Any Crüe-head or wild-haired 80s rock lover must be on a current continuous high. The rejuvenation of the iconic quartet who kinged the LA sunset strip just keeps on gathering more and more momentum after the 2019 Netflix biopic hit ‘The Dirt’. Motley Crüe, in their fourth decade of killer tunes and strapped-down leather return to our record and cd players with a five-album special in the wake of their upcoming world tour.
‘Crucial Crüe: The Studio Albums 1981-1989’ is to be released across the world to commemorate their platinum-selling sweep across nearly a decade of relentless hits and inevitable parties. With what’s tipped to be a very suave black slipcase design and inescapable limited availability, if you’re looking for your next shelf-worthy musical trophy then this could very well be it. If, like me, you know the albums then you assume know what you’re getting. But never be fooled by re-releases and specially designed box sets such as this. You never know what treasures they may hold.
Pressed on coloured vinyl each album is a splattering of various combinations from Hot Pink Magenta to Cyan Blue to Coke Bottle Green (you’ll have to get your hands on one to know which one is which!). As the lads gear up for their first date down in Mexico this week, it’s the perfect wombo-combo as the box set will hit the stores at the same time the Crüe will step out into the first phase of a four-month-long rocking expedition. So let’s see what surprises any of you pre-orders and eager anticipators can expect…
Too Fast For Love, the record that started the whole shebang off. The platinum-selling debut is as good as ever with ‘Live Wire’, ‘Take Me To The Top’ and the titler ‘Too Fast For Love’ sheering off those daytime overalls and enticing us into a night of the dangerous and thrilling debauch. Hearing the tracks on the record is always a bonus and will always top speakers or a laptop with that endearingly retro quality. The live bonus tracks are also there which bring about a keen sense of nostalgia when comparing those fiery roots to the polished world-class experience Crüe now offers from their performances.
Their sophomore offering, Shout At The Devil, released in 1983 and arguably one of the real fans’ favourites strikes us with the same graduating feel as it did back in the day. From the intro track to the level-upped production, there’s no doubt why this album catapulted them to their state of global recognition. It’s great to re-listen to the record in one go as it will really hone in on just how good the tracks are. ‘Looks The Kill’, ‘Too Young Too Fall In Love’ and ‘Red Hot’ really jump out as the top tracks but if anything, it’s a treat to listen to the full album without just skipping to decades-long favourites.
The home of ‘Home Sweet Home’, Theatre of Pain, joins the collection as the middle-ground beer holder. Also featuring the iconic ‘Smokin In The Boys Room’ it continued to see their uphill climb into solid metal mania significance. Somewhat underrated tracks such as ‘Tonight (We Need a Lover), ‘Louder Than Hell’ and ‘Use It or Lose It’ is given the chance to make a statement which they obviously do. When considering the journey the band – and many others – have taken, a third album is often seen as that make it or break-it point. We know now there was no kind of breaking whatsoever but you can hear the slight deviations and experimentations on the record, seeking its sound.
Then, of course, we dive right back into that original Motley Crüe fist-thumping attitude with Girls, Girls, Girls. The 1987 drop is a wide birth of hits and the kind of snarky, snappy chorus’ that made the guys what they were. All I think of when I hear ‘Wild Side’ are those beefcake choppers riding down the highway and let me tell you this, it invokes nothing but badass, sucker punch energy. Live tracks and instrumentals aside, this is the Crüe really on their best form.
With the final throw we of course get the phenomenal Dr Feelgood. The record didn’t signify the end of Motley Crüe as such, but it certainly signified the end of those 80s hair-metal glory days and with it the best days of the Crüe so far. The bands highest charting album, (debuting at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and remaining in the charts for a total of 109 weeks.) it oozes with nail and hammer licks in ‘Rattlesnake Shake’, ‘Same Ol’ Situation (S.O.S)’ and the undyingly excellent ‘Kickstart My Heart’. The production is also something to note as we get some horn sections, backing vocals and some notable post-production electronic effects. It’s fast, it’s furious, it’s just there.
Argue if you must but collections don’t get much better than this. Not just a slice, but a whole damn cake of a decade spent in great music, greater excess and a Crüe born attitude that inspired and entertained millions. Collectors, enthusiasts and Crüe lovers alike, I’d recommend it without question.
On the heels of MÖTLEY CRÜE’s highly successful THE STADIUM TOUR with Def Leppard and playing to over 1M fans in North America this year, BMG released of the limited edition box set, Crücial Crüe: The Studio Albums 1981-1989 featuring MÖTLEY CRÜE’s first five platinum-selling landmark albums pressed on coloured vinyl – Too Fast For Love (White/Black Splatter), Shout At The Devil (Yellow/Black Splatter), Theatre Of Pain (Hot Pink Magenta/Black Splatter), Girls, Girls, Girls (Cyan Blue / Black Splatter), and Dr. Feelgood (Coke Bottle Green / Oxblood Splatter) – housed in a solid black slipcase with foil imprint and only available in this box set.
The Crücial Crüe box set will also be released on CD with only 10,000 units of each configuration available globally and can be pre-ordered, HERE.
Review: Monty Sewell
TRACKLIST
CD1 – Too Fast For Love
01. Live Wire
02. Come On And Dance
03. Public Enemy #1
04. Merry-Go-Round
05. Take Me To The Top
06. Piece Of Your Action
07. Starry Eyes
08. Too Fast For Love
09. On With The Show
CD2 – Shout At The Devil
01. In The Beginning
02. Shout At The Devil
03. Looks That Kill
04. Bastard
05. God Bless The Children Of The Beast
06. Helter Skelter
07. Red Hot
08. Too Young To Fall In Love
09. Knock ‘Em Dead, Kid
10. Ten Seconds To Love
11. Danger
CD3 – Theatre Of Pain
01. City Boy Blues
02. Smokin’ In The Boys Room
03. Louder Than Hell
04. Keep Your Eye On The Money
05. Home Sweet Home
06. Tonight (We Need A Lover)
07. Use It or Lose It
08. Save Our Soles
09. Raise Your Hands To Rock
10. Fight For Your Rights
CD4 – Girls, Girls, Girls
01. Wild Side
02. Girls, Girls, Girls
03. Dancing On Glass
04. Bad Boy Boogie
05. Nona
06. Five Years Dead
07. All In The Name Of…
08. Sumthin’ For Nuthin’
09. You’re All I Need
10. Jailhouse Rock (Live)
CD5 – Dr. Feelgood
01. T.n.T (Terror ‘n Tinseltown)
02. Dr. Feelgood
03. Slice Of Your Pie
04. Rattlesnake Shake
05. Kickstart My Heart
06. Without You
07. Same Ol’ Situation (S.O.S)
08. Sticky Sweet
09. She Goes Down
10. Don’t Go Away Mad (Just Go Away)
11. Time For Change
After a highly successful U.S. tour, MÖTLEY CRÜE and DEF LEPPARD will once again reteam for THE WORLD TOUR in 2023, hitting Latin America in February and March, and the U.K. and Europe in May, June, and July.
Hailing from Los Angeles, CA, the quartet —Vince Neil (vocals), Nikki Sixx (bass), Tommy Lee (drums) and Mick Mars (guitars) — has commandeered the rock pantheon for 41 years. The band has sold over 100 million albums worldwide, garnered 7 USA platinum and multi-platinum albums, 22 Top 40 mainstream rock hits, 6 Top 20 pop singles, 3 Grammy nominations, 5 New York Times best-selling books, a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and a Netflix hit movie.
Mötley Crüe have amassed over 5 billion streams across digital platforms and the band has over 8 million followers on social media. Known for their iconic live performances, the band has sold-out countless tours across the globe in front of millions of fans with groundbreaking production highlights such as Tommy Lee’s drum-rollercoaster and Nikki Sixx’s flame-throwing-bass. They pioneered the Las Vegas rock residency with a sold out run in 2012. Mötley Crüe’s hit songs such as “Kickstart My Heart” and “Home Sweet Home” are frequently licensed by major brands such as NASCAR, Dodge, Coldwell Banker, Carl’s Jr. and KIA to name a few and their music can be heard on TV hit shows such as Stranger Things and Cobra Kai amongst many others.
The band’s biography “The Dirt: Confessions of the World’s Most Notorious Rock Band” became a New York Times best-seller in 2001 and has sold over 1 million copies worldwide. Members of the band have authored 4 additional New York Times best-selling books since. In 2019 Netflix premiered “The Dirt” biopic based on the bestselling book which became a global hit movie scoring a 94% positive audience score on Rotten Tomatoes. As a result, Mötley Crüe gained an entire new generation of young fans who discovered the band through the movie and further solidified their iconic status, relevance and the timelessness of their songwriting.
Mötley Crüe remains a huge global draw 41 years into their career and, in the summer of 2022 co-headlined a nearly sold out North American stadium tour with Def Leppard. The tour is set to travel to the rest of the world in 2023.