Due to covid, the tour was postponed a couple of times until mid-2022. During this time, the band insisted that they had no intention of recording new material and instead would only be a touring band. In October of 2022, a statement was released stating that Mick Mars had retired from touring due to his ongoing health issues but would remain a ‘member’ of Motley Crue. The next day the band announced that John 5 would be their touring guitarist. Of course, all of this then escalated, as by April of 2023 John 5 was not only announced as the now guitarist of Motley Crue, but that they WOULD in fact begin writing and recording new material with him. At this, Mars sued the band claiming they were trying to rid themselves of him and of reducing his percentage of profits from the band, while the band countered by saying they had NOT fired him, and that the status quo remained that he was not a touring member of the band.
Lots has gone on since then but let's move away from the politics of the situation.
While Mars would no longer tour, he did announce in October 2023 that he would release a solo album. At the announcement he released the lead single from the album along with a music video, a song that caught everyone’s attention at the time. Despite all of the turmoil and slanging match between Mars and his former bandmates, it was his music that most of the fans were more interested in. Just what kind of material would Mars produce away from the band he had been with for 40 years, how relevant would it be, and would it, as the title of the album suggested, show off a different side to his musical prowess?
The greater portion of the album is written by Mars alongside lead vocalist Jacob Bunton and Winger keyboardist and guitarist Paul Taylor. Bunton has an interesting background, mixing being an Emmy winning composer and producer with artists including Mariah Carey and Steve Tyler, but also being lead vocalist of other middling metal acts such as Lynam and Adler in the past. His modern and progressive sounding vocals on this album are a huge plus to most of the songs here, and his career path is certainly something that appears to have been drawn heavily upon for this album. Taylor, who used to be credited as Paul Horowitz, has a long career with Winger and other hair and glam metal bands, and his proficiency on several instruments and in writing help to add to the upside of this album.
Two of the songs, “Killing Breed” and “Undone”, have a different lead vocalist in Brion Gambona, who was lead singer and guitarist for the band “Third Mist” that achieved recognition when they became semi-finalists on the “Star Search” show is the US in the mid-1990's. Both songs are written by Mars and Taylor alone and have a different focus with Gambona singing. There is a marked difference as a result, a change in tone that makes them stand apart from the rest of the album. True to his word, Mick Mars certainly delivers on his promise of the other side of Mars, by which he meant that he had the Motley Crue styled side of his guitaring, and the Mick Mars side of his guitaring.
There are several songs on this album that have a similar vibe and sonics to the band Fall Out Boy, both musically and in the vocals, which could be attributed to the phasing that they have in places on those songs in the same way Patrick Stump does for that band. The above mentioned “Loyal to the Lie” is certainly one of them, but so too is "Ain’t Going Back” which is cast from a similar mould, albeit in a heavier mode than that band performs. On these songs Bunton sounds great and is a driving force, acting as a great combiner with the hard hitting rhythm and Mick’s tough sounding guitar. For me these are the songs that are the best on the album, alongside the second single “Right Side of Wrong”, “Broken on the Inside”, “Ready to Roll” and the closing instrumental “LA Noir” that was composed solely by Mars.
“Broken on the Inside” got me at the end every time for many listens, as the song starts to break up towards its conclusion, as if the wifi is cutting out and the song is being corrupted by the lack of signal. It does take getting used to when you listen to the album, and stop the tendency to reach for your player try to work out what the hell is going on. I’ll probably still be doing it with my CD copy of the album when it arrives.
The slower tracks on the album do reflect on Mick’s other style, and while it is done well, for me it is less enthusiastic. “Alone” is the slower paced hard rock ballad that bands believe they need but some of us think we would be better off without. “Memories” sets out on the same path, with keys and violin being the sole basis of the song. I do understand these types of songs making their appearance here on his solo album, in order to showcase that he can do these songs as well just like his former band did, but they aren’t for me.
I don’t know about you, but thoughts about a new Motley Crue release doesn't hold any great anticipation for me. If they do, I’ll listen to it, but I’m not looking out for it. On the other hand, I was really looking forward to hearing this album, because I wanted to know just what Mick Mars away from that setting could produce. Some of his riffs in those great Motley songs are iconic, and he knew how to get the crowd pumped with his guitaring. So, even though I was aware that it couldn’t really match the music that band made in its glory days, I was truly looking forward to what he may have had saved up all of these years.
For the most part, I think it’s great. In the same way as I felt about Ace Frehley’s new album, which was released on the same day, this has gotten better with every listen. The upbeat style of Jacob Bunton’s vocals, and indeed the songs written by the main three songwriters with him singing, are really good. To me, they are good solid songs. Mick doesn’t come out as the star of this album – he doesn’t stick out as the only good thing here, his guitar dominant over everything else. It’s the songs that are becoming more memorable the more that I listen, not necessarily Mick’s riffs and licks being the standout. And I think that makes this a standout album, because it seems to have been MORE about the songwriting than being a vehicle for Mars to show off.
Look – this isn’t going to blow your mind, and you aren’t going to be saying this is Album of the Year when we get to December. But for me, like Ace’s new album, like the Smith/Kotzen album and the Sunbomb album a couple of years ago, this is a pleasant surprise because it has enough elements that you will enjoy, and a few tracks that on repeated listens you will say, ‘wow, actually that’s really good!’
My opinion on this album will no doubt change over time, but I’m now into more than 20 listens, and I’m still finding new things to enjoy. Not all of it is great, but there is enough here for me to suggest that you give it a go and see what YOU think about it.
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