Dr. Feelgood (album)

Recording

Canadian producer Bob Rock provided the record with a lush, vibrant sound, applying production values which had been lacking from the band's previous releases.

Rock found the process of working with Mötley Crüe difficult, describing the band as "four L.A. bad asses who used to drink a bottle of wine and want to kill each other." In order to minimize conflict and allow production of the record to proceed smoothly, Rock had each member record their parts separately.

The lyrics of "Don't Go Away Mad (Just Go Away)" feature a reference to a previous song by the band, "Too Young to Fall in Love".

The end of "Slice of Your Pie" is based on "She's So Heavy" off The Beatles Abbey Road album.

Steven Tyler of Aerosmith sings backing vocals on "Sticky Sweet". "Nikki and Tommy and I hung out a lot," said Tyler, who was in Vancouver around the same time, recording Pump. "Of course, we're all akin by our old drinking and drugging days.")

Release

Dr. Feelgood has sold more than 6 million copies in the U.S. to date, and went Gold in the U.K. In various interviews, members of Mötley Crüe stated that it was their most solid album from a musical standpoint, due in no small part to their collective push for sobriety.

Critical reception

Reviews for Dr. Feelgood have been mostly positive. All critics remarked the renewed energy and entertaining values which permeates all the tracks of the album, bringing the listeners "in a world of everlasting party", where they "savored the joys of trashy, unapologetically decadent fun". Bob Rock's meticulous production was universally praised, in particular for affording "the band the ability to write stronger melodic hooks without losing the hard rock sound they so coveted" and for the power of the guitar riffs. Canadian journalist Martin Popoff wrote that Dr. Feelgood is an album "made by a dumb band trying really hard" and, in BBC Music reviewer's opinion, listening to it may well be "a glitzy flashy experience... ultimately shallow and narcissistic". However, other critics stated that Mötley Crüe are not "out to win humanitarian awards or impress us with lyrical muscle", but to rock "...hard"!

"Dr. Feelgood" and "Kickstart My Heart" were both nominated for Grammy awards for Best Hard Rock Performance, but lost twice to Living Colour. Mötley Crüe also won an award at the American Music Awards in January 1991 for Dr. Feelgood as the best Hard rock/Heavy metal album of the year.

Legacy

Lars Ulrich of Metallica asked Bob Rock to produce their self-titled album after being impressed with Rock's production work on Dr. Feelgood.

Nike SB created a shoe based on the album cover.

As of October 14, 2008, the album, minus the opening track "T.N.T. (Terror 'N Tinseltown)" because of length and playability, has become downloadable content for the Rock Band video game series.

Dr. Feelgood and Kickstart My Heart are available in soundtrack of 2009 video game, Brütal Legend

To mark the twentieth anniversary of the album, Mötley Crüe performed the album in its entirety at Crüe Fest 2.

Track listing

All lyrics written by Nikki Sixx.

Note

Mötley Crüe

Additional musicians

Production

Dr. Feelgood The Videos

Dr Feelgood The Videos is a video album released in 1990 and features all the music videos from the album, concert footage, interviews and recording session footage.

Videos include

1. "Dr. Feelgood"
2. "Kickstart My Heart"
3. "Without You"
4. "Don't Go Away Mad (Just Go Away)"
5. "Same Ol' Situation (S.O.S.)"