From a hard rock point of view, I think "Shout At The Devil" is the best Motley Crue album. And when sobriety helped save the band and their individual lives, "Dr. Feelgood" gave them their biggest hit and expanded Nikki Sixx's songwriting abilities into something much more respectable, a word not often associated with the Crue.
The four very different members had a voracious drive to succeed in common, which took them from the superficial Sunset Strip scene of LA to stadiums all over the world. If they had benefactors, most of them are not known by name, the young women who bought them food when they were destitute and had their collective eyes focused firmly on stardom. Tom Zutaut, A&R man of Elektra records, got them signed to a big league contract and Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne took them out on the road to open for the former Black Sabbath leader's solo zenith of the early 80s.
Their early and modest beginnings (modest is another word not often linked with Crue) led up to Judgement Day, playing at the US festival. A gigantic crowd composed 99% of people who'd never heard of them were converts by the end of their set and it was an act ready to conquer the globe. This was a very hot commodity, one of the first ready for MTV bands (and merchandise wise, selling every single piece of Crue memorabilia out at concerts). They'd established a stage show tradition from the very beginning and more budget money allowed them to expand on all kinds of crazy ideas, especially Tommy Lee's drum antics. Nowadays, the question on many minds always is, "What are they trying this time in an effort to top themselves?"
"The Dirt", "Tommyland" and "The Heroin Diaries" have explored the dark side of entertainment thoroughly, with endless stories about drugs, sex, violence, petty rivalry and family tragedy making you wonder how any, let alone all of them, are still alive to tell the tales. "Behind The Music" gets a true run for it's money here, as all four original members, plus singer/guitarist John Corabi, get to set some kind of record straight. If Mick, Vince, Nikki and Tommy are able to put aside differences and continue recording and touring, the possibility of a sequel to this episode isn't just a good idea, it's pretty much a necessity.
Solo projects have come and gone, but the Crue are not going away anytime soon!
The four very different members had a voracious drive to succeed in common, which took them from the superficial Sunset Strip scene of LA to stadiums all over the world. If they had benefactors, most of them are not known by name, the young women who bought them food when they were destitute and had their collective eyes focused firmly on stardom. Tom Zutaut, A&R man of Elektra records, got them signed to a big league contract and Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne took them out on the road to open for the former Black Sabbath leader's solo zenith of the early 80s.
Their early and modest beginnings (modest is another word not often linked with Crue) led up to Judgement Day, playing at the US festival. A gigantic crowd composed 99% of people who'd never heard of them were converts by the end of their set and it was an act ready to conquer the globe. This was a very hot commodity, one of the first ready for MTV bands (and merchandise wise, selling every single piece of Crue memorabilia out at concerts). They'd established a stage show tradition from the very beginning and more budget money allowed them to expand on all kinds of crazy ideas, especially Tommy Lee's drum antics. Nowadays, the question on many minds always is, "What are they trying this time in an effort to top themselves?"
"The Dirt", "Tommyland" and "The Heroin Diaries" have explored the dark side of entertainment thoroughly, with endless stories about drugs, sex, violence, petty rivalry and family tragedy making you wonder how any, let alone all of them, are still alive to tell the tales. "Behind The Music" gets a true run for it's money here, as all four original members, plus singer/guitarist John Corabi, get to set some kind of record straight. If Mick, Vince, Nikki and Tommy are able to put aside differences and continue recording and touring, the possibility of a sequel to this episode isn't just a good idea, it's pretty much a necessity.
Solo projects have come and gone, but the Crue are not going away anytime soon!
