Mötley Crüe

Volume two of Hip-O's Mötley Crüe retrospective, Music to Crash Your Car To, is decidedly less impressive than its predecessor. That's not to say that the poster, essay-augmented booklet, demos, alternate mixes, unreleased track, and comic book aren't reasons enough for the average fan to run to the store. It's just that somewhere after the release of Dr. Feelgood, the Crüe lost a lot of what made them so "Mötley." Following the hard rock legends through 1994, the collection boasts all of that record's finest cuts, as well as tracks from their self-titled comeback album -- which saw singer Vince Neil replaced by the serviceable, yet ultimately faceless John Corabi. While selections from that record do little but bestow a sense of completeness on the whole venture, the remaining material is intermittently impressive. Disc two includes the bonus and remixed tracks from the Decade of Decadence and Supersonic and Demonic Relics collections, as well as tracks from the Ford Fairlane soundtrack and various benefit albums. The real treat is the inclusion of "Black Widow," a searing, seething, and intoxicating casualty from 1983's Shout at the Devil sessions, although it would've fit more logically on the first volume. Also included are the five tracks from the previously "mail-order only" Quarternary EP, as well as Japanese tracks, a lame version of the Sex Pistols' "Anarchy in the U.K.," and an unintentionally hilarious Skinny Puppy remix of "Hooligan's Holiday." Despite the meandering tendencies of the band, there is much to love on this second volume, and completists will be thrilled to find all of this material in one place, but for those with just a passing interest, any of the single-disc "greatest hits" packages will provide the "kick start" to the heart that won them over in the first place. ~ James Christopher Monger, All Music Guide