With the movie adaptation of Mötley Crüe’s biography The Dirt released on Netflix this year and corresponding album, memories of famous Hair Metal band have flooded back to old fans. The bands’ best-selling, best-sounding album found them at the top of their game musically and at the possible height of their popularity was Dr. Feelgood (Elektra) released thirty years ago today. It certainly is the best selling album of their career and has the most music on one release that holds up the best outside of Shout At The Devil (also Elektra).

With the entire newly sober and working for the first time with a new outside producer in years, Bob Rock (Metallica, Bob Rock, Bon Jovi) rejuvenated the band, although Bob reportedly disliked the sober Crüe. Still, the band made smash hits that measure up as some of their best songs ever, especially the ripping title track, ‘Kickstart My Heart’, ‘Without You’, ‘Same Ol’ Situation (S.OS..)’, and ‘Don’t Go Away Mad (Just Go Away)’. The deeper cuts on the album were at least solid, like ‘Rattlesnake Shake’, ‘She Goes Down’, and the odd (for them) grown-ass socially conscious ballad ‘Time for a Change’. Rock’s mega-production values aided the drums and guitars into monster sounds which complimented Vince Neil’s vocals at the time, especially his gritty lower range. Aural nods to Classic Rock The Beatles and Steven Tyler of Aerosmith singing back-up vocals made sense for a band that was still dangerous, but also getting to dad-age. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g83dXwRkPhg

Already a huge hits driven band that rose out of the glam -rock ghetto to be arena rock big and back it up, Mötley Crüe’s Dr. Feelgood is their best work. Owing to its massive popularity, the band performed the full album twice nationwide, on their own Cruefest Tour for the 20th anniversary and again for the 25th anniversary. This is the best representation as a band on album, even though a few of their signature songs are elsewhere in their catalog! Rock out!

KEITH CHACHKES