Mötley Crüe | Crücial Crüe

Mötley Crüe stands as the ultimate symbol of 1980s Californian glam metal and rock 'n' roll decadence. From the backyards of the Sunset Strip in Los Angeles and straight onto the world's biggest arena stages, the four members – Nikki Sixx, Tommy Lee, Vince Neil, and Mick Mars – managed to define an entire generation of hard rock. The core of their impressive career is found in the band's first five studio albums, released during the golden decade from 1981 to 1989. The songs still form the foundation of the band's massive live shows.

Today, this specific album series is considered one of the most influential and historically vital achievements within heavy rock music. Here, we delve into the five legendary masterpieces that created the myth Mötley Crüe, and which are now being collected in the Crucial Crue box set.

Too Fast for Love (1981) – The Glam Metal Journey Begins

When Mötley Crüe released their debut album Too Fast for Love in November 1981 – originally in a very limited edition on their own independent record label Leathür Records – few could foresee what a revolution the record would start. The album immediately cemented the band's raw and unpolished energy. Musically, it was a bastard of aggressive street rock, early heavy metal, and a clear touch of British 70s punk. It was dirty, it was unproduced, and it was completely authentic.

Today, Too Fast for Love is cherished as an absolute cult classic among rock and metal fans. The record captures the band in its hungriest and most dangerous phase, before big budgets and slick MTV production took over. The lead single ”Live Wire” stands today as one of the most important and energetic opening songs in rock history with Mick Mars’ aggressive guitar riff and Tommy Lee’s whipping drums, while the title track ”Too Fast for Love” cemented Nikki Sixx’s ability to write catchy pop structures clad in raw leather.

Shout at the Devil (1983) – A Dark Breakthrough

Where the debut album was characterized by raw rock, Mötley Crüe took a gigantic and far more somber step forward with the 1983 follow-up Shout at the Devil. This album is undoubtedly the band's heaviest and most metal-oriented release. With a much more massive production, strong occult undertones, and a visual expression characterized by studs, leather, and pentagrams, the band perfectly captured the zeitgeist in the midst of the American "Satanic Panic" wave. The record became a gigantic breakthrough and sold four times platinum in the USA.

Shout at the Devil is today nothing short of a monument in the genre and is hailed as perhaps the strongest Mötley Crüe album ever. It redefined what heavy metal could be in the 1980s by blending the heavy and ominous with catchy choruses. The title track ”Shout at the Devil” and the whipping hit ”Looks That Kill” have become immortal anthems.

Theatre of Pain (1985) – The Advent of Glam Rock and the Birth of the Power Ballad

After surviving a series of violent personal crises and lifestyle-related tragedies, Mötley Crüe returned in 1985 with Theatre of Pain. The album marked a drastic change in style. The dark and occult from its predecessor was shelved in favor of a much more colorful, polished, and theatrical universe – heavily inspired by classic glam rock and bands like Aerosmith and T. Rex. It was here that the visual expression with pink leather, makeup, and big hair was truly cemented.

Although Theatre of Pain at the time met with some criticism from the most hardcore metal fans for being too poppy, its historical significance today is undeniable. The album contains nothing less than ”Home Sweet Home” – the song that single-handedly invented the template for the 1980s "power ballad" and changed the music video medium on MTV forever. Without this song and its iconic piano intro, the musical landscape in subsequent years would have looked completely different.

Girls, Girls, Girls (1987) – Strip Clubs, Motorcycles, and Pure Decadence

In 1987, the band released "Girls, Girls, Girls," which today stands as the ultimate soundtrack to the band's most chaotic and notorious period. Musically, the album was a step back towards a harder and dirtier rock sound compared to its softer predecessor, but lyrically and visually, everything was about the band's real life on the edge of the abyss: motorcycles, strip clubs, abuse, and the wild life in Los Angeles' nightlife.

Today, the album is remembered as a fascinating and ruthless snapshot of 80s rock's absolute culmination of success and excess. It is hailed for its raw honesty and its blues-infected, heavy guitar riffs, which Mick Mars delivered in top form despite internal band disputes. The title track ”Girls, Girls, Girls” and the epic yet musically complex smash hit ”Wild Side” are today mandatory rock classics.

Dr. Feelgood (1989) – The Polished and Grand Masterpiece

After hitting rock bottom and subsequently undergoing a collective and successful rehabilitation, a completely sober Mötley Crüe showed up in the studio with star producer Bob Rock. The result was Dr. Feelgood, released in September 1989. It became the band's biggest commercial triumph, topping the Billboard charts and selling a staggering six times platinum in the USA. With an unprecedentedly tight, massive, and crystal-clear production, the album managed to combine the band's raw power with state-of-the-art studio technology.

In modern times, Dr. Feelgood is considered one of the absolute best-produced rock albums ever – a sonic milestone that many bands still try to copy in the studio. The songwriting was at its absolute peak with massive hits such as the hard-hitting title track ”Dr. Feelgood”, the breathtaking energy bomb ”Kickstart My Heart” and the melodic ”Don’t Go Away Mad (Just Go Away)”. The band has never before or since sounded tighter and more invigorated than on this masterpiece.