22)
Mötley Crüe,
Dr. Feelgood (1989)
Motley Crue was one of those glam bands that, despite their image, made some pretty heavy music in the early 80s… they were more metal than glam. Then, in the mid-80s they flopped and became more glam than musical substance (I'm looking at you,
Girls, Girls, Girls). With the release of
Dr. Feelgood, they created a perfect blend of both. No one could ever accuse the four members of being spectacular musicians, but combined the sum is greater than the parts. This album has great hard guitar licks, decent solos, drumming that is slightly more than just keeping the beat, your standard rock vocals with lyrics all about sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll (titles of
Sticky Sweet, She Goes Down, Rattlesnake Shake and
Slice of Your Pie is all the proof you need). All songs follow the intro-verse-chorus-verse-chorus-bridge-chorus-fade formula. So, with such a mediocre description, why is this such a great album you ask? Probably not a lot of really good reasons, but 1989 was a time when I was really expanding my musical horizons. Having been a Classic Rock pundit for a few years, I started discovering 80s rock, both glam and the heavier side. There are some very distinctive riffs on this disc; I love Vince Neil’s voice, and he was never better here; lyrically, it appealed incredibly to me being an 18 year old obsessed with sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll. Tommy was just plain cool, and no one even knew he could steer a boat without his hands! This album just pours out a hard and unapologetic glam rock beat that hit the mark perfectly in 1989, not just for me, but for a lot of rock fans.
Fav Songs –
Kickstart My Heart, Same Ol Situation (S.O.S.), Don’t Go Away Mad (Just Go Away)