My interest for MOTLEY CRUE died out after the excellent album Dr Feelgood that remained in the first position in the US charts for quite sometime. After that album all the inside problems and addictions surfaced up and made the lineup really unstable. The albums that followed did not have the band's initial spark bringing the CRUE in front of a dead end.
Eventually, another reunion was on the making that became reality with the release of the compilation Red, White & Crue in the early 2005. The renewed interest in the band and the publicity impact of the tours that followed kind of convinced the original lineup to enter the studio and make a new album. Things got bigger and bigger and 'Crue Fest' was born to support the The Saints Of Los Angeles which the title of the album from the original lineup after almost nine years.
After the short into L.A.M.F and some spoken words Face Down In The Dirt kicks in. The song has the ‘dirty' MOTLEY CRUE attitude that will take you some years (or should I say decades) back and an excellent bass guitar sound to go with. The band has managed to create an album that will definitely remind you of their glorious days but through a conscious perspective of the years that have passed. This means that there is a high level of maturity in the album proving that these guys know exactly what they want to do and how to do it. The homonymous song bears the same atmosphere with Dr Feelgood with the 'wah' guitar effect, the compact bass-drums rhythm section and of course Vince Neil's trademark Glam vocals. MOTLEY CRUE's provocative attitude was one of the things that made them so popular and Mutherfucker Of The Year is song full of it with an ultimate catchy chorus. Animal In Me is a powerful song with a strong groove and excellent soulful vocals melodies in the bridge and the chorus. Women (especially the beautiful ones) are one of the main lyrical subjects in the bands discography so Chicks=Trouble and This Ain't A Love Song come really naturally. Man have I missed this sound!
I was kind of surprised and relieved by the fact that there is no ballad here but I think this happened naturally; almost all the guys in the band had for their reasons some demons to find (and some of them still do) so the raw sound and the dark atmosphere hidden under the surface are 100% justified.
After this discographic return I am feeling totally anxious to watch them on-stage with their 'Crue Fest'. Welcome back boys!