A Lethal Live Album
Motley Crüe tours are certainly something that should be seen to be believed, with this audio CD being the third best option, behind the DVD and actual live experience. However this being the Crüe, crazy antics, dancing girls and plenty of lewd behaviour is a given and listening to this album, you can almost feel the audience's excitement and band's fervour. 80's anthem 'Shout At The Devil' and 'Too Fast For Love' open the affair with thrashing guitars and plenty of hoarse audience members screaming along. 'Ten Seconds To Love' builds up the tension some more with the frantic pace relenting a little to allow Vince Neil to salute and fire up his eager crowd, "Get those fucking hands up, you know what I want tonight", as only the thumping drum beat- once again powered by Tommy Lee- continues.
'On With The Show' breaks the sweat-inducing rampage a little, with its sleazy guitar solos and more melodic vocals that even spur on an acoustic guitar section before the band explode into the incendiary classic 'Too Young To Fall In Love' and racing mock-operetta of 'Louder Than Hell'. What's most amazing is that after 20 years of drugs and acting as the incarnation of chaos and mayhem, Motley Crüe still retain the stamina to play such a fast-paced and convincing set; by the time you've got to 'Girls, Girls, Girls', the penultimate track on CD1, you feel breathless just listening!
'Don't Go Away Mad (Just Go Away)' kicks off CD2 with a slightly more soft rock feel, before we finally break into the 90's with the brazen riffs of 'Primal Scream'. Shimmering ballad 'Glitter' has perfect rock ballad power appeal, melting into its lilting predecessor in slow tune stakes, 'Without You'. 'Dr Feelgood' then works its catchy magic on the audience, before gritty new number 'Sick Love Song' and its contemporary epic partner 'If I Die Tomorrow' take the stage by storm.
'Kickstart My Heart' proves that the band are still indeed "kicking arse", before a great version of what must be one of the most covered songs in history- 'Helter Skelter' and the final closer, another cover- 'Anarchy in The UK' punctuated by revved up guitars.
For a live album, the sound quality is great, with the only problem being that on the more guitar-driven tracks like 'Shout At The Devil' the vocals are a little low in the mix, but of course seeing as the album is meant to be played damn loud, this problem is easily resolved!
The CD and indeed tour, remains very much in the 80s; this means that we get a rousing collection of classic tracks in succession, warming the crowd up to fever point. This tour was supporting the band's 'Red, White and Crüe' Greatest Hits collection, but you would perhaps expect a more varied mix of older hits and newer material (unless of course, the 'Crüe, like many fans don't rate their new tracks as highly!) If you bought the greatest hits album itself, or the live DVD, then this live CD is now pretty much redundant, however if you're wanting to get a sense of the band's massive, bestial sound, then this live CD will certainly stand you in good stead; far better than any collection of hits.