Saints Of Los Angeles

Eleven Seven Music

I really had absolutely no expectations to speak of when Saints of Los Angeles, the long awaited new album by legendary bad boys Motley Crue arrived in my mailbox earlier today. Having known that the release was slated for late June, the arrival marks the end of a very long wait as fans far and wide have been anxiously awaiting a healthy dose of the original Crue line up for over a decade now. Even though the guys have been touring aggressively for the past few years, it just isn’t the same as having them continue on without letting their creative juices flow and offer up some new music for all us diehards. The only real anticipation for me of course, was to hear some sort of the original formula that made the Crue what they are best known for and other than that, I was all ears.

After arriving home I immediately ripped open the envelope and popped in the CD. As I sat and listened intently to it all the way through without interruption, my first impression was there are some truly killer tunes here that I cannot wait to hear live. S.O.L.A. is being billed as the soundtrack to the Crue’s best selling autobiography, The Dirt and for anyone who has read the book, the lyrical content here definitely supports that theory. The first track that really jumped out at me was “Down at the Whisky”, a very 80s era feeling song with a serious trip down memory lane for anyone else that ever lived that lifestyle. Although I didn’t live in LA back in the day, I did live that rock and roll lifestyle and seem to completely relate to the lyricism found here. I think most people that lived in a major metropolitan area, at that time, had a place they all went to that may have been a scaled down version of the Sunset Strip. Maybe not as crazy as the original scene, but we made it our own nonetheless. Growing up in a Philadelphia suburb, my area had a major music scene that afforded us lots of LA style opportunities, including fellow hair metal bands such as Cinderella, Poison and Britny Fox. It makes me remember a life less complicated yet hell-bent on fun.  Little did we know in our youth that those rough times (without cash or even a good meal) were also the best and most memorable; I love this song.

The title track is also the first single for this album and not surprising in the least it is the hard-rocking Crue that fans are looking for. This track invoked imagery of a live show with thousands of fans shouting and fists pumping in the air. The chorus is backed up with vocals from the supporting members of the upcoming tour, including: Josh Todd (Buckcherry), Jacoby Shaddix (Papa Roach), James Michael (Sixx:A.M.) and Chris Taylor Brown (Trapt). 

I also enjoyed the throwback feel of “Mutherfucker of the Year.” The guitar solo is tasteful, yet unmistakably Mick Mars. It’s gritty; it’s fluid, its good shit. “Just Another Psycho” is another song that I can immediately envision being played in a live setting; it has that balls-out feel to it and really sounds fantastic especially when I tried it out in my car driving down the highway. Guess it’s just the rocker coming out in me Ha Ha!. “This Ain’t A Love Song” reminds me of the tried and true Crue formula. I suppose I am also a sucker for that anti ballad sound. Go ahead – call me nostalgic, I’m fine with that. “White Trash Circus” has one of those influential sounds reminding me of Marilyn Manson in some bizarre sort of way. S.O.L.A. is full of the sadistic poetry that Crue fans have grown to love and expect and will certainly put them back on the map in a very big way!

-Christine Herb