In my quest for interesting, unique and rare albums for bands I like, I found this bootleg of an old Motley Crue concert from 1986. It says it was recorded at Fresno & Boston in 1986. It was released on Toasted Records in 1988 out of Australia, so pretty cool I found a copy here in the States. The show, as I said, states it is 1986. The label on each of the 2 LPs included in this set have a copyright of 1985 which is impossible if the show didn’t take place until 1986. Actually, the 1985 is probably correct as the Fresno, California pieces of this disc are from November 25, 1985 and the Boston, Massachusetts parts of this show are from a 1984 show.
But Bootlegs are never known to be very accurate. Just take a look at the cover above. That picture is from at the very least the ‘Girls, Girls, Girls’ era which was 1987. And the picture on the back looks more like ‘Shout at the Devil’ which is probably where the Boston piece of this show was recorded. A 1985 show (Fresno) would’ve been ‘Theatre of Pain’ era. Based on all this we have two eras in one with this bootleg. And from what else I can find on this album, two of the songs are from the US Festival in 1983. Sound quality of the release isn’t bad. It doesn’t sound like a soundboard, but I’ve read it is and an FM broadcast, but the quality isn’t a normal soundboard if it is. There is a little hollowness to it, but still very listenable.
LP 1:
The entire first LP in this collection is all from the Fresno, CA show at the Selland Arena on November 25, 1985. The Fresno show kicks off with “Looks That Kill”. The guitars are loud, the drums heavy and Vince is still actually singing…well…sort of. I think I understand about every other word. When he forgets the words, which is often, he just mumbles or makes a strange sound. A great opening track. Heck anytime I get to hear the songs from the first two albums, I’m excited.
“Too Young To Fall in Love” comes roaring out of the gates next and what a beast of a song this one is too. Vince’s vocals get a little shrill here at times, but as I said earlier, he still sounds good. There is a lack of bottom end in the songs, not enough umph to the bass and drums. Guitar is a little lacking in sound as well. Crowd comes in great thought. “Shout Out the Devil” is a little flat sounding and Vince is not in fine form with this one. Too bad since I do love this song. Side One wraps up with “City Boy Blues” and all energy gets sucked from the room. There is no heart in Vince’s vocals and the music is dull. Not a great song to begin with it and doesn’t hit well here live either.
Side two kicks off with “Louder Than Hell” cranks things back up and it isn’t bad. Not much energy is given off from this performance, at least to me. It is like they are going through the motions, but that is probably do to the sound quality. The song is short and sweet and over quickly then they slam in to “Knock ‘Em Dead Kid”. This one has a killer Mars solo and I wish it was louder in the mix has he throws in every trick in the book on this one. But you can hear Vince just fine and is that a good thing? Yeah, he does okay here and he can still hit some of those really high notes…damn!
Then the piano kicks in and we get the big hit at the time, “Home Sweet Home”. And they totally nail this one. Vince’s vocals are really killer here, no complaints whatsoever. This is what you expect when you hear this one live. And that wraps up, the guitars go blazing and they race through “Live Wire”. Now that is the energy I want to feel in a live show. This set went flat in the middle, but really recovered nicely with these last two songs.
LP 2:
The first two songs on here are from the US Festival in 1983. All the remaining songs are from the Orpheum Theatre in Boston, MA in 1984. Well, with the exception of the very last song “Smokin’ in the Boys Room” which is back to Fresno. “Take Me To The Top” kicks off Side Three and this one is from the US Festival. It starts with a haunting organ sound and then a barrage of drum rolls and an awkward scream from Vince. The song kicks in in full and off we go. Sound quality is slightly different from the first LP, a little muddy. I think Vince sounded better on the Fresno show, but he could scream here no doubt. The other US Festival song is The Beatles cover of “Helter Skelter”. This one is much better, the guitars rip through the riffs with ease and Vince actually sings this one. When he does that the songs surprisingly are way more enjoyable.
Now we are on to the Boston show for most of the rest of the disc. First up is “Bastard” and you can tell it is a different show as the sound quality changes ever so slightly. I think to the better too. “Bastard” is not one of my favorite tracks from ‘Shout at the Devil’, but the energy level and the fact it is a quick song makes it work pretty well live. The guitar solo on here is sensational from Mick. Then they go in to “10 Seconds to Love” and I’m digging this particular show. The sound is much better on the Boston show then the others. We get more low end and everything is too high pitched. A rocking track for sure and more Mick Magic!! They then go in to a little audience participation and the crowd is really in to it which helps with the energy level. But before it ends, we actually get “Merry Go Round” which is supposed to kick of Side Four…oops. BTW, they do a great job with that one too.
Flipping it over to Side four we get a fade in to what we think is “Merry Go Round”. But it is some heavy bass work from Nikki and then Mick’s riff slams in. However, the song is “Piece Of Your Action”. A great track off the debut album and plays well live as well as it totally rocks out. Tommy’s drum work on here is awesome as well, his double bass kick drum is in full force.
Then we get to “Red Hot” and it is just that. Smokin’ track and tempo up to 11. The band is on fire and they slay this one and then they explode to a drum solo and I’ve seen a Tommy drum solo and they are usually awesome and this one doesn’t disappoint. Now, I saw him years later when his drum set spun around upside down. I don’t think that happened here yet as we are 1984. After the drum solo then we get Mick Mars and his ferocious guitar solo. Not sure what to say, it is a guitar solo, lots of showboating and speed. Just what you’d expect.
Then they wrap things up with the final track and back to Fresno as they close things out with “Smokin’ in the Boys Room”. And you can tell they make the switch, sound is obviously different and we are back to a too high pitched sound. Funny thing they switch in to the end of another song before it ends and goes in to “Smokin’”. A fun song and the band has made it their own, but the intro is drawn out way too long as they should just go straight in to it. Like the first LP, Vince is high in the mix and the other instruments take a slight back seat. Mick’s guitar is strong though at times. Not a favorite track from a crappy album so it is what it is. The harmonica is the best part though, I will give it that.
And that is it. Not the best Bootleg out there and I am not thrilled with getting parts of two shows, but still cool to get some early Motley Crue bootlegs. I love the Boston show the most and they should clean that one up and release it as I am sure they have the full show because there are a ton of boots out there with this show. The Fresno show isn’t as good as quality, but still holds up well and has some enjoyable moments. My Overall Score is a 3.5 out of 5.0 Stars as I like it, don’t love it. I’ll pull this one out on occasion I am sure. As much as Motley Crue tries to get us to hate them with the stupid stuff they do, I still have a soft spot for them.
#Motley #Crue #Show #Bootleg #Loud #Music
