixx made nice
in late 2004, released three newly-recorded tracks on the
two-disc compilation Red, White & Crüe in
early 2005, then spent the next year and more crisscrossing
the globe on one hugely successful tour after another.
Mötley has never been a band to rest on its past success,
so 2008 brought the release of Saints of Los Angeles,
the first studio album by the original lineup in 11 years.
In an interview with RockBand.com, Sixx described the band’s
mindset: “We try not to think too much. The biggest
thought process behind this was that Mick said, ‘I want
loud guitars.’ Vince said, ‘Great songs.’
And I said, ‘Snotty lyrics.’ Okay, that’s
it, guys. But to be honest with you, we did say, ‘Let’s
do something we haven’t done—Let’s tell
a story from beginning to end.’ And who better to tell
the story of Mötley Crüe than us?”
Saints of Los Angeles, loosely based on The
Dirt and largely written by Sixx with James Michael and
DJ Ashba, his cohorts in his other band, Sixx:A.M., tracks
the Crüe’s development from a hungry young band
desperate for attention and respect (“Face Down in the
Dirt,” “What’s It Gonna Take”) to
stars of the local scene (“Down at the Whiskey”)
to stars on a whole other level (the title track, “Mutherfucker
of the Year”). Then there are the complications that
come along with success—the business side (“Welcome
to the Machine”), women (“Chicks = Trouble,”
“This Ain’t a Love Song”) and dysfunction
within the band (“White Trash Circus”).
Naturally, it is Mötley’s most focused album to
date—musically, as well as lyrically. There is a real
flow from song to song, which makes an incredibly satisfying
listen from front to back. It virtually screams out to be
played in its entirety on concert stages. The surprising aspect
of it is that this is a group that has existed for nearly
30 years, playing songs about itself, the nostalgia dripping
from your speakers with each note, yet it sounds like a band
with a huge chip on its shoulder, as if they got the impression
that people saw them as a nostalgia act on their reunion tours
and they are determined to prove them wrong. There is a powerful
energy about the recording; Mötley hasn’t sound
this alive since Dr. Feelgood (1989).
Mars’s biting guitar tone leads the charge, powered
by Lee’s propulsive drums. When the songwriting and
production are there (Michael has the producing reins), those
should be expected on a Mötley album. The biggest surprise
is the performance of Vince Neil, who sounds at least 10 years
younger than he did on New Tattoo. I’ll admit
that I did not think he had it in him to sound this good again.
Saints of Los Angeles is a great hard rock album,
incorporating some modern elements while staying true to everything
Mötley Crüe is at its core. With the mercurial personalities
involved, it easily could be their last record. The results
show they have a lot of life left in them, but if that is
the case, the closing song, “Goin’ Out Swinging,”
says it all.
®2009 Live-Metal.net
|
