Motley Crue Red White & Crue CD

In the 1980s Motley Crue established themselves as heavy metal's reigning bad boys. If Elvis Presley's debauchery was merely suggested by his swiveling hips, and Led Zeppelin's was mythologized at teenage basement parties, Motley Crue's wanton excesses were celebrated right out in public for everyone to see. Combining the over-the-top theatrics and pop-savvy instincts of Kiss and Alice Cooper with the gutter-boy sass of the New York Dolls and the Sex Pistols, the Crue forged a new brand of stripped-down, radio-friendly hard rock that came to define the "pop-metal" (or "hair-metal") genre.

RED, WHITE & CRUE collects the band's greatest moments in grand style, including the lean, razor-sharp guitar and vocal hooks of the breakthrough hit "Looks That Kill" and the shout-along chorus of '80s testosterone anthem "Girls, Girls, Girls." The 2005 double-disc set also addresses the Crue's later personnel-change years (excluding any misfires), and presents three songs ("If I Die Tomorrow," "Sick Love Song," and a cover of the Stones' "Street Fighting Man") by the reunited classic lineup of Vince Neil, Mick Mars, Nikki Sixx, and Tommy Lee. With its gleeful decadence and high swagger quotient, RED, WHITE & CRUE is a testament to the enduring appeal of hard living and rock & roll.

Limited edition 2CD + DVD (NTSC/Region 0) pressing features all 37 (explicit) tracks on the US version of the double disc coupled with their Greatest Hits DVD. A nicely packaged collection of the band's greatest hits that commemorates their reunion and 2005 world tour. There is no shortage of Motley Crue hits collections out there, but this one just might be the definitive. All the essentials are on disc one, which is generously crammed with choice cuts from the Aqua Net years - from the sleek glam rock of 'Too Fast For Love' and strip-club anthem 'Girls, Girls, Girls' to the runny mascara ballad 'Without You' and comedy hocus-pocus of 'Shout at the Devil'. Having just barely survived the '80s, the band gets inexplicably serious on the second disc, delving into 'Planet Boom' and 'Generation Swine'. But there's no reason to fret--the compilation is merely doing its job and succeeds brilliantly in tracing the rise and fall of a band whose legacy is turning out to be far greater than anyone ever imagined. Packaged in a foldout Amaray case which is housed in a slipcase. Universal. 2005.Rolling Stone (No. 967, p.80) - 3.5 stars out of 5 - "Don't even suggest that the world was not desperately awaiting a Motley Crue reunion. Because it was, and they knew it..."
Mojo (Publisher) (p.128) - 4 stars out of 5 - "The good stuff '80s stuff's on CD1....Raise that index finger and pinkie; you know you want to."