"Classic" album appreciation thread - the '80s

[Cool Chris]

I knew Crue's MTV hits, and liked them. The only album of theirs I ever owned was Dr. Feelgood which I liked a lot.

[pg1067]

Motley Crue - Shout At the Devil

This album was huge, but I fairly quickly outgrew it.  When I dumped my vinyl records in 97/98, this was one that I didn't replace with a CD (although my wife subsequently bought the CD).  I still think the "hits" (Shout, Looks and Too Young) to be pretty good songs, but I jumped ship on the Crue after Theatre of Pain (although I went to see Crue with Whitesnake on the GGG tour).  Nowadays, this album simply brings back memories of my early days getting into metal.

[Podaar]

I've always enjoyed Too Young to Fall in Love. That's about the best I can do without going into full on TACmode. I blame Vince Neil...Danger being the prime example.

[The Walrus]

Oh man, finally some Crüe!

Shout is a weak song but it's better than most of what's on this record. Looks That Kill is an absolute banger, and the Helter Skelter cover kicks ass. Too Young To Fall In Love was one of the songs that made me fall in love with rock as a kid, I remember the first time I heard it actually was in Grand Theft Auto Vice City. Would only listen to the hilarious talk radio station and VROCK, which had amazing songs like Bark at the Moon and of course TYTFIL. I played that song more than anything else. Always wanted to play drums just to play along to that one.

The rest of the record, can't do it. Crüe for me can be summed up with their '98 Greatest Hits collection, to me it's basically all the good songs they ever made put on one disc. Ten Seconds To Love is painful to sit through and unfortunately it plays on the radio at work a lot. 

[Stadler]

I liked "Shout At The Devil" more than most Crue, and I still think Dr. Feelgood is a very strong record, but Crue were always second or third tier for me.   I've written about this before but I was East Coast, so for me, it was "Twisted Sister", not Crue.  I think there were a lot of similarities at that time between the two bands, from the debut (two versions, one raw, one more polished) to the breakout album (Twisted's third, Stay Hungry and Crue's fifth, Dr. Feelgood), with a really strong record in between (Twisted's second, You Can't Stop Rock and Roll) and Crue's second Shout At The Devil and fourth, Girls Girls Girls).   

[pg1067]

I liked "Shout At The Devil" more than most Crue, and I still think Dr. Feelgood is a very strong record, but Crue were always second or third tier for me.   I've written about this before but I was East Coast, so for me, it was "Twisted Sister", not Crue.  I think there were a lot of similarities at that time between the two bands, from the debut (two versions, one raw, one more polished) to the breakout album (Twisted's third, Stay Hungry and Crue's fifth, Dr. Feelgood), with a really strong record in between (Twisted's second, You Can't Stop Rock and Roll) and Crue's second Shout At The Devil and fourth, Girls Girls Girls).

How was Shout not Crue's breakout album?  It was certified platinum less than six months after it was released and was certified double platinum after only 16 months (eventually earning 3x platinum and 4x platinum certifications in 1989 and 1997, but I assume both of those were assisted by folks buying the album a second time on CD).  Dr. Feelgood was Crue's best selling album, but the band had "broken out" long before its release.  Feelgood was the last of five consecutive platinum albums, and all of the prior albums were at least 1x platinum (and 3 of the 4 were at least 2x platinum) before Feelgood was released.  I'd say Feelgood was more of a last hurrah than a breakout album.

Ten Seconds To Love is painful to sit through and unfortunately it plays on the radio at work a lot. 

Where the heck do you work that that song gets played on the radio "a lot"?   

[The Walrus]

Ten Seconds To Love is painful to sit through and unfortunately it plays on the radio at work a lot. 

Where the heck do you work that that song gets played on the radio "a lot"?   

I think my brother loads up some stations on Pandora radio. I don't know why that song gets played so much. 

[pg1067]

I liked "Shout At The Devil" more than most Crue, and I still think Dr. Feelgood is a very strong record, but Crue were always second or third tier for me.   I've written about this before but I was East Coast, so for me, it was "Twisted Sister", not Crue.  I think there were a lot of similarities at that time between the two bands, from the debut (two versions, one raw, one more polished) to the breakout album (Twisted's third, Stay Hungry and Crue's fifth, Dr. Feelgood), with a really strong record in between (Twisted's second, You Can't Stop Rock and Roll) and Crue's second Shout At The Devil and fourth, Girls Girls Girls).

How was Shout not Crue's breakout album?  It was certified platinum less than six months after it was released and was certified double platinum after only 16 months (eventually earning 3x platinum and 4x platinum certifications in 1989 and 1997, but I assume both of those were assisted by folks buying the album a second time on CD).  Dr. Feelgood was Crue's best selling album, but the band had "broken out" long before its release.  Feelgood was the last of five consecutive platinum albums, and all of the prior albums were at least 1x platinum (and 3 of the 4 were at least 2x platinum) before Feelgood was released.  I'd say Feelgood was more of a last hurrah than a breakout album.

By the way, the trajectory for Shout was similar to that for Stay Hungry, which was released in May 1984, certified platinum in October 1984 and certified 2x platinum in March 1985 (and certified 3x platinum in November 1995).  It moved a little more quickly than Shout because other bands (e.g., Def Leppard and Crue) had already laid some groundwork for TS's success.

[KevShmev]

I think I had Dr. Feelgood on cassette, but Motley Crue was otherwise a band for which I never bought full albums. And none of their songs have aged well enough for me to remain mainstays on my 80's playlists, although I sure did love the video for Girls, Girls, Girls at the age of 14.

[Cool Chris]

...although I sure did love the video for Girls, Girls, Girls at the age of 14.

No doubt that was one of my favorites at the time.

[Stadler]

I liked "Shout At The Devil" more than most Crue, and I still think Dr. Feelgood is a very strong record, but Crue were always second or third tier for me.   I've written about this before but I was East Coast, so for me, it was "Twisted Sister", not Crue.  I think there were a lot of similarities at that time between the two bands, from the debut (two versions, one raw, one more polished) to the breakout album (Twisted's third, Stay Hungry and Crue's fifth, Dr. Feelgood), with a really strong record in between (Twisted's second, You Can't Stop Rock and Roll) and Crue's second Shout At The Devil and fourth, Girls Girls Girls).

How was Shout not Crue's breakout album?  It was certified platinum less than six months after it was released and was certified double platinum after only 16 months (eventually earning 3x platinum and 4x platinum certifications in 1989 and 1997, but I assume both of those were assisted by folks buying the album a second time on CD).  Dr. Feelgood was Crue's best selling album, but the band had "broken out" long before its release.  Feelgood was the last of five consecutive platinum albums, and all of the prior albums were at least 1x platinum (and 3 of the 4 were at least 2x platinum) before Feelgood was released.  I'd say Feelgood was more of a last hurrah than a breakout album.

I won't argue any of that.   At least around me, "Dr. Feelgood" was more ubiquitous (in the same way that Stay Hungry was, with the two hit singles that otherwise didn't do the album justice).  The second, third and fourth singles were not "Shout At The Devil" heavy, if you get my drift (though they weren't exactly Home Sweet Home, either), but I'm not married to the details as much as I was the general premise.   Crue was, to me, a second-tier LA band, with all that entails (including a singer that wanted to be Dave Roth) and Twisted was a second-tier NY band, with all THAT entails (including a singer that wanted to be Gene Simmons). 

[TAC]

I got into Motley Crue with their first album. I loved it, and Shout At The Devil was great. Still is, honestly. Ten Seconds To Love (I know..lyrics..right?) is awesome as is Bastard.

Ten Seconds To Love is painful to sit through and unfortunately it plays on the radio at work a lot. 

Oops.

I still think Dr. Feelgood is a very strong record,

After a very disappointing Theater Of Pain, and meh GGG, I thought Dr. Feelgood showed a great maturity in songwriting and playing.

I liked "Shout At The Devil" more than most Crue, and I still think Dr. Feelgood is a very strong record, but Crue were always second or third tier for me.   I've written about this before but I was East Coast, so for me, it was "Twisted Sister", not Crue.  I think there were a lot of similarities at that time between the two bands, from the debut (two versions, one raw, one more polished) to the breakout album (Twisted's third, Stay Hungry and Crue's fifth, Dr. Feelgood), with a really strong record in between (Twisted's second, You Can't Stop Rock and Roll) and Crue's second Shout At The Devil and fourth, Girls Girls Girls).   

I never made an East Coast West Coast (great Joe Perry song BTW...) connection. Never really compared the two bands. Dr. Feelgood was really the end of their Classic Era. They had already been touring arenas for two album cycles before Dr. Feelgood.

[Kwyjibo]

Mötley Crüe's self-titled is the only record of them I can listen to without wanting to skip some of the tracks. Dr. Feelgood has potential, the rest hasn't really grabbed me other than a song here or there.

[jingle.boy]

I didn't get 'in' to Crue until Dr. Feelgood, then went in reverse order on their discography.  Shout is raw, heavy, unpolished... and very nice to listen to.  I'll take the debut over it any day, but Theatre of Pain and GGG fall into the TAC "it blows" bucket for me.  Couple of gems on both, but very weak overall.

[v_clortho]

Love 1987 but I was a huge Whitesnake fan anyway when that came along. I’d probably take Slide It In and Saints & Sinners over it but it’s a great album. Unfortunately, David’s voice had had its troubles by that time.

And Keel were a decent band, and their 1987 album is excellent, even if I’m the only one who thinks so 😀

You're not the only one. Keel were a good band. Final Frontier and the self-titled were great records.

[bosk1]

Stadler, I think some of your TS/Crue comparison is you viewing them from a NE lense.  TS were big and popular in their region.  Outside of the Northeast, they were successful, but not huge.  Outside of that area, they weren't going to sell out an arena as a headliner in too many places like they would back home.  Crue were definitely huge in L.A.  But they could still sell out arenas pretty much everywhere.  So I think I see some East Coast bias in that comparison.  And I'm not trying to call that out as being inappropriate or anything.  I'm just saying that I think the comparison is off, but I think I see and understand why.

[Grappler]

No interest in commenting about some of the prior albums...but Shout at the Devil?   

This is my favorite Crue album.  I got into them in the mid-late 90's and saw them for the first time in 1999.  Talk about the bad boys...there was so much excitement going into the tour and show because Tommy had just gotten out of jail (for abusing Pamela Anderson) and was touring with the band again.  Vince was back.  They came to my college town and played the basketball arena.  I got 3rd row seats, but just walked up to the front and took a spot on the rail like I owned the place.     Front row, first time seeing Motley Crue, high-fives from Vince and Tommy.  Nikki's bass pick.  They were on fire and played an awesome set. 

I had the greatest hits record and when they re-released the catalog, I got the first two albums right away.  Shout at the Devil is the band firing on all cylinders.  It's heavy, it has great songs and their image perfectly fit the music.  And the deeper cuts kick so much ass - Bastard, Red Hot, Knock Em Dead Kid - they're tust as great as the hit songs.  The only tune I don't like is Helter Skelter, but whatever.  It's an awesome album!

[Stadler]

Stadler, I think some of your TS/Crue comparison is you viewing them from a NE lense.  TS were big and popular in their region.  Outside of the Northeast, they were successful, but not huge.  Outside of that area, they weren't going to sell out an arena as a headliner in too many places like they would back home.  Crue were definitely huge in L.A.  But they could still sell out arenas pretty much everywhere.  So I think I see some East Coast bias in that comparison.  And I'm not trying to call that out as being inappropriate or anything.  I'm just saying that I think the comparison is off, but I think I see and understand why.

Exactly; but that's the whole point.  I grew up an hour or so (little more) from NYC, got the New York radio stations, and by the time I was getting into metal, I was too young to go to the clubs,  but the legend of Twisted Sister in the Tri-state area was already huge.  So I'm copping to the NE bias; in hindsight, with research, Crue WERE the bigger band (and obviously have sustained their career in a way that Twisted has not) but first impressions die hard, and that was mine.

[TAC]

I think with Twisted Sister, it was more of a NY bias than a NE bias.

You Can't Stop Rock And Roll, IMO, is the best album by either band, with Shout At The Devil right behind it.


I think to the country as a whole, Twisted Siste'rs image on the Stay Hungry hits were too image inducing rather than focusing on the music. In reality, they were probably more "street" than Motley Crue was, but they had their face painted like clowns. They were a great band
'
Unfortunately, they could never just catch the hair metal wave of the late 80's. A wave that was tailor made for Motley Crue.

[bosk1]

Exposé - Exposure

Songs:
-Come Go with Me
-Let Me Be the One
-Exposed to Love
-Seasons Change
-Extra Extra
-Point of No Return
-Love Is Our Destiny
-I Know You Know
-You're the One I Need
-December

Despite this album being pretty far outside of my go-to types of music, I actually enjoyed it a fair amount back in the day.  Listening to a few songs now...it doesn't quite have much staying power.    But still, it is rare for a debut album to spawn 4 top 10 singles.  The album's Wikipedia page also lists a 5th single that didn't chart as high, but I also remember a sixth, Extra Extra getting a fair amount of radio play at the time. 

I don't expect much love for this album here.  ...or even that much discussion.  But I couldn't leave it out.  It's just too iconic to omit from an '80s thread.

[pg1067]

Exposé - Exposure

I have no idea who this is and don't recognize any of the songs.

[Cool Chris]

I know Seasons Change, that's it.   

I did also like I'll Never Get Over You Getting Over Me which was on another album. A great high school "I just got dumped" song.

[ProfessorPeart]

I have vague memories of Exposé. I looked at the Wikipedia page for this album and instantly recognized the cover. I probably have heard most of the songs and I definitely remember Seasons Change. The chorus is somehow running through my head now.

[Lowdz]

I got into Motley Crue with their first album. I loved it, and Shout At The Devil was great. Still is, honestly. Ten Seconds To Love (I know..lyrics..right?) is awesome as is Bastard.

Ten Seconds To Love is painful to sit through and unfortunately it plays on the radio at work a lot. 

Oops.

I still think Dr. Feelgood is a very strong record,

After a very disappointing Theater Of Pain, and meh GGG, I thought Dr. Feelgood showed a great maturity in songwriting and playing.

I liked "Shout At The Devil" more than most Crue, and I still think Dr. Feelgood is a very strong record, but Crue were always second or third tier for me.   I've written about this before but I was East Coast, so for me, it was "Twisted Sister", not Crue.  I think there were a lot of similarities at that time between the two bands, from the debut (two versions, one raw, one more polished) to the breakout album (Twisted's third, Stay Hungry and Crue's fifth, Dr. Feelgood), with a really strong record in between (Twisted's second, You Can't Stop Rock and Roll) and Crue's second Shout At The Devil and fourth, Girls Girls Girls).   

I never made an East Coast West Coast (great Joe Perry song BTW...) connection. Never really compared the two bands. Dr. Feelgood was really the end of their Classic Era. They had already been touring arenas for two album cycles before Dr. Feelgood.

OMG I’m agreeing with a whole TAC post 😱

SATD was my first Crue album, just before seeing them open the Donington Monsters Of Rock festival in 84. I liked it a lot ..Dr Feelgood is a great album but the rest of their catalogue was hit and miss. I didn’t bother with anything after th3 self titled which I pretty much hated.

[pg1067]

I looked at the Wikipedia page for this album and instantly recognized the cover.

Wow...I just checked that out and also recognize the album cover (the girl on the right looks like a dude!).  Still don't have the slightest idea about any of the songs.

[Stadler]

if anyone is interested, I have a copy in very good condition (but not mint; some scratches to the case, and slight marks on the disk that do not affect play!) is up for auction on eBay!

(I am not joking, though I am also not selling here; I just thought it was funny.)

[TAC]

OMG I’m agreeing with a whole TAC post 😱

Don't fight it Paul. Just let it wash over you.

[King Postwhore]

OMG I’m agreeing with a whole TAC post 😱

Don't fight it Paul. Just let it wash over you.

How Tim talks to every man he's with.

[TAC]

OMG I’m agreeing with a whole TAC post 😱

Don't fight it Paul. Just let it wash over you.

How Tim talks to every man he's with.

You would know. 

[Kwyjibo]

I thought I never heard of Exposé, I went to wikipedia and now I'm convinced I never heard of them.

[jingle.boy]

Exposé - Exposure

I have no idea who this is and don't recognize any of the songs.

And

I thought I never heard of Exposé, I went to wikipedia and now I'm convinced I never heard of them.

[Dublagent66]

I must admit that I missed the Exposé boat myself.  However, there's a lot of good stuff in this thread.  Most of it I am familiar with and appreciate quite a bit.  Never got into Depeche Mode.

[bosk1]

Iron Maiden - Number of the Beast

Songs:
-Invaders
-Children of the Damned
-The Prisoner
-22 Acacia Avenue
-The Number of the Beast
-Run to the Hills
-Gangland
-Hallowed Be Thy Name

Yeah, I know that even posting a track list is somewhat controversial.  But that's the one I'm going with.

Hard to come up with something to say about this album that hasn't already been discussed to death.  But I couldn't leave it out either.  As a kid, I was offput by what appeared to be satanic themes.  It was not until a long time later that I would understand what the title song was about.  But notwithstanding Harris and others protesting that anyone who reacted that way simply wasn't paying attention, the band capitalized tremendously on the misperception, and it played a huge part in catapulting them to fame. 

I have to thank DT for covering this album, or else I'm not sure if and when I ever would have given it a chance. 

[Podaar]

I liked Killers and was a fan-light of the band until this record came out and catapulted me into devoted, rabid fandom. Bruce just elevated IM into the league of metal supermen. Great, great album!

[The Walrus]

Invaders, The Prisoner, and Gangland are utterly dreadful but each of the other songs is a home run. Children of the Damned in particular, and Hallowed Be Thy Name is Maiden's best song imo. Great album marred by a few crap songs but otherwise holy cow, what a statement this album was after the first two. Can't imagine being lucky enough to have seen them back around this time.