Customer Reviews

Generation Swine (Mlps)

5 star:		(36)
4 star:		(21)
3 star:		(17)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(16)

 

 

It's unfortunate that this last collaboration with the original members of Motley Crue was their best, and sold the least. The members of Motley Crue have grown as human beings, and as song writers. It's too bad that most of their fans have not. This album demonstrates some of the most intense drumming Tommy Lee has released, and the most meaningful message that Nikki Sixx has ever given. I understand that growing up with Motley Crue was all about sex, drugs, and rock n roll. However, they have matured and the true Crue fans should too. From an artistic and creative point of view, this is the best Motley album ever recorded.

'Generation swine' is an interesting record. After just one listen you can tell that the Crue didn't enter the recording of this to be a reunion album at all. For whatever reasons the then present vocalist John Corabi was out, and former vocalist Vince Neil was reinstated.
Since sales of the 'Motley Crue' album, (the first, and only album done with Corabi on lead vocals), weren't very impressive, and the fact that the Crue were not doing an album of their typical nature probably made the record label to push for a reunion, as for a vehicle to promote the album. Or, perhaps bassist Nikki Sixx and the gang just found Corabi to their disliking and asked Neil to rejoin, instead of searching for another singer.
Whatever the case, it's obvious that Neil wasn't in mind when many of the songs were written. With Sixx singing lead vocals on three of the songs, drummer Tommy Lee hacking at one of his own tunes, as well as Corabi's fingerprints seen all over the album, one would find it difficult to argue other wise.
Overall I find it quite a decent album. Songs like "Afraid", "Glitter", "Flush", and "Rocketship" show a more mellow style of writing that is generally untypical of the Crue. That's not to say that this album is full of ballads, "Generation swine", "Shout at the devil '97" and the punk flavored "Anybody out there?" make sure to keep the listener on their toes.
The extra tracks on the 'Crucial Crue' edition are kinda cool as well. In fact, "Kiss the sky", an early version of "Flush", is one of my favorite songs on the album.
Also of note, Lee's "Brandon" is surprisingly one of the albums' high points. As well as his penned "Confessions".

I have been a Motley Crue fan for years, and was more than psyched when Vince Neil was back on vocals. Generation Swine is nothing like any of the previous Crue albums out there, but this is the Crue we're talking about here. It's still damn good. Crue fans will be pleasantly suprised.

Generation Swine has a song for everyone on it, and the 17 songs make it an excellent buy. "Afraid" is one awesome slow tempo song, and the title track of "Generation Swine" is a fast-paced, thunderous song with amazing drums. And of course, "Shout at the Devil '97" brings back wicked memories of their second album. Motley rocks like old on this album!

The songwriting is superb as usual, and the lyrics definately stand out strong on this album. On the whole, this is one great cd, and a must for all fans of hard rock.

Motley Crue entered the 1990s as one the biggest, most popular bands in the world. The band was riding high off their "Dr Feelgood" (1989) album and they had just signed a multi-million dollar contract with Electrica. It looked like one of rock's most popular bands from the 1980s was poised to take the 1990s head on.

But almost overnight, things changed. In 1992, a lot of internal and external factors changed the fate of the Crue. In the early 90s, almost overnight, pop-metal, and melodic hard-rock was replaced by grunge and alternative rock (Soundgarden, Nirvana, Pearl Jam). After Nirvana's "Nevermind" exploded, Motley Crue's style of music was made almost instantly passé. Around the same time, singer Vince Neil and the rest of the band parted ways (Neil says he was fired, the rest of the band maintains that he quite).

Truth be told, had the original lineup of Motley Crue stayed together and stuck to their guns, they probably would have weathered the 90s and the new musical climate, much like Aerosmith or Van Halen (before their lead singer fiasco). Instead, the Crue changed lead singers and embraced a modern sound.

Although Motley Crue's 1994 self-titled effort (with lead singer John Corabi) borrowed from some of the styles that were popular at the time, like Soundgarden and Stone Temple Pilots, it was still an outstanding album (see my review). And although it has achieved cult-classic status among rock fans, it was a massive flop and generally ignored by the public at large.

In 1996, while sessions were underway for a follow-up album to the '94 self-titled album, Vince Neil and the rest of the band reconciled their differences and the original lineup was reformed.

1997 saw the release of the reunion album "Generation Swine." Like its 1994 predecessor, it debuted in the top ten, took a nose dive and sold poorly, and has received mixed reaction from fans.

Before going into a more detailed review of this album, there is something important to know about how it was created. Motley Crue, with vocalist John Corabi were working on a new album around 1995/96. It was going to be titled "Personality #9." When Vince Neil re-joined the band, Corabi's vocals were simply removed from the songs and Vince Neil sang over them, although Corabi's guitar parts were left on. Some people who listen to this album even claim they can hear Corabi's backing vocals in some of the songs, like "Let Us Pray," although the band has denied Corabi's vocals are on the album.

"Generation Swine" has a lot of good things going for it. It's edgy, for the most part well paced, and most of the songs have infectious hooks and killer solos. And the band sounds passionate.

There's lots of good songs to be found on this album-like the off-beat opening "Find Myself," the dark and melodic "Afraid," the anthem-like title track, the industrial-rock of "Beauty," and "Let Us Pray, " and the punkish "Anybody Out There" are all solid. The cool new wave of "Glitter" and the spacey "Rocketship" add a nice touch.

But there are drawbacks to "Generation Swine." The dragging suicidal "Flush" and "Confessions," sound contrived, and their sluggish pacing puts a wrench in the momentum of the album. "Rat Like Me," and "Shout `97" are throwaways. The former sounds like a bad Smashing Pumpkins b-side, and the latter is far interior the original. "Brandon," Tommy Lee's tribute to his son, while sincere, is awkward and out-of-place on the CD, and a poor way to close it. The album would have been stronger if those songs had been left off, and the much superior "Wreck Me," and "Kiss the Sky" had been included in their place (they are included as bonus tracks on the reissue).

Another drawback to this album is that the music was not really suited for Vince Neil. The songs on this album were written and arranged for John Corabi and they would have sounded much stronger had he sung them. Hopefully someday, the "Personality #9" demos will be released, although I doubt it.

Perhaps my biggest bone to pick with "Generation Swine" is that it sounds contrived. The whole album, while strong at several points, stinks of an 80s hair band trying too hard to jump on a trend. It's as though Motley Crue were trying to be a Nine Inch Pumpkins. If John Corabi had been the vocalist on this CD, that would have been okay, because the Crue with Corabi was like a whole new band. Again, the songs on "Generation Swine" are suited for John Corabi's raspy, bluesy voice, and not the sunny-sunset strip style of Vince Neil. It would be like Van Halen dubbing out Sammy Hagar's vocals from "When It's Love," and having David Lee Roth sing over it.

Despite its faults, "Generation Swine" is a decent album. I'd recommend it if you're a fan of the band, although it's hardly their best album.

This is the album that was marked by the awaited return of Vince Neil to the folds - i was expecting a "reunion" sound - something reminiscent of their early work meant only to please their long-time fans. Suprisingly (and i mean that in a good way), Motley ignored the format and pushed forward with their sound. Generation Swine is definitely the most modern sounding album the Crue has ever done - and its one of my favorites - (altho, they're all one of favorites, but thats beside the point). especially with tracks like "AFRAID", "LET US PREY", and the remake version of "shout at the Devil '97".

Let Us Prey easily has the heaviest riff of their entire career - i almost fell over when the drums kicked in. vince goes along with his usual croon, then some really creepy chorus-like vocals and then lets out his unearthly scream rip out. i like all the little breakdowns too - some crazy sounding guitar effects in there. this is my favorite track off the album. anyone who thinks Motley doesnt know how to rock it with the new crop of "metal" bands needs to hear this track.

The extra tracks are pretty cool too, as with all the other re-releases. i sat there and compared the normal version and the alternative mix of Afraid about a dozen times - they both have their benefits - someone should combine the best aspects of both mixes. KISS THE SKY is a very decent ballad. but the CONFESSIONS demo was most interesting to me - with Tommy Lee on vox.

Like a lot of Motley fans, I was excited when they got Vince back and was really looking forward to this album. Finally! Real rock n' roll again instead of all the post-grunge Nirvana wannabe bands. But, the Crue failed to bring fun heavy metal back to life. This album is awful...and the good times 80s bads apparently are all sadly headed to a slow, painful extinction. The reunited Crue was the last chance to bring back the old days and they put out this terrible album. Too bad.

I know that's a bold statement, but I've believed that since I picked it up back in '97. This was very ahead of its time, and it still, to this day, doesn't sound like anything else out there. I really wish they would have continued in this direction. This is truely a landmark album for an already legendary band.

FIND MYSELF- This is a very in your face, punkish song. A great way to start of a Crue album. 8/10

AFRAID- The lead single for this record. It's a pretty standard rock song with some interesting sounds, but this album has much more than this to offer. The lyrics are great. 8/10

FLUSH- Very moody and dark. The lyrics to this are actually quite disturbing... and that added to the atmosphere created by the music creates one of the album's best tracks. 9/10

GENERATION SWINE- One of the best songs the band has ever done, and also one of their fastest and most aggressive. Tommy Lee's drumming on this record is outstanding. 10/10

CONFESSIONS- Primarily written by Tommy Lee, this is probably the deepest song on this album, and definitely the most emotional. The lyrics are awesome. 10/10

BEAUTY- This was the second single from the album. It's kind of a weird tune. Sometimes I love it, sometimes I don't. It just depends on the day. The vocals are very good, but the lyrics don't compare to the rest of the album in terms of emotional depth. 7/10

GLITTER- This is the weakest song on the album, and one of the weakest the band has ever done. The remix on the "Greatest Hits" album is much better than this one. Vince's performance of the vocals, however, is very good. 4/10

ANYBODY OUT THERE- A very directionless song, and very much Punk Rock... and very short... the lyrics are lame... but the song has so much attitude and recklessness, that it's actually quite excellent! 8/10

LET US PREY- HEAVY!!! The lyrics are very graphic. It's one of my least favorites, but it's one of my favorites as far as lyrics are concerned. 7/10

ROCKETSHIP- I can appreciate the emotion that Nikki Sixx had when he wrote this... but I don't think it's a very good song overall. Sixx's voice is surprisingly good though... and it's much better than "Glitter". 6/10

RAT LIKE ME- GREAT!!! The lyrics are full of that F-YOU attitude. This song is the closest to classic Motley Crue as this album gets. 10/10

SHOUT AT THE DEVIL '97- Better than the original SATD in my opinion. The music is just wicked! 10/10

AFRAID(demo)- Basically the same, just more raw 8/10

WRECK ME- A song that is fueled by pure punk attitude. It's a very different tune, and I can see why it wasn't included on the original album, but it is a very cool song to hear. 8/10

KISS THE SKY- "Flush" is what this song eventually turned in to... but besides that knowledge, the two songs are very different from one another. This one is much more guitar driven, but the lyrics aren't nearly as strong. It's a good song. 8/10

ROCKETSHIP(demo)- Pretty much the exact same as the final version. 6/10

Overall... this album simply has to be heard. You cannot go by negative reviews by fans still stuck in 1989. Hear it for yourself, and hopefully you'll hear the album for what it is... a brilliant musical statement.

Save your money and purchase greatest hits which has "Afraid" on it. That is the only track that should catch your attention. This album was originally going to feature Jon Corabi, who sang on the '94 release of Motley Crue "4 star album". Generation Swine sounds hurried, it seems that when Corabi ubruptly left the Crue, Vince was hurried in to complete the album. The Greatest Hits album should also tell Crue fans how much the band thought of Generation, only two songs on Swine are on Greatist hits. In concert the band only plays "Afraid". I have been a Motley fan since "Too fast for Love" and have seen the Crue 11 times. The top Motley albums in my opinion are as follows: Too fast for love, Quarternary, Dr. FeelGood, Shout and Motley Crue. Check out the release of Motley Crue with Jon Corabi, it is the heaviest album that they have done.

some of you reviewers embarass me as a crue fan. especially the poser who is no longer a crue fan because of this album. good, we dont need you anyway(fair weather fan). shout 97 was the saviour of this album. its the primary reason i listened again and again...the only reason i learned the other songs. probably my least fav crue album..but you dont turn you back on your band cuz they put out a less than perfect (in your opinion) album. shout is nikki's creation..he can do/redo it any way he wants to...i thought it rocked...although i do not care for the album as a whole. still a crue fan till the end.

If there was a Crue album that i chose to keep out of my collection it would have to be Generation Swine,only die hard Crue fans would have it.This is actually a Jon Corabi related Crue album,that is why i have to mention Vince Neil went in and dubbed over his voice with his very own one and only Crue voice.The best song on this album to me is "Glitter".But on the other hand Tommy Lee is amazing on drums,he left the band soon after and was replaced by the late great former Ozzy drummer Randy Castillo for the next album.Crue brings their influences into this album as the closest to a punk Crue album you will ever hear.You can take a chance on this one but if you arent into collecting Crue albums,keep on walkin.