Dr. Feelgood

Most people are probably well aware of Mötley Crüe and their reputation for party and decadence throughout their career, especially during the 80's. Truth to be told, however, what band in the 80's did not do some kind of drug? The Crüe just happened to get noticed a lot about their substance abuse because they managed to crank out some great albums through that decadent lifestyle. Then came 1989, things were changing around the globe, and some asshole got the brilliant idea that they should get sober, hence the album's title - Dr. Feelgood.

After their successful yet rather mediocre effort Girls, Girls, Girls in 1987, many fans were probably left confused and concerned about the Crüe's future. That album really seemed to divide their fan-base into two camps - those who liked it, those who hated it. So when their sobriety and new album landed in 1989, all those fans were gonna find their answer. The album starts off with a short prelude to the album's title track, and it's actually a rather good sign that something's pretty good is about to come, and so it happens. A heavy and groovy metal beat kicks in and the Crüe hasn't sounded this heavy since their legendary Shout At The Devil album in 1983. The female choir section from the previous record is still in the house as well - something I personally could've lived without, but it doesn't really sound out of place anyway as they sing-a-long to the chorus.

After this my hopes are starting to get shattered once more, however, as the band kicks into "Slice Of Your Piece" - a rather run-of-the-mill swinging-style track that seemed to be real standard among glam bands between 1988-1992. I just don't like these kind of songs very much. This sound shows to be carrying on into the next track as well. I don't quite remember if the previous album had horn sections, but this album has that as well by now. "Kickstart My Heart" is up next and is one of the band's biggest hits, and while not nearly a favorite of mine, it's at least a lot better than the previous two tracks. After this point, it's once again a continuing downhill run where the band delivers some more cheesy swinging tricks, and of course, the obligatory two or three cheesy ballads.

As a fan of their previous four albums, some more and some less, this album is really disappointing. Their music just seemed to lose it's edge on this record, and I have only got one answer to why that is - the drugs. While I certainly suppose a drug-free lifestyle and all that, it just feels risky when a band market a new album as their "first drug-free effort", when all of their albums were written and done under the influence. There do, however, come a few good thing out of it as well. The band plays better than before and the music does actually feel a lot more "mature". The production is also top-notch, if a bit over-polished, but still heavy (especially the drums) and with crisp guitars. It's just that the old fire, the hunger, it all seems to be gone along with the drugs, and that certainly is a drag.

Ultimately this album ended my interest in Mötley Crüe. The songs tend to sound cheesy and uninspired while the ballads are all cringe worthy, though they did and still will most likely appeal to glam metal chicks. The heavier ballad-esque tracks like "Danger" or "Merry-Go-Round" that were on their early records were like "ballads for men" in comparison. As I said earlier, the prelude and title-track are pretty sweet and are sure to satisfy old fans. Other than that, I don't really find any truly good songs that I'll find myself listening to again. There are some bits and pieces here and there that are not too shabby, but their very limited and often buried in songs that are otherwise horrible.

Check out the title-track and perhaps "Kickstart My Heart", if you like catchy arena-anthems. Other than that there is not much of worth to be found here, and I do feel generous when I give it a 20 % rating. And finally: sometimes drugs can actually be good for you. In the case of Mötley Crüe, they certainly were.