Mötley Crüe (album)

Background

Following the success of the Dr. Feelgood and Decade of Decadence albums and tours, the members of Mötley Crüe were tired and needed to take a break from the non-stop pressures of the road. Instead of being given a break, the band, then consisting of singer Vince Neil, bassist Nikki Sixx, guitarist Mick Mars, and drummer Tommy Lee, had returned to the studio to begin work on the follow-up album to their 1989 album Dr. Feelgood on a two-week-on, two-week-off schedule. While working on new material in the studio in early 1992, Sixx, Mars and Lee had a falling out with Neil that led to the singer quitting or being fired from the band, effectively leaving Mötley Crüe without a frontman.

Meanwhile, John Corabi was the vocalist of the Los Angeles-based hard rock band The Scream when he read an interview that featured Sixx in an issue of Spin magazine. In the interview, Corabi found out that Sixx was a big fan of The Scream's first record, Let It Scream. Corabi wanted to get in contact with Sixx and thank him for the compliment, as well as possibly opening the door for collaborating with Sixx on material for the next Scream album, so he had his manager get the number to Mötley Crüe's manager, Doug Thaler. After speaking to Thaler's secretary, Corabi was told to leave his phone number so that Sixx could get in contact with him. Not thinking much of it, Corabi left his number and continued with his responsibilities with The Scream.

After receiving a phone call from Sixx and Lee, where they informed Corabi that Neil was no longer in the band, he was invited to audition. After a couple of sessions, the band told Corabi that he was their choice for Neil's replacement, but told him to keep quiet about it until they were able to work out some pending legal technicalities, as Elektra Records could have possibly reneged on the band's new contract if the label knew Neil was gone.

Recording

For the recording of the album, Mötley Crüe reunited with Bob Rock, who had produced Dr. Feelgood, their most commercially successful album. With Corabi now fronting the band, the members took advantage of the fact that he brought more to the table than Neil did: Sixx had never worked with another lyricist before, and Mars had never played with another guitarist. Mars noted that working with a second guitarist gave him "a chance to experiment and have some fun instead of having to focus on just keeping the rhythm." Also, the band had never previously written songs through jamming. One of the first songs Corabi worked with the band on was "Hammered", as well as the acoustic portion of the song that would become "Misunderstood."

During the recording of the album the band committed itself to sobriety, with a strict regimen of no drugs, alcohol, cigarettes, red meat or caffeine. The band worked with a physical trainer each morning, and took vitamin pills to keep their bodies nourished. Although there were occasional slips off the wagon, the members were determined to repeat the success of Dr. Feelgood. The recording sessions proved to be fruitful, with a total of 24 songs written and recorded over the 10-month recording span.

Music and lyrics

Lyrically, Corabi's influence pushed away from the band's usual themes of sex and rebellion. Sixx enjoyed working with Corabi on the lyrics, feeling Corabi’s "normal" lyrics balanced out his own "demented" lyrics. Songs such as "Power to the Music" and "Droppin' Like Flies" were attempts at introspection and commentary on the state of the world, including then current events such as the 1992 Los Angeles riots, and the battle over music censorship. The song "Uncle Jack" was about Corabi's uncle, a convicted child molester, and "Misunderstood" was a song about people who were trying to deal with the fact that life had passed them by. Some songs still had more familiar themes, including "Smoke the Sky," which was about marijuana use, and "Poison Apples", which was about the decadent Rock 'N Roll lifestyle that the band was famous for living.

The album drew influence from contemporary grunge bands such as Pearl Jam and Soundgarden, and is considered alternative metal. The album also had a more aggressive and abrasive sound than the band's previous releases.

Artwork

The album was released with two different versions of the cover. The original 1994 version featured the band name in yellow on a scratched black background. Later versions of the album had the band name in red. On the inside, the CD tray features a white circle showing a fist with the word "CRUE" on its fingers emerging from a black circle with an open space on the right side. The CD shows the same thing but drawn differently. Later editions have the CD showing the circle and fist drawn the same way as on the inlay.

Release and promotion

Mötley Crüe debuted at No. 7 on the Billboard 200 and was certified Gold by the RIAA on May 3, 1994. However, five years had passed since Mötley Crüe had released a full studio album, and much had changed in the popular music scene in that time interval. During that time, grunge and alternative rock had crossed into the mainstream, and many of the hard rock and glam metal acts from the 1980s struggled to generate sales in the new market. After initially charting in the Top 10, the album slid down the charts quickly and ultimately failed to sell as well as previous Mötley Crüe albums had before.

While there was an expected backlash from fans toward the album regarding the popular Neil's departure, there were several other factors that led to the poor sales figures that the album received. Besides the aforementioned shift in popular music, the members of the band had a falling out with MTV, where Sixx threatened to knock the host's teeth out during an interview, as he felt that the line of questioning was "stupid" and he and the rest of the band walked out mid-interview. Executives from the Elektra and Warner Bros. labels weren't supporting the band either, as many executives were involved in corporate boardroom wars related to the CEO change of Bob Krasnow to Sylvia Rhone, that took priority over the band. With no support from their record label to promote the album and tour, and with no promotion from MTV following the disastrous interview, the subsequent tour was scaled back from stadiums and arenas to theaters to clubs to parties until it was eventually cancelled.

Critical reception

Mötley Crüe received mixed reviews. In general, critics remarked how the band had adapted their trademark sound to the new trends of grunge and alternative metal. According to Neil Arnold of Metal Forces, this change of style misrepresents the band, which maybe "should have gone under a different name" for this album. New vocalist John Corabi's vocal range and soulful performance are generally praised, as they are more suited to the new sound of the band. For Katherine Turman of The Los Angeles Times his "voice is meatier and more appealing than predecessor Vince Neil's" and may be responsible for the shift in focus towards a less flashy style. However, Arion Berger of Rolling Stone defined the music "samey", while Chuck Eddy in his review for Entertainment Weekly appreciated the ballads, but called the album's heavy tracks "an overbearing plod".

Accolades

In July 2014, Guitar World ranked Mötley Crüe at number 28 in their "Superunknown: 50 Iconic Albums That Defined 1994" list.

Track listing

All lyrics written by John Corabi and Nikki Sixx; all music composed by Corabi, Sixx, Mick Mars and Tommy Lee, except where noted.

Mötley Crüe

Guest musicians

Production