Review Summary: After my last horribly horrible review of Van Halen III, I decided to redeem myself with a review of a Motley Crue album I like. Pretty good album with some nice songs.
Motley Crue. It was a big deal back then. Motley Crue were considered Satan-worshippers, with albums like this and Shout At The Devil. Then, Theatre Of Pain rolled around and since then no one was scared of the Crue anymore. They ended up selling out and doing what every other band at the time was doing. Well, I guess they never really "sold out", but they declined in the middle 80's, and with 1989's Dr. Feelgood, they redeemed themselves by putting out a decent album. Then, everything went downhill from there, and like classic rockers AC/DC and KISS, they haven't put out an album since 2000.
But this is their debut, and it's their second best, first being SATD, third being Dr. Feelgood, and fourth being Girls, Girls, Girls. The other album fail. Girls, Girls, Girls fails, but not too much. Enough of that though, time to get on with the review. The album begins with a Crue classic, featured on Tony Hawk's American Wasteland, the song "Live Wire". This a catchy hard rock song with amazing riffs, as well as a song with a great chorus. I like Vince's vocals, unlike most people. The tune ends with some good drummin' by Tommy Lee, and then it's over.
"Come On And Dance" is a very weak song compared to the likes of "Live Wire", but that doesn't mean that it is a bad song. The lyrics are pretty dumb though, and that's one of the major downsides to it. The riffs are pretty standard, and the opening riff is quite average. The chorus is moderately catchy, but overall, this song isn't that great.
"Public Enemy #1" is an improvement, but not as good as the opening track. This song is about three times better than the previous track though. First, the chorus isn't as annoying, and it's very catchy. I like the sound of the riffs and the awesome guitar solo in this tune. The bass playing is pretty good as well. Decent track.
"Merry-Go-Round", the fourth track, is a good tune and all, but it's not as good as the previous track. Still good though. It's a pretty slow song, and sort of like a ballad. It's a really catchy song though, and they manage to make a pretty good song overall. The riffs are nothing spectacular though, and the solo shows that the guitar is lacking the power of the other solos. Good track.
Track number five, "Take Me To The Top" is just the catchy arena rock tune I needed! A fast riff kicks this song off, followed by a verse. The verse and chorus are super catchy, as well as the riffs in this song. I really like the riffs. The solo's alright, but nothing too special, but overall, this is a catchy and fun hair-metal hard rocker.
"Piece Of Your Action" is another catchy hard rock tune, and while similar to the previous track, it's a tiny bit different and it's not as good, but it's close to being as good as it. The main riff is pretty sweet, with a smooth chorus and a very quick guitar solo. It's a moderately heavy song, and a good one at that.
"Starry Eyes" is a huge disappointment compared to the last few tracks. It's sort of boring, and the lyrics are kinda dumb, but it's not a bad song. The chorus is average at best, and the riffs are just disappointing. Not bad, but not too good either.
"Too Fast For Love" is just good flat-out rock and roll music! It's a catchy arena rock lover's tune! Easily one of the best songs on the album. The chorus is extremely catchy, and if you here the song six years ago, and don't hear it since, the chorus will pop in your head again. Decent riffs, and a good bridge make this a great song.
"On With The Show" is a catchy tune, but not as good as the title track, the opener, or some of the others, but still good. It has a pop sound to it, but it's certainly not pop. It's just kind of "poppy". There's some melodic guitar and a decent chorus, and overrall, it's a good closer.
Well, Motley Crue's Too Fast For Love isn't a classic, but it's a good, hard-rockin', sleazy lyric packed, down and dirty, arena rock, metal staple. Deserves to be in every Crue fan's collection, but their second effort is the magnum opus. What might that be? Why, Shout At The Devil of course. That, my friends, is a classic.
Recommended Tracks:
Live Wire
Too Fast For Love
Take Me To The Top
OVERALL: 4/5
