Published on Dec 8, 2000
The Crue is my whipping boy band. I trashed their
Greatest Hits collection, questioning whether or not they
should have two such collections, as well as the weak
Entertainment Or Death double live CD.
Yet, the good people at Beyond keep sending me their releases.
What’s the cliché, third time’s the charm. That certainly
applies here with
New Tattoo. FINALLY, I can write a positive review about the
band Motley Crue. The burden of trashing “the bad boys of rock” is
off my shoulders.
The bottom line on this CD is it’s a true return to “old” Motley
Crue style. Gone are the advanced ideas that made
Generation Swine and their self-titled CD drift into
obscurity. The old Motley Crue is simple to the ears guitar riffs
backed by Vince Neil screeching. For example, I’d call “Wild Side”
good old Motley Crue. That track has a simple guitar riff, a couple
of interesting changes (going from an 8th note feel to a triplet
feel) and a good drum workout.
That’s one area where Motley Crue has changed since
Generation Swine. Bad boy Tommy Lee is out of the band.
YEAH! FINALLY, the overrated drummer is out. Ex-Ozzy Osbourne
drummer Randy Castillo is filling in the shoes and while I’d like
to hear some more original snare fills, he does a good job.
The CD starts with the single “Hell On High Heels” and right
away, I’m re-introduced to the fact that Vince Neil still needs
vocal lessons. “Treat Me Like A Dog” follows and, hands down,
that’s the best track on this CD. Its lyrics center around sex and
Neil has fun with the Red Hot Chili Pepper-style last verse. He’s
almost rapping.
“New Tattoo” is the ballad and, unlike “Without You” or “Home
Sweet Home,” this ballad doesn’t suck. The lyrics tell the story of
a guy who gets in a fight with his girlfriend, goes out, gets drunk
and gets a tattoo with the girlfriend’s name on the tattoo. Then he
calls her to tell her about it.
“Dragstrip Superstar” and “1st Band On The Moon” are more old
style Motley Crue. Simple guitar riffs and more Vince Neil singing
lyrics about sex. In “Dragstrip Superstar,” he rattles off these
lyrics “Jailbait playmate/ Freak show masturbate/ Fuel inject
carburete/ Underage penetrate.” In “1st Band On The Moon,” he
describes “. . . a problem with the girls here on Earth/ They
stopped acting dizzy wearing miniskirts.” He explains his solution
as eloquently: “I want a place that wants arena rock/ along with
the girls who wanna suck my . . .” with a carefully placed Mick
Mars guitar lick instead of the obvious conclusion to the
rhyme.
The rest of the CD contains equally strong material. “She Needs
Rock N Roll” and “Punched In The Teeth By Love” are mid-tempo
rockers.
The CD drags down with “Hollywood Ending.” With intelligent
lyrics like “The trouble with you/ The trouble with me/ We ain’t
meant to be,” the song sounds like the band was just trying to
include a song for their concert attendees to pull out a
lighter.
“Fake” follows that with a “Shout At The Devil” style shout of
“Fake! Fake!” The lyrics seem autobiographical. It does bring out
an inconsistency in the editing of this CD. In “1st Band On The
Moon,” the word “cock” is not sung: Mick Mars’ guitar lick covers
it. But in “Fake,” Neil sings “Crashed a lot of cars/ Fucked all
the stupid stars in Hollywood/ Because I could, Because we could.”
The “crashed a lot of cars” brings memories of the car crash Neil
was involved in that killed the drummer of Hanoi Rocks. Yeah, you
don’t remember them either! <grin>
“Porno Star” touches on the same theme as “Piece Of Candy” on
Nikki Sixx’s solo project 58’s CD called
Diet For A New America about sex on the internet. While
“Piece Of Candy” brings a human element to the industry, “Porno
Star” is cliched and not as well-done as “Candy.” The CD finishes
with the cover, “White Punks On Dope.” While not as appealing and
catchy as “Smokin’ In The Boys Room,” it’s done quite well.
So there you have it, a positive review of Motley Crue’s latest
CD. It shouldn’t be called a comeback CD, but yet it is. When Lee
left, many wondered who would fill his role. Castillo makes a good
replacement and Mars has put together some good licks. Sixx’s odd
lyrics and Neil’s screech remain this band’s weak half. Maybe
someday Sixx’s lyrics will get better; maybe Neil will actually
take vocal lessons and learn how to phrase better.
Maybe, though, they’ll keep the same ingredients and continue to
sell millions of records.