Saints of Los Angeles
The more things stay the same …
When I first heard that Mötley Crüe was releasing a new disc, I thought: “Wow! Mötley Crüe is putting out a new disc?”
My second thought was: “Wow! Mötley Crüe is putting out a new disc.”
The Crüe’s latest offering is a chronicling of their early, “salad days” in the bowels of Los Angeles. Hence; the name of the offering: Saints Of Los Angeles. Mötley Crüe made their bones back in the late 70s and early 80s with loud, crunching, power chord-driven hard rock/heavy metal and, with the exception of the opening cut, “LAMF” which is a new-age-ish attempt at a Doors-like spacey overture (complete with Vince doing his best Morrison-esque poetry reading) That could have been named “LAME”, in my opinion, that is exactly what this release offers.
Over-driven guitars, pounding drums, and teen angst lyrics surround the bass lines which are the starting point for any Crüe song considering that Nikki is the primary song writer.
Interesting changes in feel are interspersed here and there; enough to keep you on your toes in a “just-when-you-thought-you-had-the-gist-of-the-song,-here’s-a-double-time-feel” way.
The lyrical content tells the tales of sex, drugs, and rock ‘n’ roll in the heyday of heavy metal in Los Angeles. Mentions of the Whisky-A-Go-Go and passing out from drink, chemical or physical debauchery permeate; most noticeably in “Down At The Whisky” and the title track. There’s no doubt about it, the boys have some tales to tell and Vince tells them well in the context of the three-minute epic.
You can almost imagine how they would sound in a smaller club like the Whisky.
… The more things change
Mötley Crüe represents some of the “Old Guard” of American heavy metal and have done so, admirably for the last quarter century.
I really enjoyed “What’s It Gonna Take” and “Animal In Me” but, the best song on the disc may not make it to radio (Mutherfucker Of the Year).
Some of the other points of interest include “Chicks = Trouble” - which, while maintaining a driving tempo has an interesting feel of blues running through it – and “This Ain’t A Love Song”. The latter is a funk-ish anthem to the free-wheeling exploits of the band’s early days
The bass and drum sounds of the Crüe have remained constant but the guitars are very muddied with effects – from echo to flange to enveloping. The crispness that used to be Mick Mars’ style has been lost in the production.
Mars has never appeared to be much of an egotist so, I guess “hiding” his talents is okay with him but I, for one, would LOVE to hear him truly featured, again. Vince has also sounded better. I wonder if 30 years of screaming out heavy metal lyrics have taken their toll.
Now, no one expects heavy metal singers to have “pretty” voices but, Vince sounds like he might be suffering some serious pain after a night on stage (or a day in the studio)
Over all, I’m sure this release will be extremely enjoyable to the Crüe faithful.
Mötley Crüe fans 4.5 discs out of 5
Me: 3 discs out of 5
