Girls, Girls, Girls

by

Mötley Crüe

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Motley Crue hit it big and gained a legion of fans with their classic sophomore album "Shout at the Devil" (1983). The band's third album "Theatre of Pain," (1985) solidified the Crue's place as one of rock's premier acts. 1987 saw the Crue continue to rule the rock world with their fourth album, "Girls Girls Girls."

Although "Theatre of Pain" was a multi platinum success and yielded two hit singles, ("Smokin' in the Boys Room," and "Home Sweet Home,") it was not the band's best work. Indeed, after two classic albums "Too Fast for Love" (1982), and "Shout at the Devil," "Theatre of Pain" seemed relatively lightweight and half-hearted in comparison.

"Girls Girls Girls" saw the Crue reinvent themselves to small degree. The band didn't abandon their sound, but they did tone down the glam a notch and opt for a meaner look and sound. The band embraced an image of Harleys and leather in place of spandex.

While "Girls Girls Girls" is still very much a pop-metal album, it is more aggressive and muscular than "Theatre of Pain."

After their first two classic albums, the band went on cruise-control with "Theatre of Pain" and "Girls Girls Girls." Be that as it may, "Girls Girls Girls" was still a return to form after the half-baked "Theatre of Pain." The entire album is better written with less filler, the band is tighter, and the overall performance is superior. Bassist Nikki Sixx came up with his best collection of songs since "Shout at the Devil."

One reason the sound of the Crue worked so well is the contrast between vocalist Vince Neil and Nikki Sixx. Neil is sunny and lively, while Sixx is dark and downbeat. The chemistry produces music that may seem superficially lighthearted but has a darker undertone. "Girls Girls Girls" highlights this interplay maybe more so than any other Crue album. Mick Mars's solos, while not brilliant, have a lot of soul and life. Drummer Tommy Lee, who is the most musically gifted musician in the Crue, gives the songs an extra shot of adrenalin.

Much like Guns N' Roses debut "Appetite for Destruction" (1987), "Girls Girls Girls" is a testament and a diary of living a life of drugs and debauchery in the sunset strip of LA in the 1980s. And while "Girls Girls Girls" doesn't quite pack the punch of "Appetite For Destruction," it comes in close at second place.

The album opens strong with the classic "Wild Side," one of the Crue's best songs. Immediately the tone for the album is set as rich images of life in abject poverty are brought to your ears. The albums raunchy title track is catchy, if not dated. Sixx's drug dependency confessional, "Dancing on Glass" is one of the Crue's more underrated songs. While at times the Crue seem to try a little too hard to sound dangerous, "Dancing on Glass" sounds genuinely lived in. "Bad Boy Boogie" is good, but not great, and is more-or-less filler. "Nona," an instrumental tribute to Sixx's grandmother, who raised him, is hauntingly beautiful.

The fast paced "Five Years Dead," "All in the Name of..." and "Sumthin' for Nothin'" aren't the strongest songs in the Crue's catalogue, but are good, and keep up the momentum. The infectious sing-along hooks keep these three from being just another batch of generic 80s hair-metal songs.

"You're All I Need" is, for me, the album's highlight and is one of the Crue's finest songs. Beautifully written, if it had had generic power-balled lyrics, it still would have been a great song. But rather, it's a song, told in first-person, of a man who kills his girlfriend-so he can have her forever and no one else can. The contrast between the disturbing lyrics, and the beautiful melody, makes this one of the Crue's most intriguing songs. It also features one of Mick Mars best solos, which is the perfect touch.

A cover of Elvis Presley's "Jailhouse Rock" stays more-or-less true to the original and is a good way to round out the album.

The remastered addiction of this CD includes several bonus songs. Instrumental rough mixes of "Nona," "Girls Girls Girls" and "Wild Side" shows the songs in progress and should be of interest to fans. A live rendition of "All in the Name of" isn't really necessary, but will be of interest to dedicated fans. Of the bonus material, the real highlight in the lush balled "Rodeo." Absent from "Girls Girls Girls" upon its release, it was unheard by the general public until the 1999 reissue. "Rodeo" could have been a big hit had it been released back in 1987. It is easily one of the most memorable songs from the 1987 sessions.

All in all, "Girls Girls Girls" contains a couple really good songs and a fair amount of filler. But even if it does contain a fair amount of filler, the filler is still pretty good. And while "Girls Girls Girls" may pale in compassion to some of their other work-"Too Fast For Love, "Shout at the Devil," "Motley Crue" (1994), it's still a fine album that should please most fans of the band and of 80s rock in general.

Motley Crue was an American Metal institution and so downright Hollywood that they truly epitomized the `decade of decadence' in the land of skin and sin. What they were not was an exceptionally talented rock band but that didn't matter to millions of kids all over the world who were fascinated with all things La La Land. `Girls, Girls, Girls', the band's fourth release, only added fuel to the fire of Crue mania though like its predecessor its overall quality was far less than the sum of its parts. The title track and "Wild Side" were both smashes on the radio and on MTV and the accompanying tour was a sellout spectacular (I should know as I saw it in August 1987!) Without the benefit of the two aforementioned Crue classics, `Girls' cubed was another piece of mediocre writing during Nikki Sixx's heroin daze. Not that the rest of the band was any testament to clean living either but there seemed to be a creative treading water feeling amongst the band. Worse, Sixx OD'ed on tour and almost died or did, technically, depending on what you may believe. The use of background singers and more diversification of instruments were plusses but not enough to make `Girls' a better LP. The band would soon clean up (temporarily) and produce arguably their most complete record but at the time there seemed to be no need to clean up as the Motleys hit the road in style and really did clean up at the gates and in the record shops.