Review: Motley Crue Release ‘Dr. Feelgood (35th Anniversary Edition)’ – Lame Box For A Great Album

As long time readers know, I like to keep it positive around here. There’s enough negativity in the world without me bitching and moaning about rock n roll. But of late, I’ve found myself in a foul mood. And unfortunately for them, Motley Crue has released a baffling box set to celebrate the 35th anniversary of their masterpiece 1989 album Dr. Feelgood just when my bad mood is peaking. This thing couldn’t be more of a cash grab if they’d named it Dr. Feelgood (Cash Grab Box). As the Rock Chick, who really turned me onto Motley Crue, said, “Who would buy this?”

And please, don’t get me wrong, I really like Motley Crue. I recently posted about my favorite Hair Metal bands and the Crue were at the top of that list. Nikki Sixx, bass player/songwriter, is known as a shrewd band leader but clearly he’s lost his way. I will admit, I was a late adopter on the Crue. Their “heyday” was obviously, the 80s…specifically 1981 (when their great debut album came out) through 1989 when they released the chart topping Dr. Feelgood. After that lead singer Vince Neil split the band for an ill-advised solo career (although who amongst us didn’t like “You’re Invited (But Your Friend Can’t Come)”? And, in the 80s I was (mostly) in high school and college. And while I was aware of what was “then current” and was buying the latest records from U2, Springsteen, and Bob Seger, I was more in my “rock historian” era. I was looking backwards, collecting all those albums I hadn’t picked up by the Stones, Zeppelin or the Faces. And lets face it, all the Hair Metal bands basically had the same formulaic video script: big hair, make up, leather, scantily clad “chicks’…and alas, when I was in college MTV was really our only source of rock n roll as the local radio stations were strictly pop. That’s when cassettes really became an important part of my rock n roll arsenal. I’d start the car and pop the tape in immediately to be spared from hearing Madonna, Michael Jackson or gads, Wham!…

In the 80s when Motley Crue was putting out those first five, very solid albums I was busy sitting in my buddy Drew’s room down the hall listening to CSNY’s Deja Vu or a cassette of a Springsteen bootleg from 1978. I wasn’t cranking “Smokin’ In The Boys” room from Motley’s Theater Of Pain. I was aware of them but only on a superficial level. I knew they had a great drummer in Tommy Lee (who was apparently hung like a bear) who liked to play upside down in the rafters, which even I will admit is a pretty cool stunt. The Rock Chick, who in her teens and early 20s, was out earning her nickname actually saw the Crue on whatever tour they debuted the flying drummer stunt. She was the Rock Chick long before I dubbed her so.

The first time I remember thinking there might be some merit to this Crue band was when I saw the video (and heard the song) “Home Sweet Home.” It may be lame to admit that it was a power ballad that turned me onto this hard rock band, but I would bet that I’m not the only one who that happened to. I remember the video…a beautiful woman sitting on her boyfriends shoulders in the crowd… he pulls her top off and they cut it right before we all saw anything. I also remember seeing the video for the Crue’s cover for the old Brownsville Station track (the aforementioned) “Smokin’ In The Boys Room.” It tells you how little I was paying attention that both of those songs were from Theater Of Pain, Motley’s third album. Three albums in and I was just noticing them? I completely missed Shout At The Devil.

I remember starting to dig the Crue after that. Girls Girls Girls had some good tunes. And by then they’d stopped blowing their hair out and wiped the make up off. In the video for the title track they were all butched up in denim and leather, riding Harleys around. But still I remained aloof from the Crue. By 1989 I was in the corporate world, at my first “real” job, in what I considered my exile period in Ft. Smith, Arkansas. I was still getting my rock fix through MTV as Ft Smith radio stations made my college town’s radio sound cool. Sitting in my sparsely decorated 1-bedroom apartment on a used couch/hide-a-bed watching the video for “Dr. Feelgood” on a small color TV, I remember thinking, “Hey, that’s great music.”

The Crue finally hit superstar status with Dr. Feelgood. This was coming off Nikki Sixx overdosing and being clinically dead for two minutes before being revived. Many members of the band were trying to get sober, or so they say. Key word “trying.” They brought in hard rock producer Bob Rock and he blew up everything they did well…one might say Bob Rock turned them up to “11.” The title track was a slippery hard rock song about a drug dealer. “Don’t Go Away Mad (Just Go Away)” was a great breakup(?) song. The whole album is full of big nasty riffs from guitarist Mick Mars and crazy drumming from Tommy. “Kickstart My Heart” about Nikki’s death and resurrection is another great rock n roll track. “Same Ol’ Situation” kicks off side two with a bang. “Without You” was the ballad, written by Tommy Lee for his then wife Heather Locklear. Tommy always did well with the ladies.

But this album was so much more than the hits. Even the deep tracks hit hard. “Slice Of Your Pie” and “Rattlesnake Shake” bring the sleaze and the hard rock and for any other band might have been singles. “Sticky Sweet” and “She Goes Down” are both window shakers. The final track, which almost feels political and was a stylistic left turn on the record was “Time For Change.” At first listen, it doesn’t seem to fit but it works. This is the perfect Crue album and perhaps the perfect Hair Metal album. I can’t, off the top of my head, think of a better album from that genre.

And now we have this 35th Anniversary Edition. I’m a noted fan of the box set and I love anniversary editions as long as they have good bonus content. In this case, we get a disc with only six tracks, all demos and most critically, stuff that has been available since the 20th Anniversary Edition dropped. There is one track that never was finished “Get It For Free,” that might be of some interest. So nothing like Billy Idol’s recent Rebel Yell set with a few extra tracks including the wonderful “Love Don’t Live Here Anymore.” There are no revelations on disc 2 here.

Skip to disc 3, the “live” disc and we get 5 tracks that again, were released 15 years ago. It’s not a full concert from back in the 80s. Its not even a full concert from recently. The second time I saw the Crue they performed Dr. Feelgood in it’s entirety… I’d have settled for a recording of one of those shows? I love all live Crue – I really dug Carnival Of Sins, which was the first tour I saw them on – but we only get 5 tracks here and again, I think they were recorded in the early 00s. It’s really disappointing.

I can’t think of any reason to go out and plunk down your hard earned cash for this set. I mean, if you’re really into the packaging? The new updated, made to look old, cover is cool. I’ll give credit to their graphic artist. This whole thing feels like a missed opportunity. At this point I’d stick with the original LP in whatever format you find it. I think we can all wait it out for that inevitable 40th Anniversary set… maybe then they’ll actually make the effort to provide some decent bonus material.

Sigh… I’m glad I got that off my chest. Cheers!