MOTLEY CRUE
Dr. Feelgood (Motley Records)
Reviewed by Erick Mertz

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What is this, that proverbial Christmas in July?

An enhanced CD re-issue of Dr. Feelgood comes down the chimney, packed with the original video for "Kickstart My Heart," demo versions of other veritable hymns to decadence like "Time For Change," and an unreleased track, "Get It For Free."

Now I know what to buy for that hard to shop for curmudgeon on my list.

Arguably, Dr. Feelgood is the peak album of the hair metal genre, dealing with drugs, the thirst for speed and broken hearts in blistering, straight-forward fists of fury. Pitted against the test of time, the Crue catalog, like that of most of their contemporaries, might be viewed as sophomoric and trite, but such is not the case with Dr. Feelgood. Vince Neil, Tommy Lee and the boys dispense with the hokey pretensions that spelled the doom of other albums and put the collective pedal to the floor on this one. Tracks like "Don't Go Away Mad (Just Go Away)" and "Slice of Your Pie" should be laid out like blueprints for bad boy rockers everywhere.

© 2003 - Erick Mertz