Review: Motley Crüe Saints Of Los Angeles

June 23, 2008 by Scott

Motley Crüe: Saints Of Los Angeles review. First off, let me say this. I wanted to go about this review with an open mind and an unbiased attitude. That was a bit difficult given the circumstances. What do you want to hear? Do you want me to tell you that this is an epic come back of the original line-up and a remarkable and unforgettable album? Do you want me to tell you that you’ll enjoy hearing the songs on Saints Of Los Angeles more than you will enjoy hearing the classics at Crüe-fest. Well prepare yourself…

for disappointment. The hard core Motley Crüe fans will either love this because it’s new Crüe or hate it because it’s not what they expected. Now I tried to keep in mind that this was pretty much a soundtrack to the Motley Crüe autobiography Dirt. With that in mind I thought, well why the hell do they need to base it off of a book and not just write some good tunes. We already had one sound track with SIXX A.M., do we really need another one? So here goes…

Track 1. L.A.M.F. is a spoken ~~warning that this entire record is going to blow~~ intro to the Crüe’s memories of Los Angeles of yesterday trying to become stars and the failures that got left behind or screwed by record moguls.

Track 2. Face Down In The Dirt has a main riff that sounds as if they stole it from Nirvana. The lyrics aim towards telling the story of childhood dreams of becoming a rock star, getting laid, making money and breaking away from what the father figure is encouraging. “I wanna Take On The World/ Bang A Million Girls/ I Don’t Wanna Wear A Three Piece Suit/ I Don’t Wanna Be You.”

Track 3. What’s It Gonna Take? Trying to cut a record deal in the early 80’s in L.A. when a million shitty bands are trying make it just like you. Another rock anthem that doesn’t really sound original. I understand that with everything out there that it’s hard to find originality but a poppy groove with with overuse of the wah pedal. “What’s It Gonna Take To Make It/ I’ll Do Anything But Fake it“…yeah, plaster a pentagram all over everything like you own the symbol and claim to not be fake. Come’on, gimmick anyone?

Track 4. Down At the Whiskey…Guess what this song is about. Although this is one of the few songs that actually has a good Crüe vibe to it, the lyrics are still a bit generic and repetitive. HOWEVER! Mick Mars does have a cool little solo at the end.

Track 5. Saints Of L.A. You know this song you’ve heard it on the radio…and yes, when it comes on I don’ change the station and I find myself singing along. Honestly probably the best song on the album…but again a bit over use of the Wah. I didn’t think it was that great at first but this one actually grows on you.

Track 6. M.F. of the year. By this point of the record your tired of hearing what they are already…and it’s only going to get worse.

Track 7. The Animal In Me is actually a good Motley power ballad. Even though the line “The chills keep shooting down the back of my neck/ Like a freight train pounding in the pit of my chest” kind of sound a bit like a peice of Neil Young’s Keep On Rocking In The Free World where he says “But there’s a warnin’ sign on the road ahead/ There’s a lot of people sayin’ we’d be better off dead“. But still, this is probably my favorite from this album.

Wow…I still have 6 more tracks to go. I’ll shorten it up

Track 8. Welcome To The Machine I thought this was going to be another cover of Pink Floyd. I was wrong…just another song about how brutal the music industry is…I think. Fast paced rhythm, but nothing out of the ordinary.

Track 9. Just Another Psycho starts out with a cool kind of feel and then the lyrics kind of cheese everything up and takes a b-line towards a schoolish anthem. Yeah, I’m a twisted psycho too.

Track 10…yeah we’re almost done…Chick=Trouble. Obviously about Donna Derrico. Talks about deep in debt, golden pussy, gold diggin whore, steppin in shit. I can hear this one playing in the strip clubs.

Track 11. This Ain’t A Love Song…This Is A f*ck song…says it himself.

Track 12. White Trash Circus kind of sounds like a T.V. theme song to Mr. Belvedere…if Mr. Belvedere lived in a trailer park. More use of that damn wah. These songs make Kirk Hammet sound like he’s playing an acoustic all the way through the black album.

Track 13…finally…Going out swinging. Starts out sounding like a fight song and has a cool fast groove to it…but honestly the lyrics ruin it for me.

Over all the entire record sounds generic and if you were hoping for some epic Motley Crue record come back because that is the trend in the record labels these days then I hate to say, but this will be a big heart felt epic fail. The guitars sound like rip off’s of prior Crue albums pieced together here and there. Drums sound like any other typical Tommy Lee drum beat. Sixx’s bass is nothing short of being short of spectacular. Vince’s voice sounds alright, but the lousy lyrics can make anyone’s voice pale and boring.

We don’t need a cd to listen to while we read a book or a book to read while we listen to a cd. What we need is some really thoughtfully written tunes with cool hooks and interesting breakdowns and bridges. Not something thrown together based upon a book to throw in the faces of fans right before a “Huge” tour that I would honestly NEVER go to, due to the rest of the bands on the roster. Saints Of Los Angeles also proves that when you’re short for words in a song or title that “Mother-Fucker” fits in just about anywhere.

Out of a possible 4 stars S.O.L.A. Gets 1.5 from me.