Motley Crue – Shout at the Devil (40th Anniversary) (2023)
There’s an entire generation of kids who first discovered Motley Crue through their 2019 Netflix biopic, The Dirt. These new fans are more familiar with the band’s off stage antics than their back catalog, and I can’t blame anyone who has only recently discovered the band for wondering… what was the big deal? Vince Neil’s vocal performances have been notoriously awful for at least a decade, the band heavily leans on backing tracks in concert, and it’s public knowledge that every member of the band hates the other three. Throughout the band’s wild history, drummer Tommy Lee quit (he later returned), vocalist Vince Neil quit and/or was fired (he also returned), and most recently guitarist Mick Mars quit and/or was fired in 2023. The only member who never quit the band is bassist Nikki Sixx, although he did temporarily die from a heroin overdose for a few minutes so technically he was out of the band while dead. The best decision the band ever made was to retire from touring while before turned into a nostalgic act… and then they returned to touring as a nostalgic act.
While I can understand younger fans seeing Motley Crue as a bunch of washed up has-beens, that wasn’t always the case. In 1983, the members of Motley Crue were lean and mean. They looked like demonic extras from a Mad Max film, filled their stage with pentagrams and fire, and blew away every other band on the Hollywood Strip. The band divided their time equally between rocking, fighting, drinking, and screwing. They were the baddest, dirtiest, sleaziest band around — no stage, hotel, or female fan was safe from their antics. They were Motley Crue.
Shout at the Devil was the band’s second album and if not their best work, certainly their most consistent. Every song on the album was tailor made to represent (if not sculpt) the band’s image. Every song is related to one the band’s pastimes (mostly fighting and screwing), with the occasional dip into family-friendly (read: marketable) Satanism. The album’s two singles, “Looks That Kill” and “Too Young to Fall in Love” made their way into MTV rotation and introduced an army of teenagers (including myself) to their torch-waving, leather-wearing image.
In addition to the album’s original 11 tracks, the 40th anniversary release contains five additional remastered demos. Three are demo versions of songs from this same album (“Shout at the Devil”, “Looks that Kill”, and “Too Young to Fall in Love”). We also get “Hotter than Hell” (which eventually morphed into “Louder than Hell” and appeared on Theater of Pain) and “Black Widow,” an unreleased track. All five of these tracks have appeared on previous releases, with the first four demos appearing on the 20th anniversary release of Shout at the Devil and “Black Widow” appearing on the the greatest hits compilation Red, White, and Crue. Motley Crue is well known for including new cover tunes and unreleased tracks on their greatest hits and re-released albums, and it’s unfortunate that this one contains no new material.
Inside the limited edition are enough collectibles and bonus items to convince your friends you’ve been collecting Motley Crue merchandise since the early days. There’s a paper Ouija board and a metal Motley Crue planchette, some art prints, a set of tarot cards featuring the members of the band, a devilish ceramic candle holder, the album on vinyl, a second vinyl album containing all the demos (which features additional demos for “Knock ’em Dead Kid” and “I Will Survive”, both of which have also been previously released), two 7″ singles wrapped in a red banana that says “Shout at the Devil” in Latin, the album on cassette, and the album on CD. There’s a lot of stuff in the box and fans of the band and album won’t be disappointed. How many of your friends have polished metal Motley Crue planchettes?
The mix on the CD is brand new, and this is quite possibly the best these songs have ever sounded. Songs on the CD are slightly louder than the 2003 20th Anniversary release, and miles above the original CD release. When alternating between the 2003 and 2023 releases you can tell the guitars are slightly brighter and the bass is a little more pronounced, but the difference is very slight.
Look, I get it. Mick Mars, who just semi-retired from the band, is in his 70s. The other members of the band are in the 60s. They’re not “in their prime.” But there was a time when they were, and it during the Shout at the Devil era. If you want to hear the best version of arguably the band’s best album, this is it.
Link: Shout at the Devil 40th Anniversary Limited Edition Box Set