Album Review

Motley Crue – Dr. Feelgood

• 27th Sep 2009

Twenty years since marking a high point in the Motley Crue’s career, their hard rock opus Dr Feelgood is getting the special edition treatment with this double-disc set. But has it survived the ravages of time?

An LA glam band more famous for excessive indulgence than their music, Crue seem an unlikely source for one of the eighties’ classic albums. And it’s fair to say that Feelgood is showing its age – innuendo and contrived badassness abounds as expected – but stellar production from a pre-Black Album Bob Rock (word is that Lars Ulrich first contacted the producer after hearing his work here) ensures it’s all delivered well enough to transcend its maligned genre.

The songs are driven predominantly by Mick Mars’ virtuosic guitar work. His big, sleazy riffs on tracks like ‘rattlesnake shake’ are undeniably awesome, while his lead playing is distinctive and venomous, a cut above the wanky, arbitrary shredding ubiquitous in lesser 80s hard rock acts. There are no shortage of fist-pumping choruses either, and Vince Neill’s shrill voice shines on every stadium-ready climax.

The title track is the best-known cut from the record, but the closing double bill of ‘don’t go away mad’ and ‘time for change’ seem – intentionally or not – the most suited to an album released at the end of a decade and while the band were collectively trying to stay on the wagon; they eschew the machismo of the preceding songs in favour of a bittersweet, introspective vibe.

The second disc features a smattering of demo cuts from the album and live versions of some of the band’s hits that should please diehard fans.