DVD: Motley Crue: Lewd, Crued & Tattooed Live
(Hip-O/Motley Records)
Reviewed by Shaun Dale

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There's a certain amount of grumbling among the Crue contingent that their first DVD, contrary to its title, isn't really quite lewd enough. They did, after all, blur the shirtless girls in the audience shots, and everyone knows that rock shows are all about tits, right?

For some folks, maybe, but for me, rock shows are all about music and this DVD, recorded during the band's 2000 tour, has some fine musical moments. Nikki Sixx and Mick Mars are in fine form, and if Vince Neil doesn't have the vocal chops he once possessed, well, he's got a couple of decades of performance experience under his belt to insure that he's going to deliver an entertaining show even if he leaves a few of the high notes at home.

The show featured an elaborate set designed to evoke the sleazy side of Hollywood and the, umm, back up singers (as they assure us in one of the behind-the-scenes extras, they're singers, not dancers) go through a complementary set of costume changes. The costumes were apparently personally selected by Nikki and Vince and they're everything you'd expect....and less.

So, while a show from the band's high rolling tours of the 80s might have been a better choice for release, this one offers lots of fan favorites among its fifteen songs, and a couple from the New Tattoo album that inspired the tour.

There are some tasty extras, too. In addition to a "Making of New Tattoo" feature and some behind-the-scenes tour footage, there's an animated video of "Hell On High Heels" and an audio track of the band's never-released first recording, "Nobody Knows What It's Like To Be Lonely." Altogether, it's an entertaining effort, worth the attention of any Motley Crue fan.

© 2003 - Shaun Dale