Review: Motley Crue - Carnival of Sin (live)
Label: Eleven Seven Music
Released: October 23, 2007
With the possible exception of Dr Feelgood (and that's even pretty questionable), Motley Crue hasn't done anything meaningful since 1983's Shout at the Devil, so it is quite beyond me why anyone would waste their time and money to see them. That being said, Carnival of Sin turned out to be a bit of a surprise.
The two-disc set obviously concentrates of the band's 80s recordings and rightly so, because the newer songs aren't worth hearing. The first disc largely concentrates on the first two albums and is therefore, the stronger of the two. The second disc stumbles a bit with weaker songs, back-to-back ballads and their ridiculous cover of "Anarchy in the UK." While Motley Crue aren't a relevant rock band any longer, they still prove to be energetic, albeit stupid, showmen. They no longer convey the wild side that they once did, but they give a worthy performance of the old material and inject life into their newer tunes.
Just as the band surprised me with their performance, so too did Bob Rock with his production. Rather than the slick commercialism that is his hallmark, this album actually captures the rawness of a live performance without being so raw that it's unlistenable.
The album was certainly better that I expected and it gives some credence to the position that the band should tour (and maybe even that people, not me, should bother seeing them). However, the strength of the older versus the newer material makes it quite clear that they shouldn't bother with studio albums.
Rating: 6/10
posted by bob_vinyl at 11:35 PM
3 Comments:
I thought it was decent too. They stumbled a little early on some of the older songs, but they picked up rather well. You are right that they have not anything very relevant since Shout. Yet I found myself getting excited when "Red Hot" started up. I loved the crowd singing back during "Live Wire" which showed how strong a fan base they still have. I didn't understand closing with "Anarchy in the UK" either. The only good thing they can say there is that Megadeth's version is even worse.
You know what rhymes with Carnival of Sins? Carnival of Has-beens.
You know what doesn't rhyme? Carnival of Moronic Douchebags.
Carnival of has-beens? That's one one those "not quite" rhymes like "Rockin' with Dokken".
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