(Glam / Hard Rock) Mötley Crüe (Motley Crue) - Music To Crash Your Car To, Volume I & II (2 Box, 8 CDs) - 2003, 2004, MP3, 320 kbps

If you need a serious shot of the Music To Crash Your Car To , drink up. Music to Crash Your Car To, Vol. 1 is the first four-disc installment of yet another re-releasing of the band's material, though this time the entire catalog is getting the treatment in three separate boxes. This initial set covers the band's halcyon/hell-raising early days of 1981-1987 (i.e., Too Fast for Love, Shout at the Devil, Theatre of Pain, and Girls, Girls, Girls). That alone recommends this as the best box to buy if only grabbing one. Serious Cruesers will no doubt be disappointed that there's not much new going on here apart from the fact that the first disc brings together both the original Leathьr Records versions and Elektra Records remixes from MC's debut album, Too Fast for Love (though to many diehards that's a pretty big chunk of bait). One would have thought that there'd have been more genuine bonus material (as opposed to reissued bonus material) -- a much fairer deal for the faithful. But new fans and those extremos who want the Leathur album on CD probably won't mind shelling out for this big fix of hair metal history. And apart from "Tommy's Drum Piece from Cherokee Studios" (which is kinda like scraping underneath the bottom of the barrel for material), there aren't many flat spots here. OK, the Crüe were never Aerosmith or Van Halen, but when it came to good-time anthems and candied-up metal, these were the guys to turn to. And all the proof you need is in this release.~ Adrian ZuppLimited four CD set. Music to Crash Your Car To is the first four-disc installment in this series of Crue box sets containing reissues of the band's back catalog. This set covers the band's hell-raising early days of 1981-87 including the albums Too Fast for Love, Shout at the Devil, Theatre of Pain, and Girls, Girls, Girls. The first disc brings together both the original LeathЃr Records versions and Elektra Records remixes from the debut album, Too Fast for Love. Though the box is not heavy on any new unreleased material from this period, it's still a worthwhile purchase for any serious rocker looking to complete (or start) his/her MC collection. For many, this box remains the ultimate Motley Crue party, and who are we to disagree? 70 tracks. Universal.

Motley Crue:Vince Neil, Nikki Sixx, Tommy Lee, Mick Mars.

Producers: Motley Crue.

Compilation producer: Pat Lawrence, Nikki Sixx.

Recording information: Cherokee studios; Moscow, Russia; San Antonio, TX.

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 MongerMötley Crüe: John Corabi (guitar); Nikki Sixx (bass guitar); Vince Neil (percussion); Mick Mars, Tommy Lee.

Personnel: John Corabi (vocals, acoustic guitar, 6-string bass); Vince Neil (vocals, harmonica, shaker, background vocals); Mick Mars (guitar, mandolin, sitar, 6-string bass, background vocals); Ian Putz, Henry Christian, Tom Keenlyside (horns); Nikki Sixx (piano, organ, 8-string bass, 12-string bass, background vocals); Tommy Lee (piano, drums, percussion, background vocals); John Webster (piano); Bob Rock, Mike Amato, Marc LaFrance, Bob Dowd, David Steele, Jack Blades, Rick Nielsen, Robin Zander, Steven Tyler, Bryan Adams (background vocals).

Audio Mixers:Bob Rock; Bill Kennedy; Dave Ogilvie; Duane Baron; Garth Richardson; R. Dwayne Goettel; Michael Wagener; Randy Nicklaus; Randy Staub ; cEvin Key.

Audio Remixers: Bob Rock; Dave Ogilvie; R. Dwayne Goettel; Michael Wagener; Randy Staub ; Evin Key.
Liner Note Authors: Roger Lotring; Roger Lotring.