With the 2008 LP release "
Saints of Los Angeles", Motley Crue has redefined themselves as the elder statesmen of the Sunset Strip with their most mature album to date. Although the spoken introduction paints a grim picture of what it's like to make it in the City of Angels, not all of the songs are pessimistic and brooding. The best track, "
The Animal In Me" is a soft sounding, slowed down, compostion with a most infectuous hook of a refrain. The first single, "
Saints of Los Angeles", proudly introduces the new generation of hard rock with a chorus featuring lead singers from the current scene, among them
Buckcherry and
Trapt. Lastly, "
Down At The
Whisky" is a piece happily harking back to the band's glory days. To add, the effect is so pronounced "
Whisky" could easily double as the soundtrack to their autobiography "The Dirt". The music has a range stemming from their rock/metal roots ("
Saints of Los Angeles", "Chicks =
Trouble", and "Goin'
Out Swingin'") to punk ("
Face Down In the Dirt"), and even a measure of grunge ("M.F. Of The Year"). Cohesively, the overall sound is the classic Sunset Stripped down feel of the Crue back when they were the Sinners of L.A. Production-wise this album is a little more troubling. Not only is Nikki Sixx's bass more prominent but Mick Mars' guitar output is turned down as well, and not only is Mars less audible, but the amount of solos have decreased, too (although Mars' signature fills thankfully remain throughout). Similarly,
Tommy Lee's drumming is to a word cymbal-heavy, but whether that's a playing choice or a mixing choice that's debatable. Still, the maturity of the songwriting is self-evident, and the message from the band is fueled from a greater understanding of who they are now. For these reasons, Motley Crue's "
Saints of Los Angeles" is a most relevant expression of rock, not only for the band and their fans, but for the music scene in general.
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