Customer Reviews

Theatre of Pain

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Although this was the album that rocketed Motley Crue up to the top of the charts in 1985, I just can't get it. Considering its two predessesors are two of the greatest albums known to man, this one should be, too. But it's not. It is MUCH lighter and pop-oriented than Shout At The Devil, and it just doesn't have that Motley Crue sound that they used before and later. And also, this is some sort of a concept album I believe, but I just acn't get the concept. One song they are singing about gambling and money, they next they are talking about the the pains of going on tour. I just don't understand much of it. City Boy Blues, Smokin' In the Boys Room and Louder Than hell are great, but a lot of it is filler. If you are just a casual fan, stay away from this one.

1985's Theatre of Pain was the first big hit for Motley Crue. It had two hit singles with a cover of the Brownsville Station's Smoking in the Boys Room and Home Sweet Home. Those are both fine songs, but both can be found on the various greatest hits albums the Crue has, other than those two tracks I would say City Boy Blues is good,other than that this album has nothing to offer.

After the sucess of Shout At The Devil and the stardom that followed, Motley went back into the studio and made themselves a sure hit with Theatre Of Pain. Great...only a few hundred problems....the band is thrashed from excessive touring....the band is seriously f*cked up from substance abuse....Nikki is doing heroin...Vince kills Hanoi Rocks drummer Razzle in a drunk driving incident...the list goes on and on. Motley Crue begin to self-destruct. Theatre Of Pain is a decent album. More radio friendly & now that the Boyz have become MTV icons with the Home Sweet Home video, these songs will be played into the ground. Smokin' In The Boys Room is a cool cover tune. Louder Than Hell, City Boy Blues, Use It OR Lose It & Save Our Souls are my favs. Some filler here. The household name that is Motley Crue has been fleshed out with this album and the ensuing world tour with Loudness opening for The Crue. Nikki OD's. Vince does his jail time. and off to rehab they all go before someone ends up planted in the ground. Could have been harder is what you'll be saying. After the perfection of Shout, its hard to follow up, especially when plagued by that many demons at once. Still a solid effort and a classic, just not perfect.

Dig it!

I was 15 when this came out. I eagerly anticipated its release, for SHOUT AT THE DEVIL was my Teenage angst statement to the world. I wanted to hear what the Crue had to say.
Honestly, At first it was completely dissapointing. A Ballad (Home Sweet Home), and not as heavy as it's predecessor. However, it grew on me, and I own it to this day. LOUDER THAN HELL, and TONIGHT (WE NEED A LOVER), saved this from total disspointment.
I give it 4 stars for the classic(ness) of it, however, it's not their heaviest effort. If you are looking for Raw metal, go to TOO FAST FOR LOVE..

Besides Smokin' and Home Sweet Home, I think this Crue album rocks....Use it or Lose it, Louder than Hell, Fight for your Rights, Tonight, etc. Who really cares what trend was goin on....forget the fashion for a minute and listen to the tunes.
Im into much heavier stuff these days, but I always dug the Crue's brand of rock and roll, and this one jams......they just need to re-release it without the above mentioned Home..and Smokin.

This may not be the most popular cd from Motley, but it is a good listen. If you do not have in cd's by the Crue, start off with Too Fast for Love-Shout at the Devil and then Dr. Feelgood. After those three, then Theatre should be heard.

Rock on.

Sure this CD has not only been bashed by fans, but even The Crue themselves. The Crue members have said out of their own mouths that this CD is total garbage with the exception of the two singles. Now, I personally think The Crue are just dissapointed how they could have done much better and that it wasn't up to par with the two prior releases, because it's really not a BAD CD, I think it's got some great fun songs on here. Problem basically is, this CD is the lowest of the low for the Crue...Vince was arrested for manslaughter, they were all fxcked up on drugs and stuff was just not good. The songs are uninspired and sound very repetitive and simplistic. None the less, it's a fun CD and Crue fans will most likely enjoy it. It's not the best but it deserves more respect than some give it.

By the time it was 1985,the hair metal era was in full effect,and Motley Crue had managed to become one of the most successful bands of that era. After people had heard their debut albums "Too Fast For Love"(1982),and "Shout At The Devil"(1983)and Motley Crue had managed to get out of the two things they were being accused of(one being that they were trying to be too much like KISS,the other being that they got accused of being Satan worshippers)and they had dropped their makeup(even though they wore it in the video for "Smokin' In The Boys Room"),they put out a new CD in 1985,which they were hoping would be good and get them away from the bad images they had already gotten. Would that album be any good? Read on for my review of this:

This album,along with a few other Motley Crue albums(their self-titled grunge album with John Corabi on lead vocals,"Generation Swine",and "New Tatoo")is a "love it or hate it" album. The good news for The Crue when this album came out was not only had they stopped trying to be like KISS and were no longer accused of being Satan worshippers,every member of Motley Crue(Vince Neil,Nikki Sixx,Tommy Lee,and Mick Mars)lent their songwriting talents to this record-on "Too Fast For Love",Nikki Sixx and Vince Neil were the only members of The Crue who lent their songwriting talents to that record(Neil co-wrote two songs with Sixx,Sixx wrote all of the songs either by himself or with someone else)and on "Shout At The Devil",it was pretty much the same situation-except Vince Neil co-wrote more songs on the record and Mick Mars wrote one(Tommy Lee didn't co-write any on that record)but this album found Neil,Sixx,Lee,and Mars all showing the world the songwriting talents they had. As for the album,it wasn't bad,but it wasn't great either. The only throwaway on this record is "Use It Or Lose It",and the rest is pretty much 3.5 stars-the standouts on this CD are the lovely ballad "Home Sweet Home","Save Our Souls","Smokin' In The Boys Room"(not an original song by The Crue,a cover song),and "Keep Your Eye On The Money". The rest of this album is average,could have been better,and not as good as Too Fast or Shout,but a pretty good record that did a decent job that allowed people to stop going on that Motley Crue was trying to be like KISS(which may have been true,if You've read what their early stage shows were like and if You've seen the music video for "Live Wire" that appeared on Motley Crue's "Greatest Video Hits DVD")and it also got people to stop accusing The Crue of being Satan worshippers(I don't know if that was true for Vince Neil,Tommy Lee,and Mick Mars,but Nikki Sixx has admitted that that really was the situation for him).

All of Motley Crue's albums have been re-issued,and the special treatment for this record was including demos for "Home Sweet Home","City Boy Blues",and "Keep Your Eye On The Money",the alternate guitar solo/rough mix for "Smokin' In The Boys Room" and the instrumental rough mix for "Home Sweet Home",a drum piece Tommy Lee recorded in Cherokee Studios around that time, the CD is enhanced with the music video for "Home Sweet Home",and there are expanded liner notes. If You're new to Motley Crue,then this record will give you the wrong idea of their music,my recommendation is that if You're new to The Crue and you want to buy all of their albums,then buy this as a part of Motley Crue's "Music To Crash Your Car To:Volume One"(it is a box set that has this repackaged with bonus tracks and Shout,"Girls,Girls,Girls",and both the original version and the Leathur Original Mix of "Too Fast For Love")but either way,even though this is not Motley's best album,it does belong in the CD collection of all Crue fans.

one of my favorite Motley Crue Albums, i bought this when it first came out and played it so much that i wore it out. i really recommend this to anyone new to crue :)

Step inside the Motley Crue's "Theatre of Pain" and let me tell you a story. Twenty-two years ago back in 1982, a band named Motley Crue made their music debut with their album, "Too Fast For Love." One year later, in 1983, they released the smash album, "Shout At Devil." With their very successful tour in support of the album, the group's popularity had risen to super stardom. To capitalize on this fame, in 1985, they came out with one of their best albums to date, "THEATRE OF PAIN." Together, this band consisting of Vince Neil, Nikki Sixx, Mick Mars, and Tommy Lee, they created an album unlike any other Crue album before its release up to this date. The album is very musically unified along the group's experimentation with different types of sounds and instuments. Nikki Sixx, the main writter if the album's material wrote some of the Crue's best songs to date.

The albums's opener, "City Boy Blues," is a Crue classic and deserves an A+ all the way. The lyrics are great, Tommy's drum beats are phenomenal and the rhythms by Nikki and Mick are out of the world with some excellent lead guitar solos. The next track, the remake of "Smokin' In The Boys Room" is just outstanding and is definitly one of the Crue's best songs to date and is outstanding live. The ballad "Home Sweet Home" is the Crue's best ballad to date hands down. They have some great ballads but this one is so much more better. The opening sequence is a piano playing and Vince's vocals are so passionate and the guitar work is undoubtably fascinating. This was the Crue's hit single of the album along with "Smokin' In The Boys Room."

The last two tracks, "Raise Your Hands To Rock" and "Fight For Your Rights" are great closers to a great album. The first one in an anthem just in the title itself. Any rock finatic will love this one. Then last track "Fight For Your Rights" is a great tune although I think the order of the last two songs should have been switched. This is the album of 1985. It's loud, head-banging and is pure Motley Crue. I already had two Motley Crue albums but after I bought this and listened to it once I became a Crue finatic. This album is sure to do the same to anyone who buys it. Step inside Motley Crue's "Theatre of Pain" and enjoy the show!