The Toy Box: Mötley Crüe

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Retro Spins: Mötley Crüe - Girls, Girls, Girls

So, here we are, my last day of Mötley Crüe. For those of you keeping up, I made a push over these past three days to get through their remaining 80's albums. I originally listened to their 1981 debut, Too Fast For Love, and final album of the 80's, 1989's Dr. Feelgood. Then yesterday and the day before, made my way through 1983's Shout At The Devil, and 1985's Theatre Of Pain. That leaves me with just 1987's Girls, Girls, Girls. Off we go then.

Firing it up, I was greeted by a song I had forgotten from Crüe, Wild Side. I love discovering forgotten songs. More importantly, I love adding them to my shuffle so they won't be forgotten again. This was followed by the title track, and frankly, set the bar rather high for Girls, Girls, Girls (the album).

At this point I was hoping it would be a return to Shout At The Devil, wherein tracks were repeatedly good, if not just okay, versus Theatre Of Pain, which wasn't bad, also not necessarily good, but kind of forgettable. I believe the kids these days would call that, "meh".

Sumthin' For Nuthin' (terrible spelling), and You're All I Need, were the only other two stand out tracks from the album. The rest, was pretty much relegated to background noise. I suppose at this point, it may have been Mötley Crüe fatigue from listening to three albums back to back to back in a two and a half hour timespan. Regardless, this one too was relegated to the, "just okay" pile.

This wraps up my journey through Mötley Crüe. It wasn't one I would say I hated. However, I also wouldn't profess that it blew me away. Crüe has their hits, they also have their share of deep cuts, but they're not going to be my favorite band from the 80's. Not by a longshot. They are, though, a band I'm glad to have in my collection. They're a staple of the era, and like I said, they have good tunes, here and there.

What I'm particularly happy about is the progress I've been making through my albums in 2025. This has been a long time coming to actually put in the time to listen to what I actually own, versus just continuing to jump around the thousands of songs I know and love. Though there have been hits and misses, it's still been an overall enjoyable experience to simply have the time to sit and listen to music. I'm looking forward to the next four and a half months of further listening sessions, and if nothing else, crossing off another 120+ albums on my checklist. I should crunch the numbers and see how many more I actually need to get through. I"m sure a lot.

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Disclaimer: They Toy Box does not endorse or contribute to piracy. Retro Spins posts are intended for educational and entertainment purposes only. None of the music discussed here is available for sale, downloading or distribution.

THIS WEEK ON THE CHARTS
August 19, 1989

Retro Spins: Mötley Crüe - Theatre Of Pain

I continue my wrap up journey of Mötley Crüe, heading straight into 1985's Theatre Of Pain, hot on the heels of 1983's Shout At The Devil.

As you may recall from yesterday's post, I'm not a big fan of the people behind Crüe, as such, I'm not going to delve deeply into their history, like I would with other artists from the era. Instead, I'm just going to jump into the album.

What made Shout At The Devil shine, seems to have all been stripped from Theatre Of Pain. In comparison, it's simply not as catchy. While it does have the hits, Smokin' In The Boys Room, and Home Sweet Home, this appears to be all it has to offer.

As I played through it, I wouldn't say I heard anything bad. Rather, it was all just mediocre, and kind of forgettable. The last track, Fight For Your Rights, was kind of the perfect example of what summed up everything for me. It had a solid guitar lick, and the verses felt like they were building and building, but then the chorus just didn't deliver.

Instead, I'd rather take a side step, and point out the current layout for Retro Spins. This background was made by taking photos of the various 80's artists, dumping them in an AI caricature creator, and tada, fun images popped out! With a little editing, PDF'ing, and moving "people" around to fit in and around each other, and you get...well, the end results here. I dig it. Did AI do a good job? How many do you recognize?

Oh...right Mötley Crüe's Theatre Of Pain...Eh...it was okay. Nothing worth writing home (sweet home) about. It doesn't leave me frothing at the mouth to jump into their final album I have to hear from the 80's. But, I suppose I will anyway.

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THIS WEEK ON THE CHARTS
August 18, 1984

Retro Spins: Mötley Crüe - Shout At The Devil

I have a love / hate relationship with Mötley Crüe. I own their 80's discography, love a bunch of their hits, and deep cuts, but hate certain publicized aspects of their personal lives. Its that aspect of separate the art from the artist that I try to follow, but yet, with Crüe, I can't seem to do that. This often lends to me skipping past their music more frequently than it deserves to be.

Well, today, I'm gonna knuckle down, and get through it. I've already reviewed their 1981 debut, Too Fast For Love, and final album of the 80's, 1989's Dr. Feelgood. So, with three albums to go, and not much I really want to touch on the band, let's just jump in to 1983's Shout At The Devil.

What surprised me while listening to the album was how good it was. While I knew the title track, thank you, Guitar Hero, it was never really one of my personal favorites. However, as a whole, with intro track, In The Beginning, and follow up, Looks That Kill, it really resonates. In fact, I was finding myself liking things a lot up through track four, Bastard.

It was with their cover of The Beatles, Helter Skelter, that I started to be less invested. It was a decent attempt at the tune, but frankly, not being all that big of a fan of the original, or the group behind it, it doesn't resonate. Equally, its follow-up song, Red Hot only teetered on the edge of "okay".

With exception of, Too Young To Fall In Love, the remainder of Shout At The Devil was relatively mediocre, at best. Things were catchy here and there, but nothing really shouted (at the devil), "Add me to your shuffle list!"

Overall, I'm glad I finally got around to hearing this one. Like I said above, Mötley Crüe has good music. It's just a hurdle for me to get over certain personal aspects of the band. But, my plan is to keep going. One down, two to go. See you next time.

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THIS WEEK ON THE CHARTS
August 17, 1985

Retro Spins: Mötley Crüe - Too Fast For Love

Sex, drugs, rock 'n roll, and excess. Those words sum up Mötley Crüe in a nutshell.

Bassist Nikki Sixx and drummer Tommy Lee first joined together with guitarist/lead vocalist Greg Leon came together in Hollywood, California, in 1981, but Leon would rather quickly be replaced by Mick Mars, and new vocalist, Michael White. However, White's time would also be short, being replace by Vince Neil. With the classic lineup in place, Mötley Crüe was officially formed.

After meeting manager, Allan Coffman, the band would release their first single under Leathür Records, Stick to Your Guns / Toast of the Town. Their self produced debut album, Too Fast For Love, would follow in 1981, and we immediately pause here to jump into today's Retro Spin.

The first edition of their album was limited to 900 copies, and featured not only a different track listing, but different mixes and recordings of the songs which remained, and would be used for later pressings under Elektra Records. Critics praised the album and band, but stated they came across as a bar band shingling more in their enthusiasm than for their technical skills. Despite this, the album would go gold, and grab the attention of Elektra, who signed them to their label.

As I played Too Fast For Love, what I immediately picked up on was the garage band feel it had. The sound wasn't crisp like one would expect. Rather, it sounded almost dampened, muffled even. This was odd, because one would have expected from a re-recorded and mixed Elektra first print that this would have produced a better sound quality.

Still, perhaps where it also shines is in this arena where it does come across as raw. Though the album was lead by the single, Live Wire, I personally favored Merry-Go-Round, and Take Me To The Top, the latter which was not included in the original Leathür release. Further, the guitar work of Mick Mars on Piece Of The Action, really drew me in, even if Neil's screaming tried as best as possible to deflect my ears.

I also want to pause a moment, and focus on the album cover. It borrows quite liberally from the Rolling Stones 1971 album, Sticky Fingers. Homage, or rip off?

Overall, it was the work of Mars which kept drawing me into tracks, and I dare say he may have been the driving force for why the Crüe's debut was so successful. Of course, unless you were living under a rock in the 80's, or (gasp) born too late to have been part of it, Mötley Crüe went on to only get bigger and bigger throughout the decade.

1983's Shout At The Devil, 1985's Theatre Of Pain, 1987's Girls, Girls, Girls, and 1989's Dr. Feelgood, all went platinum, with the latter being their biggest album to date. But, a career of excess certainly took its toll, and none of the members were without problems.

Neil was charged with manslaughter in 1984 when he killed the passenger of his car, and left two passengers of the vehicle he struck with brain damage. Mick Mars has openly talked about drug abuse, and his suffering from ankylosing spondylitis, a debilitating form of arthritis. Tommy Lee was the dictionary definition of excess, constantly in the spotlight for over the top behavior, not helped at all when his personal videotape was stolen from his home and distributed across the world. However, perhaps even that couldn't top Nikki Six literally dying, and being pronounced dead from overdose before being miraculously resuscitated.

Turmoil within the band eventually came to a head, and Neil was ultimately left in 1992, replaced by John Corabi for their 1994 self titled album. Fans were not amused.

While the original members would reunite and release 1997's Generation Swine, increasing tensions between Neil and Lee would lead to the drummer quitting in 1999. He was replaced by former Ozzy Osborne drummer, Randy Castillo for 2000's New Tattoo. Unfortunately, the album failed to chart, or reach any level of certifications. It remains their worst selling to date.

The original lineup would eventually reconcile, well, long enough to release 2008's Sons Of Los Angeles. In 2023, Mick Mars filed a suite against his former band mates stating they were gaslighting him, and cutting him out of future profits after saying he was retiring from touring.

Sadly, it seems the Crüe will never be the same, bowing out from the spotlight together as a unified band, but rather opting to go down fighting amongst themselves. Perhaps things should have simply been neatly tied up in a bow in 1989 at their peak with Dr. Feelgood. Things honestly haven't been the same for them since.

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THIS WEEK ON THE CHARTS
March 24, 1984

Retro Spins: Mötley Crüe - Dr. Feelgood

My introduction to Mötley Crüe was in 1989 as I heard the cassette of Dr. Feelgood repeatedly blared through my brother's speakers from his room next door. I don't honestly know if he ever got any of the band's other albums, but for the fall / winter of that year, I got very antiquated with the album, and it has become one of my all time favorite "metal" albums of the 80's.

The album rattles into high gear right from the start, and continues to throttle down the road all the way to the end. Even the ballad, Without You doesn't deter its momentum. The album is determined to do nothing short of provide the listener with forty-five minutes of unapologetic hard rock. Which it does without a hitch.

It's difficult to separate the good from the bad tracks, because honestly, there really aren't any bad ones. Instead, I would classify the songs with powerhouse, good and decent.

The powerhouse ones are easily; Dr. Feelgood, Kickstart My Heart, Same Ol' Situation (S.O.S.) and Don't Go Away Mad (Just Go Away). The good are; Rattlesnake Shake and Sticky Sweet, The decent consist of; T.n.T. (Terror 'N Tinseltown), Slice Of Your Pie, She Goes Down and Time For Change. Together, they make for a fantastic album.

This is definitely one I recommend for those looking for a great album from start to finish.

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