Mötley Crüe Causes Critics To Kickstart Their Memories

noah | June 24, 2008 10:00 am
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From time to time, we round up the all-important, all-summarizing last sentences of the biggest new-music reviews. This time around, we look at the writeups for Mötley Crüe’s ninth album, Saints Of Los Angeles, which hits stores today.

• “As nasty and filthy as ever, but despite the band’s latter-day sense of mortality, not as irresistible or as contagious. ” [Dallas Morning News]

• “The riffs aren’t quite as lasting as the memories. They easily could soundtrack a kegger, but most stick like temporary tattoos. Guitarist Mick Mars still won’t win any shredding contests, and overrated drummer Tommy Lee probably should just marry Meg White. Still, the title track rekindles Shout at the Devil-era evil, and the album’s boozy memories of girls, girls, girls do sound genuine–if not downright wistful. Cheer up, fellas, there’s always the chance of starring in VH1’s Rock of Love 3. ” [Washington Post]

• “From front to back, Saints of Los Angeles is the sound of a band unabashedly wallowing in its old hair-sprayed heyday, no longer sweating concerns about keeping up. It’s as if the group has realized that modern rock–with its fragmented appeal and diminished cultural cachet–is no longer the threat it might have once appeared. And in its own little defiant way, it’s a move that makes old Mötley Crüe seem more relevant than ever.” [Detroit Free Press]

• “There is some of the old energy here, thanks in part to the presence of drummer Tommy Lee, who drives ‘Down at the Whisky’ and ‘Chicks=Trouble’ like somebody with a head full of stimulants. Yet the album lacks the tune-craft that once made vintage Crüe such hits as ‘Dr. Feelgood’ and ‘Kickstart My Heart’ so appealing.” [LA Times]

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