Motley Crue, Dr. Feelgood, A Review (1989)

Motley Crue, Dr. Feelgood, A Review (1989)

By: Ghost Writer

Rock N Roll Animal

Released in September 1st, 1989, it was 28 years ago, today, Dr. Feelgood proved that a mediocre band could make a stellar album with the aid of a great producer, think of Bob Rock, no better named producer in the story of hard rock, by 1989, Motley Crue had already produced 4 inconsistent albums that showed the transition from a UK influenced heavy metal band, to an American hard rock nascent band, think of Twisted Sister, Quiet Riot and Ratt, initially heavy metal bands inspired by Judas Priest, Venom, Wratchild UK, Iron Maiden and Slade, that started to putting more attention into American hard rock legends like Kiss, Aerosmith and Van Halen; Motley Crue started in 1981 with the novelty record Too Fast for Love, and started showing some promise on the pseudo satanic Shout At the Devil, their hard rock renaissance started with Theatre of Pain, where the Kiss and Aerosmith became obvious, and although Girls, Girls, Girls looked like a breakthrough album, the band was still unable to create a seamless mix of their influences, great songwriting, and a robust sound all of their own, that was the point were a little know hard rock producer Bob Rock arrived to the scene, having produced Kingdome Come debut and the outstanding Sonic Temple by The Cult, Rock looked like a risky option for MC, but The Cult´s enormous success with that record may have convinced the band, who needed to cement their reputation in the already consolidated LA hard rock scene.

It was the end of the 80s, and bands like N.W.A, were “showing it like it is” with brutal records like Straight Outta Compton and Niggaz4life, so it was the time for a hard rock band to prove if hard rock could come up with a street level answer to the daring “reality” hip hop, so in a way Dr. Feelgood meat that, street level hard rock with a powerful production, Bob Rock was able to give the band an impressive sound, begging with the menacing opening title track, the band has never sounded heavier and as focused, Mick Mars guitars soaring high and Nikki Sixx and Tommy Lee perfect syncopated beats gave a perfect rock bottom to Vince Neil´s nasty and sleazy vocal performance, the song, an ode to the drug traffic scene in LA, a reflection of the end of the 80s and the beginning of the wild 90s, I never thought of Mars as a great guitarist and I saw him as the band´s Achiles´ heel, but by giving Sixx and Lee a thunderous sound, Rock was able to cover up Mars deficiencies and creating a show stealing sound (even giving chance to Mars limited guitar style space to shine), the band putting away their early shock rock tactics and adding large doses of “street” wise vibe that would become a patent modus operandi on most LA bands of the decade, with the title track the band is able to create a wall of sound of impressive density and dynamism, and that dynamism is put in display again on the bluesy Slice of You Pie, again, putting the Crue at the front of the hard rock renaissance on a piece obviously taking big inspiration on hard rock fathers Aerosmith.

On songs like Rattlesnake Shake, Rock forces the band to bring their musicality to the front, showing a band playing for their lives and putting away their previous heavy image, it´s amusing to listen to Neil fighting to be noticed on the song between the brutal riffs of Mars and Sixx and the wide range drumming work of Tommy Lee (showing already the emergence of underground funk bands like the Red Hot Chilli Peppers), but the true highlight apart from the title track comes in the shape of Kickstart My Heart, although it sounds more like an actualization of the traditional British glam sound (T Rex, Slade and Gary Glitter) with its foot stomping beats and versatile studio tricks, followed by the traditional power ballad Without You, a commercial hook omnipresent in most glam metal records of the era, and then Same Old Situation, another song with dense guitar riffs, powerful drumming and plenty of pop hooks in the Aerosmith tradition, with Motley Crue taking some clues from fellow glam band Poison who were successfully at the time taking their sound into the mainstream.

What differentiates Dr. Feelgood from other MC records is its undeniable consistency, the high quality of most of the tracks, and its ambitious closing tracks, the infectious sleazy groove of She Goes Down, the pop gleam of the more mature attack of Don´t Go Away Mad (Just Go Away), and the Queen inspired Time For Change that not only reflected the Crue´s attitude towards their sleazy lifestyle of debauchery, and the spirit of the times, it was 189, the USSR was coming apart and son the Crue would be playing at the legendary Moscow Music Peace Festival, (goo.gl/cQVqni) one of the pinnacle moments in the story of glam metal, it was an interesting time to remember.