Motley Crue - Too Fast for Love
#629
by Rob Haneisen
November 10 1981
Motley Crue
Too Fast for Love
Genre: Sleazy hard rock
Allen’s Rating: 4 out of 5
Rob’s Rating: 3.75 out of 5
Highlights:
Live Wire
Take me to the Top
For starters, this album gets in the 1981 category on a bit of a technicality. Yes, it was recorded in 1981 and 900 copies were independently distributed in 1981. But it wasn’t until the band landed a deal with a record label that this album was remixed and released in 1982.
Timing technicality aside, this album really is a watershed moment in 1980s rock and metal. I’ve seen Motely Crue referred to as the godfathers of glam metal but honestly, this album is not glam metal by any means. Sure, the guys dressed in platform heels, wore make-up and emptied cans of hairspray every night, but the music defines the genre, not the fashion. This is sleazy hard rock, the kind of LA scene sleaze rock that really has more of a straight line to bands like Guns N Roses, LA Guns and Faster Pussycat than bands like Poison, Warrant or Bon Jovi. Why? One reason: Mick Mars.
Mars on guitar is really the best part of Motely Crue and he is in fine form on this album. He has a raw, dirty, rude style to his playing. It’s not flashy but the riffs are catchy, kind of bluesy and just fast enough to walk the line between metal and hard rock. His solos are guitar screams and drawn out notes but nothing over-the-top. Tommy Lee is a fantastic rock drummer on this album and Vince Neil’s voice is pure rock stardom, all high, and clear and sharp. Nikki Sixx on bass is kind of thudding in the background but he wrote all the songs so he’s leading everything in some way.
The two best songs on this album are the blistering opener “Live Wire” which is just pure metal speed and grit but it’s somewhat of an anomaly on the album. No other song really approaches its energy. “Take Me to the Top” is a fine showcase for Mars. “On With the Show” is a great song but really does feel out of place (unless your one familiar Motley Crue song is “Home Sweet Home” in which case you’ll think this song sounds like a prequel). “On with the Show” actually sounds very much like Queen or even Cheap Trick.
But the rest of the album suffers from the inconsistency you’ll see from young bands just starting out. A song as a whole doesn’t live up to its best parts. The opening guitar riff from Mars and the first notes from Neil on “Too Fast for Love” are great but then the song just kind of doesn’t go anywhere. The result is songs sound familiar but ultimately forgettable.
That said, you can see where this band was headed and they really cemented their sound with their next album “Shout at the Devil.”
I wanted to read “The Dirt” (the Motely Crue autobiography) for some time now and doing research for this review seemed like an appropriate time. It is a fascinating and disturbing read. These guys should all be dead from the volume of drugs and booze consumed and the fact that they even had successful careers as musicians is a testament to their talent and luck.
I’ve seen Motely Crue live once. It was 1989 on the Dr. Feelgood tour, which according to the book is during one of their brief moments of group sobriety but also the high mark of their musical career. I remember the show as being great, especially Tommy Lee’s flying drum solo. I also remember being significantly less than sober at the show to the point that I damaged the limo my friends and I rented (that’s pretty much what every 18-year-old going to a metal/rock show did in 1989). Luckily, the grille to a Lincoln Town Car easily bends back in place.
https://open.spotify.com/album/6fhebW3x8DvrwbdL2aXCbo?si=bC5rQ2PpTAapsw2wCHFHmg%60
No comments:
Post a Comment