1098. Mötley Crüe / Mötley Crüe. 1994. 2.5/5

After the monster that Dr. Feelgood became on its release in 1989, and the subsequent tour that followed, I can confirm that there was a great deal of anticipation on the follow-up album and how it would go in comparison. There was a lot to live up to, not just from that album but from the releases of the previous decade. Whether or not what then occurred leading up to this album being released was predictable or not is hard to gauge, but it is fair to say that by the time Mötley Crüe finally hit the record shelves that it was not anything like I expected it was going to be.

Five years passed between albums, and lead vocalist Vince Neil had departed on somewhat acrimonious terms, requiring a new member to come on board. Enter John Corabi, lead vocalist of The Scream who also plays rhythm guitar. I have never heard any of their music so it is impossible for me to judge what their style may be, but a lot has changed since Dr. Feelgood grabbed the headlines. The sound on Mötley Crüe is tied very much to the times. Grunge had come and had eradicated the hair metal movement, or at least the sound that it had proliferated to the point between 1981 and 1991. Those hair metal bands that had not disappeared had for the most part tried to adapt to the new landscape. This is Mötley Crüe’s answer to that, a stripped back sound with a grungier outlook and a different vocal direction, though that is an obvious one given that it was a different vocalist on board.
Play this back-to-back with any of the previous Mötley Crüe albums and you would swear they are by different bands. It’s not just the vocals. The whole sound is completely different to what has come before. And that takes some getting used to. The best way to approach this album is to listen to it without knowing who the band is, so that you can give it the time it needs without the judgement of the band's past. Easier said than done when you buy the album for the name of the band emblazoned on the front of it. As a result, there is not so much joy and intensity and fun in the music here that had been such a part of their earlier albums.
For me, this is the equivalent of what Metallica did in the same era with the Load and Reload albums, a really definitive decision to slow the music down and incorporate the changing times of the popular alternative movement that had occurred. With the none-too-subtle change in the musical direction of both bands at this time, who should be in charge of twiddling the knobs of those two Metallica albums? Bob Rock. And who was also in charge on Mötley Crüe? Bob Rock. Coincidence? If it is it is a massive one. The slower, crunch guitar rather than the fast paced, squealing guitar and solos is a feature of both of these bands' previous releases. While Metallica’s foursome had been retained though, at least Mötley Crüe’s recruitment of Corabi gave some semblance of originality to the changes that came forth. Five years between albums, and the amount of change that had happened in the music scene during that time, certainly added some reasonability to it.

If you judge this album as an alternative or grunge album you will certainly find some positives within the songs. Perhaps it is heavier than an average alternative album but it is rooted in that genre. Which means that it is difficult to please either or any fans. After the opening tracks of “Power to the Music” and “Uncle Jack”, “Hooligan’s Holiday” starts off okay but drags on far too long without changing tune all the way through. “Misunderstood” too just goes on far too long. I mean, it’s not the kind of song I like in the first place, and the fact that it drags that soft acoustic start out so long, and then does exactly the same thing at the end of the track, doesn’t help my love of it. The attitude in the middle goes some way to offsetting that, but it still is a bit too close to country rock in places for my liking. The comparative shortness of “Loveshine” at least compensates for its lack of excitement. “Poison Apples” and “Hammered” at least allows Mick Mars to break out a decent solo to get the tracks moving. “Smoke the Sky” is probably my favourite track along with these two because of the better tempo.

Corabi has been touring in recent years playing this album in full, in order to give it a fresh audience or chance to see the light. He in fact comes to Australia very soon to do just this, which is part of the reason I have resurrected my copy to listen to again. But here is the twist, because I could rate this album anywhere between 1.5 and 3.5 depending on the mood I’m in on the day. As a Mötley Crüe album such as the ones released in the past, it doesn’t rate well. As a stand-alone album of the era, I can find things I like about it. The problem has always been that as a grunge or alternative album it still lacks a quality that can lift it above the average, and that is still the fact of the matter. No matter which way you try to look at this, it is just an average album.

Best songs: “Smoke the Sky”, “Poison Apples”, “Hammered”.

Rating: “Telling evils of the reefer, but all through time we've smoked the sky”. 2.5/5