Disco de Mötley Crüe: “Saints Of Los Angeles [PA]”

3.5 Stars

Considering that drummer Tommy Lee was absent from the band's last album "New Tattoo," (2000) that singer Vince Neil basically dubbed over John Corabi's vocals for "Generation Swine" (1997) and Neil was absent from the band's self-titled CD, "Motley Crue," (1994) in some respects Motley Crue's ninth album "Saints of Los Angeles" (2008) is the first "true" Motley album since "Dr. Feelgood" (1989).

Loosely based on the band's autobiography "The Dirt," "Saints of Los Angeles" is a semi-concept album, the major theme being the lifestyle of rock n' roll excess in the city of Los Angeles. Clocking in at 45 minutes, SOLA is a go-for-the-jugular, lean, mean, gritty album that, like "New Tattoo" sees the band, pardon the cliche, "return to their roots," after the alternative leaning "Generation Swine" and the Soundgarden/STP styling of the self-titled album.

"Saints of Los Angeles" has a lot of things going for it. For one thing the band sounds great--never better, in fact. The Crue sounds totally energized and on fire. The songs themselves also manage to sound like classic, sleazy Crue, but also have a modern touch, as the production is terrific--so "Saints of Los Angeles" sounds retro, but doesn't at the same time. The pacing of the album is also great--it's pure straight-up rock that never drags, so you can listen to the entire album all the way through without having to skip a track. The album is thoroughly enjoyable, from start to finish.

But while the album and the band sound great, SOLA unfortunately doesn't really have any truly great songs. While all the songs are definitely good--their isn't a gem like "Kickstart My Heart," "Primal Scream" or "Too Young to Fall in Love" to be found. The songwriting on "New Tattoo" was actually stronger than it is here, as those songs had more memorable melodies with stronger hooks. Perhaps next time Sixx should write most the songs himself, like he did in the past, and not rely on Michael/Ashba/Frederiksen.

While "Saints of Los Angeles" may not live up to the band's earlier work like "Shout at the Devil," (1983) "Girls, Girls, Girls" (1987) or "Dr. Feelgood," it's still a strong album, none-the-less. If you're a fan of the band, you'll definitely find something to like here.

I am stunned at how good this album is. Although I hoped for the best, I was actually expecting to be disappointed, but the Crue have delivered some serious rock with Saints of Los Angeles. The CD opens with the roaring "Face Down in the Dirt," which is an all-out rocker, and it just doesn't let up through track 13.

The production of this album is excellent. The guitar tone is as raw as Mick sounds when they play live. It's loud & rude and aggressive from start to finish. Unlike some of the older Crue albums where the bass is buried and inaudible, Nikki's bass cuts through on each track. And then there's the drums. Up until now, I'd say Tommy's best playing was on their self-titled album featuring Corabi. But on SOLA, Tommy's playing is outstanding. He's creative and interesting without overplaying. Few drummers can pull that off, but Tommy does.

All the tracks are good, but my favorites are "Face Down in the Dirt," "Down at the Whiskey," "Just Another Psycho," and "This Ain't a Love Song." Interestingly, the title track on here sounds even better than the single I downloaded from iTunes.

Motley delivered the goods on this one.

Having been a Motley Crue fan ever since I first herd the opening riff to Live Wire back all those years ago, the band has managed to keep me interested in what they're doing to this day.

I've loved some of their release and though others were sub par, Generation Swine and Theater of Pain were pretty crappy to say the least. However they have also had some real gems along the way as well. The first release was awesome and Shout was as every bit as exciting to hear. Girls had a few great tunes and lots of filler. Dr. Feelgood was a very good cd and probably their best one to that point and time. I was one of a few who really enjoyed the cd they released with John Corabi on vocals as that cd brought the band to a more straight ahead feel and took them away from the 80's hair metal daze. However that line up didn't last long unfortunately and that's a shame as that release is one of my favorites from this band.

This new release is a fresh start really after being apart for a few years and doing other things with other people. Well I'm happy to say that I really believe that this latest release from the bad boys of rock is by far their best one in years. In fact, I might go as far as saying it's the most cohesive effort of all time. The tunes are all very solid and sound alive and very fresh. They don't sound dated at all, which means this band with Vince at the mike has manage to evolve which is something I though they couldn't do with Vince at the helm. Nothing against Vince, but the Motley Crue with Corabi evolved in spades and when Vince returned it was back to the same sounding hair metal 80's that was past it's prime in a big way.

However like I said, this new Crue is just that, it's fresh sounding, it's well put together from a song writing prospective as all the tunes are solid even though their are no hits as a few have pointed out. It's just a darn good listen from start to finish. The production is also very well done as the instruments are heard and felt, which of course is the way it should be. You wont find any thin sounding instruments here, great job.

I might even go as far as saying, it just might be the best release ever! If this is the kind of future release we should expect from a revitalized Motley Crue?, then bring it on cause it kicks butt!

Saints Of Los Angeles is a true return to classic form for Motley Crue! With the original lineup intact, they sound as fresh as they did back in 1985! The title track "Saints of Los Angeles" is reminiscent of their song "Wild Side" from back in the day! Vince Neil has the same vocal abilities that he did in the 80's--Truly fantastic album! If you buy this one I guarantee it will not dissapoint!

Well, apparently gone are the days when Motley could write songs on their own. EVERY SONG here has at least two outside writers, and most have three. I went back to my CD collection to compare, and aside from cover songs, THREE total songs out of their original lineup collection (81-89) had outside writers. What happened? Shouldn't they be better at this by now and need less help writing songs? If you want to buy this album to hear what Nikki, Mick, Tommy and Vince have to say, forget it. But if you want to hear words and chords from James Michael, DJ Ashba and Marti Frederiksen, then yeah this is your CD.