Customer Reviews

Dr. Feelgood [Vinyl]

5 star:		(33)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This is Motley Crue's best and most focused album, with Shout and the '94 Corabi album coming in tied for second. After years of shoddy, drug-influenced work with Tom Werman, The boys hooked up with future Metallica producer Bob Rock. They're commitment to sobriety was a long time coming, and with Bob Timmons help, they finally built up the courage to live clean and say nope to dope. This album was recorded around the same time Aerosmith was working on their classic "Pump". In fact both bands studios were right next to each other! On Dr. Feelgood, the production is crisp and clear. The days of partying with chicks and kegs of booze in the studio were over, no more of Nikki being too strung out to play, the Crue finally gave it 110% effort the whole way through the recording process and it paid off. Big time. Their first (and only) album to top the charts. Every song but 1 released as a single. 6 Hit videos on MTV. A Sold-Out world tour played to all corners of the earth. The Metal Edge readers choice award for 1990. An American Music award for favorite Hard Rock album. I could go on & on.

I'll review this song by song (my ratings are in parenthesis)

1.T.nT "Terror 'n Tinseltown)-Nice intro, sets the tone. (5/5)

2.Dr. Feelgood-The infamous title track, features an excellent Tommy Lee back beat, clever lyrics. I Like Mick Mars demonic voice at the end. (5/5)

3.Slice of your Pie-Has a great blues influence, Steven Tyler co-arranged it. (4/5)

4.Rattlesnake shake-Rollicking mainframe, with a full horn and piano section. Vince Neil is in fine form vocally. (5/5)

5.Kickstart my heart-A top ten hit, Heavy riff, excellent slowed down bridge, and a kick-ass Tommy Lee drum solo to finish it off. The video was a blistering, in-your-face performance. (5/5)

6.Without You-Motley's second best ballad besides "Home sweet home". It's very deep and sentimental, heart-felt. (5/5)

7.Same ol' Situation-Nikki Sixx plays a nice bass line, tells an interesting story. I loved the video back in the day, Motley were at the top of the mountain, music-wise and commercially.
This song, along with Dr. Dre's "Next episode" played in my head while in line for my last paycheck of Summer 2000. (5/5)

8.Sticky Sweet-Top notch musicianship. Takes me back to September 1990 when I got my new bike. (5/5)

9.She Goes Down-Packed with sass, raunch and a chugging backbeat towards the end. (5/5)

10.Don't go away mad (Just go away)-Yet another megahit, it's a power rocker, with a catchy chorus. The coda is terrific. the video sort of foretells the internal conflict and tensions that arose in early 1992. (5/5)

11.Time for a change-A perfect closer. It's socially aware with relevant lyrics. And the chorus sounds like a choir singing. The only downside I can think of is in the title, The band is talking about change. Unfortunately the wrong kind happened, 2 years later in the Fall of '91. Music changed big time. Grunge exploded out of nowhere and bands like the Crue fell out of favor. It was the end of an era. The reign of the Hair Bands ended overnight. That said this track is still a 5/5.

If you don't own this album yet you're in luck. In 1999 the band acquired their back catalog and Master tapes from Elektra and started their own label called Motley records/Beyond. Their previous albums were re-issued under the Crucial Crue series, it's fitting that this was their best album, because it's also the best of the re-releases.

There's new liner notes pertaining to info on selected songs, and Demo versions of songs as well as unreleased tracks. The title cut has different words and it's an interesting listen. You can hear what's missing and in turn corrected on the final songs.

The demos for "Without You" and "Kickstart my heart" don't pack quite the punch of their album counterparts, all things considered, they're still pretty decent as is.

The unreleased track "Get it for free" Is good, but it seems more fit for the Girls, Girls, Girls album. It would have seemed out of place on Feelgood. It makes sense to me why it was left off.

My review is a bit lengthy, but by now you get the point. Don't miss out on this Rock-N-Roll classic. As I said before, It's Motley Crue at their creative and commercial pinnacle.

I was all into Motley Crue back in the 1980's. I have every CD they have ever done from those days. I think this CD showed off how good it could get!! With Motley Crue in the past you had those 2 or 3 songs from each album that rocked and then the rest of the album would leave you flat. This CD rocks from beging to end. With songs like "Kickstart my heart" "Dr. Feelgood", "Slice of Your Pie","Same Ol' Situation" and so on.... Put this CD in, turn the volume up and then stand back because your going to be blown into the next room!!! God bless ROCK N' ROLL!!!

I've never been a Motley Crue fan in particular (I can't even remember how I bought this album) but Dr Feelgood is the band's tour-de-force...and is an excellent introduction to Motley Crue.

Although the band's image is a ruff and tuff party band, this album is in fact, extremely well-produced. The riffs are chunky; the melodies are sweet and the playing is tight. This is as ultimate rock as it gets. Dr Feelgood has a drive and verve that hasn't been matched since, and deservedly sold loads of copies. It's hard to explain why some albums hit the sweet spot more than others, but this one does with an array of tracks..."Kickstart My Heart" is a great song, and a personal favourite of mine. Motley Crue is perhaps somewhat underrated against their other rock peers but they transcended for a time above a crowded field. This shows the band's songwriting and rhythmic skills at their peak. Take it from a non-diehard crue fan. If rock is your forte, you'll have fun with this one.

In The Crue's auobiography "The Dirt", Vince Neil writes that no one goes to a Motley Crue concert expecting a really heavy, thought-provoking experience...people go to a Motley Crue concert hoping to get a (session of oral pleasure) in the back seat of a car.
>
These guys made a career out of making music suited to just such a purpose, and they never did it as well as on this CD. The yardstick to whether a strip club is any good can STILL be determined by the number of Motley Crue songs you hear within the first hour (if it's less than two, you probably don't really want to be there).
>
So, to "Dr. Feelgood", then...Title track: Some seriously heavy "dropped-D" tuning (this is used a lot on this CD...Soundgarden gets most recognition for it, but The Crue had 'em beat by years) and one of Tommy Lee's best-ever drum tracks.
>
"Slice Of Your Pie": My favorite track...psychedelic intro and an homage to Steven Tyler in the credits for the drum track (likely to keep from getting sued...it does sound a helluva lot like "Rag Doll")...and the fade-out pays a solid tribute to The Beatles "I Want You (She's So Heavy)". if you're gonna rip someone off, you could do a lot worse than Lennon-McCartney.
>
"Rattlesnake Shake": More latter-day L.A. glam-funk influence with a cool horn section and a nice bass break by Nikki Sixx (sobering up DEFINITELY was worth it as far as his playing goes).
>
"Kickstart My Heart": Adrenaline personified. Not my favorite (MTV played this video WAY too much), but a Crue staple.
>
"Without You": My personal favorite "power ballad" from a time when all metal acts were required to record at least one (except for Aerosmith, who don't seem to record anything else). This song gets slagged off as filler, but I'd still rather listen to this than, say, "Every Rose Has Its Thorn"...saccharine, anyone?
>
"Same Ol' Situation": Good sing-along about the complexities of relationships (to put it mildly).
>
"Sticky Sweet": Not the strongest track on the CD by any stretch...white boy funk (Nikki does slap the bass a little bit) in a Warrant "Cherry Pie" groove (although this came out first).
>
"She Goes Down": Do I really need to add anything to this?
>
"Don't Go Away Mad (Just Go Away)": This may be the best-written song these guys ever recorded...it takes on the guise of a serious tune until the chorus kicks in...everyone's playing is as solid as it's ever been...fun song, always makes me feel good.
>
"Time For A Change": Okay, THIS song is pure filler...deserves all the bad publicity that "Without You" got...as cheesy as it gets...nice "All The Young Dudes" riff by Mick Mars in the fade-out...he obviously wan't taking it too seriously, either.
>
The bonus tracks are okay...demos to "Dr. Feelgood" (with slightly different lyrics), "Without You" (less layered guitars, but the cool arpeggiated acoustic part is heard throughout each verse, which I like...oh, yeah...Vince absolutely sounds like a girl during the whole song; maybe one the band's girlfriends did the initial vocal track), and "Kickstart My Heart" (wherein the afforementioned Vince blows the lyric), and the unreleased "Get It For Free", which is good, because it ain't really worth paying for.
>
Unreleased tracks are usually unreleased for a reason...but the songs that did make it to "Dr. Feelgood" are pretty much the strongest collection of work from heavy metal's Big Hair Era. Aside from maybe "Appetite For Destruction" by Guns 'N Roses, there isn't a better representaion of the sound of that time. Grab it!

This album of course marked the commercial peak of Motley Crue. In some bands' cases, that often means it is not quite their best work. (For example, while Def Leppard's "Hysteria" was a wonderful album and a huge commercial success, the still big but slightly less popular predecessor "Pyromania" was better from start to finish in my opinion.) However, in the case of the mighty Crue, their most popular album is also their best. This is a hard rock masterpiece. The title track was a defining, hard-rocking first single from the album which amazingly made the top 10. "Kickstart My Heart" is a great fist-pumping rock anthem that to this day is one of my Crue favorites. Singles like "S.O.S" and "Don't Go Away Mad..." are also exceptional. "Slice of Your Pie" and "She Goes Down" are classic Crue sleaze. The only track I to this day am not crazy about is the ballad "Without You". A big hit in it's time but a very weak song for a rock ballad. I am a big fan of rock ballads, and the Crue's "Home Sweet Home" is one of my favorite rock ballads ever, but "Without You" just doesn't cut it. "Time For Change", the last track on the original release of this album, is in fact a much better ballad. Despite the one weak track, this album still rates five stars due to the rest of the songs. To this day, one of my favorite hard rock albums.

Motley Crue never was, and have never been a consistent band. Their older albums were so-so (GIRLS GIRLS GIRLS is the exception), and their newer albums are nothing special. In general, most of Motley Crue's worthwhile material can be found on their greatest hits album. So what happened here? I have no idea, but whether by sheer musicianship, or complete luck, Motley Crue made a true classic here that eclipses all of their other work, and is, in my opinion, THE hair metal album to beat. Every song on this album is great, with the best being "Dr Feelgood", "Same Ol Situation", "She Goes Down", "Rattlesnake Shake", and one of the 80's best power ballads (beaten by Motley Crue's own "Home Sweet Home") "Without You". Therefore, what I'm saying is that ANY fan of hair metal needs to own this album, as it is the prime example of why that era rocked. The only thing that's sad about this album is Motley Crue never came close to matching it.

Dr. Feelgood (1989) is my sixth favorite Motley Crue album behind Shout At The Devil (1983), Theatre Of Pain (1985), Too Fast For Love (1981/1982), Saints Of Los Angeles (2008), and Girls Girls Girls (1987). While I prefer the raw, high energy, high intensity, hard edge, street fighting/violence/rebellion feel of Shout At The Devil, this Dr. Feelgood album is still vintage Motley Crue. The songs on this album show the lighter and fun side of the band more than any other album does. This album was released in September 1989 and helped close out a decade of hair metal before grunge bands took over in the early '90s. Grunge came and went, but albums like Dr. Feelgood, Shout At The Devil, Theatre Of Pain, Girls, Girls, Girls, and Too Fast For Love still get played while grunge has gone into obscurity.

The best song on this album for me is Kickstart My Heart, followed by the title track. This album oozes the lighter side - the parties, the girls, etc. even more than Girls Girls Girls does. Songs like Slice Of Your Pie, Sticky Sweet, She Goes Down, Same Ol' Situation, and Rattlesnake Shake are examples of this. There are a couple of ballads thrown in - Without You and Time For Change. Without You is almost as popular as Home Sweet Home.

Every song except one was released as a single in 1989-1990. This is a strong album produced by Bob Rock. Not my favorite, but a very good album. It's definitely a 5-star album. I highly recommended it.

I am the biggest Motley Crue fan out there!This is without a doubt the Crues most complete work.You have the mega hits of Dr.Feelgood,Without You,S.O.S,and Kickstart my heart.Every other song on this cd is outstanding like Rattlesnake shake,and Sticky sweet.This by far is one of the greatest hard rock/metal cd's of all time hands down!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!So get your ass up and listen to some kick ass rocknroll!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Motley Crue Rules!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This is my favorite type of music to this day. This is one of my all time favorite albums by one of the best bands still out there today. This album totally rocks...

Dr. Feelgood is probably Motley Crue's best CD yet. With the hits Same 'Ol Situation and Dr. Feelgood. This is must get for any Motley Crue fan. An excellent CD.