Motley Crue Red, White and Crue 2005 Mercury

So after 1991’s Decade of Decadence, and 1998’s Greatest Hits, here we have another hits collection from the Crüe. A double disc this time, for double the Mötley fun. There is not much I can say about disc one. It’s a chronological trip from their debut album Too Fast For Love, right up to their most successful album Dr Feelgood. It has every song you would expect on here- the big hits such as Girls Girls Girls, Wild Side and Kickstart My Heart. From the moment Live Wire kicks in it is fantastic from start to finish. My only criticisms would be the inclusion of Use It Or Lose It from Theatre of Pain rather than a stronger track like Louder Than Hell, and the exclusion of On With The Show- which, as an old fan favourite, should maybe have been on this CD. But my minor criticisms are pretty irrelevant, let’s face it. It’s Mötley Crüe- what the hell more do you want? The second disc is a bit of a mixed bag. Covering the Crüe’s career from 1991 to the present day, it starts off well with their Anarchy in the UK cover (although maybe I am alone in liking it- I suspect so) and one of their best songs, Primal Scream. Home Sweet Home, Hooligan’s Holiday and Misunderstood follow and are all great songs… … And then it goes downhill more than slightly. The reason? Planet Boom- a monstrosity of a thing that is basically Tommy on his own, is a bizarre choice of song to include on a ‘best of’ album. There is only one place that this type of thing belongs, and that’s a Tommy Lee solo album. At least that guarantees less people will have to hear it. Similarly, Beauty is another odd inclusion on the album, when there were several better songs on the Generation Swine record that could have been included instead, such as Find Myself or Confessions. Again, Beauty is mainly penned by Mr Lee. Hmmm, do we have a pattern emerging here? (Look, just be grateful he didn’t include the cringe-fest Brandon, okay?) It’s tracks like these that make the second disc dip in the middle slightly, especially after strong songs like Primal Scream and Misunderstood. Speaking of Misunderstood, only two songs from their self titled album from 1994 (yes, the one without Vince) are included, when again there are a few tracks that could have easily replaced weak songs like Planet Boom. In case I am not being clear enough, let me spell it out for you- Planet Boom SUCKS. Thankfully Bitter Pill, one of the new songs included on Greatest Hits, kicks in and normality is restored. It is followed by tracks from the underrated New Tattoo album, of which the title track is a fantastic ballad that deserves to get more praise than it has. The album finishes with two new songs, and a cover of the Rolling Stones Street Fighting Man. Why both the UK and US versions of Red, White and Crüe had this song included when the Japanese version had the original song I’m A Liar (And That’s The Truth) instead is anyone’s guess, as fans are going to want original material rather than a cover. The two original songs are If I Die Tomorrow and Sick Love Song. The former has been slagged by pretty much everyone, including Tracii Guns (which is rich coming from someone who made the mess that is Runaway Brides), but I like it a lot. Okay so it may not be ‘Classic Crüe’ but it’s a good enough song with a very cool video. Sick Love Song is an excellent song and bodes well for the future. As it finishes, so does the album, leaving you wanting more new material. Just hurry up and record a new record please guys!  Disk one - 9.5/10. Disk Two - 8/10 Suzie