Motley Crue - Generation Swine
|
List Price: Our Price: $3.38 You Save: $13.60 (80%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $0.49 (click here) Category: Music CD See more new music releases 
|
|---|
Buy this Music CD at online store in your country
Canadian Music Store
Canadian Music Store
Free Music Notes for Generation Swine
Free Music Review: Moments of brilliance...
Hit: 4 Stars
the Crue has some of its greatest moments on Swine: "Find Myself" is a brutal opener, "Flush" and "Let us Prey" are killer, and "Afraid" is one of the best songs Nikki Sixx ever wrote. unfortunately, there's also "Glitter" and other filler at the back of the record that makes it uneven as a whole...Free Music Review: GET BACK TO BASICS
Hit: 4 Stars
I REALLY THINK THEY COULD HAVE DONE BETTER ON SOME OF THE SONGS.I LIKE GLITTER,AFRAID,GENERATION SWINE,CONFESSIONS,BEAUTY,ALOT BUT SONGS SUCH AS BRANDON AND SHOUT 97 COULD HAVE BEEN LEFT OUT BUT OVER ALL ITS NOT BAD FOR THERE FIRST ALBUM BACK TOGETHER. CRUE HEAD FOREVERFree Music Review: A decent reunion album
Hit: 3 Stars
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.
Free Music Review: Somewhat disappointing return
Hit: 3 Stars
I am very open to changes with a band's direction if it is done right. After a time, I actually embraced the 1994 self-titled Crue album with John Corabi on lead vocals. It was very modern, but explosive, serious and rocking. That's why I was surprised that this album, with the return of Vince Neil, is as weak in spots as it is.Don't get me wrong, the album rocks in plenty of spots. The band continued to move forward with a very modern sound. However, it overall falls flat. Vince's vocals are severely restrained (and strained) in spots, and in plenty of spots the album doesn't sound like Vince or the Crue at all.
Some specifics: The opening track "Find Myself" gets the album off to a good start--a heavy, modern track with a good deal of attitude. I also like the modern yet somewhat melodic sound of the second track and first single "So Afraid". I even kind of dig the modern remake of "Shout At The Devil"--as it is not a bad update to the original song. Vince also sounds a bit like himself on such songs as the title track. However, what on earth is with the vocal effects on a song like "Beauty"? "Glitter" is absolutely a horrid, cheesy ballad; whoever said that this compares with the classic ballad "Home Sweet Home" must be smoking something funny. Even worse is the closing track "Brandon". Who cares that it is an ode by "legendary father figure" Tommy Lee to his son? It is a dreadful, weak song that has no place on a Crue album.
After this album, the Crue seemed to really be headed in the right direction with the two new songs that they put on the greatest hits album that came out a year after this one--as "Bitter Pill" in particular was about the perfect blend of classic pop metal and modern rock. Then they totally reverted back to a watered down version of their '80s classic sound with "New Tatoo". The various musical directions this band took after Vince returned to the fold have had me (and other Crue fans, I'm sure) scratching their heads. This album was the beginning of that. Still an interesting release that does have some merits. Just not in any way a vintage Crue album.
Free Music Review: Not a bad album, but it's not really Motley Crue
Hit: 3 Stars
As much as it pains me to say it, this was not the Crue's best effort to date. Now, don't get me wrong, it's not bad but I just don't think it came across as Motley Crue. When I listen to it I don't hear the things that made Motley great in the past, obviously this is due to the stylistic departure the guys wanted to exercise in order to, I'm guessing, reinvent themselves and appeal to a younger fanbase. If not for the fact that this was a Crue album I think it may have actually been more well recieved, but this album was so radically different from anything they had done before I think it caught allot of people off guard, including myself. It was a ballsy move on their part to do something like this, but I guess that is what Motley has always been about. The song Afraid asks "Are you afraid of change?" evidently the Crue are not. There are some good tracks though, Beauty, Afraid, A Rat Like Me, all have subtle shadings of a more familiar Motley Crue sound. Let Us Prey was actually one of my favorites, because it was so heavy and different. This was more of an experiment if anything I think, it was definately a departure but I think it has its good points. Was as good as other Crue albums, no. Was it a bad album, no. Not really Motley Crue as I see them, but still worth adding to the collection.