MOTLEY CRUE – Generation Swine
Motley Crue – Generation Swine (1997, Elektra Records; 1999, Motley Records/Beyond Music)
Track Listing:
1. “Find Myself” … 2:51
2. “Afraid” … 4:07
3. “Flush” … 5:02
4. “Generation Swine” … 4:39
5. “Confessions” … 4:20
6. “Beauty” … 3:47
7. “Glitter” … 5:00
8. “Anybody Out There” … 1:50
9. “Let Us Prey” … 4:22
10. “Rocketship” … 2:04
11. “A Rat Like Me” … 4:13
12. “Shout at the Devil ‘97″ … 3:42
13. “Brandon” … 3:25
BONUS TRACKS:
14. “Afraid” [Swine Mix/Jimbo Mix] … 3:57
15. “Wreck Me” [Previously Unreleased] … 4:19
16. “Kiss the Sky” [Previously Unreleased] … 4:46
17. “Rocketship” [Early Demo] … 1:35
Band:
Vince Neil – Vocals
Mick Mars – Guitar
Nikki Sixx – Bass, Vocals (”Rocketship”), Co-Vocals (”Find Myself” and “Beauty”)
Tommy Lee – Drums, Piano
Produced by: Scott Humphrey
So Corabi is out, Vince is in again. And once again, Motley delivers something different. Different can be good (like Corabi’s one-time outing with the band), but in this case, not so much. It’s just a weird mix of alternative metal, industrial metal and trippy pop that isn’t suited for Vince’s voice. But I guess in the alternative rock-infested 1997, Dr. Feelgood II would’ve failed as well, so it was pretty much lose-lose for Crue at this point.
Sometimes, the songs work though. “Beauty” and “Glitter” (though I prefer the remix version found on Greatest Hits) are weird, beautiful songs and “Find Myself” is, lyrically, pretty close to the roots of Crue. “Shout at the Devil ‘97″ is kind of a pointless re-recording, but there’s nothing wrong with it, so I give it a pass. “Brandon” is hands down the worst Motley Crue song ever. Sorry, Tommy, I know you meant well.
I picked this ‘99 reissue up pretty cheap, brand new for around $6.99 at FYE, and this was shortly after the reissues were released! So that tells you how badly the album sold. Definitely not an album I ever have the urge to listen to.
Highlights: “Find Myself”, “Afraid”, “Beauty”, “Glitter”, “A Rat Like Me”, “Shout at the Devil ‘97″
July 20, 2008 at 3:36 pm
The album debuted at #4 and there was a big media push with the band even performing at the American Music Awards to usher in the reunion. The problem here is that the songs were originally written with Corabi still in the band. The album was supposed to be done with Corabi but the money machine keeps rolling and the reunion was inevitable with the trails blazed by KISS’ success. I believe I read where Corabi was in studio to teach Vince the parts.
I thought ‘Afraid’ was a solid single, so was ‘Glitter’ but my favorite tune is ‘Confessions’. Saw the tour in Worceter, MA with Cheap Trick opening. Awesome show at The Centrum, place was packed and the band played 2 hours. The cool thing was they came out with a huge screen behind them and they just played the weirdest video footage during each song. I remember they let Tommy play ‘Brandon’ towards the end and he got booed!
Steve
Heavy Metal Addiction
http://hardrockheavymetal.wordpress.com/
July 20, 2008 at 11:02 pm
That’s funny about Tommy playing ‘Brandon’.
Yup, I knew Corabi had a hand in the record, but did he really co-write that many songs here?