Mötley Crüe: ‘The Dirt Soundtrack’

MÖTLEY CRÜE
THE DIRT SOUNDTRACK
Released on March 22, 2019 (Eleven Seven Music)

Review:
When I first heard Mötley Crüe‘s first single “The Dirt (Est. 1981)” from The Dirt Soundtrack, I was mostly disappointed with it as I thought that rapper Machine Gun Kelly really ruined what could have been an alright song. What I never imagined is that the song “The Dirt (Est. 1981)” feat. Machine Gun Kelly would be the best track out of the four new ones that Mötley Crüe were offering. It had been more than ten years since Mötley Crüe had released new studio tracks. After 2008’s Saints Of Los Angeles, which was definitely a return to form, and which notched the #1 spot on the Sleaze Roxx Readers’ Top 20 Albums of 2018, and the two pretty good singles (“Sex” in 2012 and “All Bad Things Must End” in 2015) that followed, my expectations were pretty high for Mötley‘s three remaining new studio tracks.

Mötley Crüe‘s cover of Madonna‘s hit single “Like A Virgin” was the next to be released. I am embarrassed to say that Madonna‘s version of the track is hands down way better than what the Crüe came up with. The verses are passable with Vince Neil seemingly straining his voice on those higher notes. The chorus, “ooh ooh ooh ooh” parts and the guitar solo are all horrendous. Rather than provide a stripped down guitar heavy version of Madonna‘s classic, Mötley Crüe clutter the song with too many sounds going on at the same time. I remember a time when Mötley Crüe covers were arguably better than the originals such as when the band covered The Beatles‘ “Helter Skelter” and Brownsville Station‘s “Smokin’ In The Boys Room.” Even Mötley‘s cover of the Sex Pistols‘ “Anarchy In The UK” was pretty good but the band really lost its way and edge by delivering a subpar forgettable version of Madonna‘s “Like A Virgin.”

Despite two very forgettable new songs, I was still hoping that Mötley Crüe would somehow redeem themselves with the last two new tracks — “Ride With The Devil” and “Crash And Burn.” I was wrong. Those two are even worse. “Ride With The Devil” is a modern-ish sounding plodder that has Neil almost rapping during the verses. Ugh. The song, just like Mötley‘s cover of “Like A Virgin” sounds “very busy” with too many instruments and sounds going off at the same time throughout the track. “Crash And Burn” starts off pretty good before succumbing to whispering voices at times during the song on an almost dance like beat. Ugh. Perhaps the most annoying feature of “Ride With The Devil” and “Crash And Burn” is that both were apparently called “The Dirt” at one point by Nikki Sixx and you can tell as both mention the words “The Dirt” way too many times. If I didn’t know any better, I would have definitely thought that the song “Ride With The Devil” was actually called “The Dirt.”

What makes Mötley Crüe‘s four new songs sound even worse is when you compare them to the classic Mötley tracks that make up the rest of The Dirt Soundtrack. None of Mötley Crüe‘s four new songs even hold a candle to any of the other songs, which all date back more than 29.5 years. Moving on to the other tracks, all of the older classics that I would have expected Mötley Crüe to include on The Dirt Soundtrack are there except “Wild Side” from the Girls, Girls, Girls album, which is the one glaring omission. Looking back, I am not sure why I bought The Dirt Soundtrack. Perhaps it was the hype leading up to the release of The Dirt movie on Netflix or simply my hope that Mötley Crüe had a couple of good new songs in them. While I will definitely be viewing The Dirt movie at least a couple of times, The Dirt Soundtrack will be collecting dust on my CD shelf for many years to come.

Track List:
01. The Dirt (Est. 1981) feat. Machine Gun Kelly
02. Red Hot
03. On With The Show
04. Live Wire
05. Merry-Go-Round
06. Take Me To The Top
07. Piece Of Your Action
08. Shout At The Devil
09. Looks That Kill
10. Too Young To Fall In Love
11. Home Sweet Home
12. Girls, Girls, Girls
13. Same Ol’ Situation (S.O.S.)
14. Kickstart My Heart
15. Dr. Feelgood
16. Ride With The Devil
17. Crash And Burn
18. Like A Virgin

Band Members:
Vince Neil – lead vocals, background vocals (14, 15)
Nikki Sixx – bass, background vocals (15)
Tommy Lee – drums, percussion, background vocals (14, 15, 16, 18), clavinet (17)
Mick Mars – lead guitar, additional vocals (17), demonic voice (15)

Additional Musicians:
Machine Gun Kelly – vocals (1)
Sahaj Ticotin – background vocals (1, 16, 17, 18)
John 5 – additional guitar (1, 16, 17, 18)
Bob Rock – additional guitar (1, 16, 17, 18), background vocals (15, 16, 18), keyboards (18)
Adam Greenholtz – keyboards (1, 16, 17, 18), background vocals (16, 18)
Mark LaFrance – background vocals (13, 14, 15)
Emi Canyn – background vocals (13, 14, 15)
Donna McDaniel – background vocals (13, 14, 15)
Jack Blades – background vocals (13)
David Steele – background vocals (14, 15)

Production:
Produced by Bob Rock (1, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
Engineered by Adam Greenholz (1, 16, 17, 18)
Assistant engineer: Smiley Sean (1, 16, 17, 18)
Additional engineer: David Kalmusky (1, 16, 17, 18)
Second engineer: Ethan Barrette (1, 16, 17, 18)
Mixed by Bob Rock and Adam Greenholtz (1, 16, 17, 18)
Mixing Assistants: Ryan Enockson and Nik Civiero (1, 16, 17, 18)
Mastered by Ted Jensen (1, 16, 17, 18)
Produced by Tom Werman (2, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
Second engineer: Doug Schwartz (2, 8, 9, 10)
Recorded and mixed by Geoff Workman (2, 8, 9, 10)
Mastered by George Marino (2, 8, 9, 10, 13, 14, 15)
Re-mastered by Kevin Gray (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
Produced by Mötley Crüe (3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
Engineered by Glenn Felt, Azi Kipper and Robert Battaglia (3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
Mixed by Gordon Fordyce (3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
Additional overdubs and edits by Bradley Gilderman (3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
Recorded and mixed by Duane Baron (11)
Second engineers: Paul Wertheimer, Mark Wilczak, Matt Brady, Alex Woltman and Brian Scheuble (11)
Engineered by Duane Baron (12)
Additional engineer: Richard McKernon (12)
Second engineer: Ross Hogarth and Toby Wright (12)
Mastered by Bob Ludwig (12)
Recorded by Randy Staub and Bob Rock (13, 14, 15)
Assisted by Chris Taylor (13, 14, 15)

Band Websites:
Official Website
Facebook

Reviewed by Olivier for Sleaze Roxx, April 2019

Mötley Crüe‘s “The Dirt (Est. 1981)” feat. Machine Gun Kelly video:

Mötley Crüe – The Dirt (Est. 1981) (feat. Machine Gun Kelly)

Official music video for Mötley Crüe ‘The Dirt (Est. 1981) (feat. Machine Gun Kelly).’Stream or Buy ‘The Dirt Soundtrack’ – https://motleycrue.ffm.to/thedirt…

Mötley Crüe‘s “Ride With The Devil” song:

Mötley Crüe – Ride With The Devil (Official Audio)

Official audio for ‘Ride With The Devil’ by Mötley Crüe.Stream or Buy ‘The Dirt Soundtrack’ – https://motleycrue.ffm.to/thedirtWatch ‘The Dirt’ on Netflix!Fo…

Mötley Crüe‘s “Crash And Burn” song:

Mötley Crüe – Crash and Burn (Official Audio)

Official audio for ‘Crash and Burn’ by Mötley Crüe.Stream or Buy ‘The Dirt Soundtrack’ – https://motleycrue.ffm.to/thedirtWatch ‘The Dirt’ on Netflix!Follow …

Mötley Crüe‘s “Like A Virgin” song:

Mötley Crüe – Like A Virgin (Official Audio)

Official audio for ‘Like A Virgin’ by Mötley Crüe.Stream or Buy ‘The Dirt Soundtrack’ – https://motleycrue.ffm.to/thedirtWatch ‘The Dirt’ on Netflix!Follow M…