Cries from the Quiet World: Mötley Crüe "Generation Swine"

miércoles, 24 de julio de 2019

Mötley Crüe "Generation Swine"

Generation Swine is the seventh studio album by the heavy metal band Mötley Crüe, released on June 24, 1997. The album marks the return of lead singer Vince Neil following his last appearance on 1989's Dr. Feelgood and the last to feature drummer Tommy Lee until the 2008 album Saints of Los Angeles. It is also the band's last album to be released on Elektra Records.

Following the commercial failure of the band's self-titled album, Mötley Crüe was under pressure by executives at Elektra Records to return Mötley Crüe to the level of commercial success that the band enjoyed in the 1980s.

The band, then officially consisting of vocalist/guitarist John Corabi, bassist Nikki Sixx, drummer Tommy Lee and guitarist Mick Mars, were so frustrated with the failure of the previous album and tour sales that they fired numerous people around the group, including their accountant, manager Doug Thaler, and their producer Bob Rock. The band then hired Allen Kovac as their new manager and started looking for another producer to work with for their next record which was originally titled Personality #9.

After the mass firing, the band was called to a meeting with Warner Bros. CEO Doug Morris to discuss the current state of the band. At the meeting, Morris tried to convince Sixx and Lee to get rid of Corabi, as he wasn't a "star," and reunite with original singer Vince Neil. Sixx and Lee were not interested in the idea of working with Neil again, and insisted on keeping Corabi in the group. With some additional convincing from Elektra CEO Sylvia Rhone, Morris agreed and the band continued with their work.

Mötley Crüe returned to the studio intending to record a straight rock record that was more aggressive than the Mötley Crüe album. With Rock producing, they recorded material such as "The Year I Lived In a Day" and "La Dolce Vita." The band was so excited that, according to Corabi, "At the end of each day we'd walk around the studio carrying our huge cocks in our hands because the music rocked so hard."

After Rock was fired for being "too expensive and overproduc[ing] the music", the band eventually chose Scott Humphrey, with Sixx and Lee serving as coproducers. But the process became disorganized, as Humphrey and Sixx regularly argued over ideas. Mars' role was greatly reduced due to an ongoing feud between him and Humphrey, and Corabi grew increasingly frustrated, as he would learn and write material only to find it completely changed by the time he returned to the studio.

As the recording continued, the band was being pressured to reunite with Neil. Corabi decided he had had enough of the frustration of working under the pressure that the band and Humphrey put on him. With Corabi out, the door was open for Neil to return.

Neil had been busy with his solo career and the untimely death of his daughter Skylar, when Kovac had approached him with the idea of reuniting with Mötley that Morris had presented to Sixx and Lee earlier. Neil, like Sixx and Lee, was against the idea, but Kovac planted the idea of a reunion in Neil's head that eventually changed his mind. After meeting with Sixx and Lee, Neil agreed to rejoin and finish the album, whose title had been changed to Generation Swine.

Musically, the album shows Mötley trying to update their image and sound, experimenting with trends such as electronica and alternative rock. The songs draw heavy influence from Cheap Trick in the first half of the record. Rick Nielsen and Robin Zander did backing vocals in some songs. Most of the album was written while Corabi was with the band, and as such Neil had difficulty adjusting his voice to the material and sound. "There's a lot on that album that I'd have changed had I been there from the start," he remarked. "I didn't think the producer really knew what he was doing, because he wouldn't let me sing in the style I was accustomed to. He wouldn't let Mick play his usual way either. It was a nightmare."

Even with Neil back in the band, the album proved a departure from traditional Mötley albums. Besides the aforementioned experimentation, the album featured Sixx and Lee on lead vocals for the first time: Sixx on "Rocketship" (a love song tofor his new romance with model Donna D'Errico) and parts of "Find Myself"; Lee on "Brandon" (a namesake song for his first-born son, and his then-current wife, model Pamela Anderson) and "Beauty".

Lyrically, Generation Swine ranges from songs about drugs and prostitution such as "Find Myself" and "Beauty," to the anti-suicide stance on "Flush" and familial love on "Rocketship" and "Brandon."

"Afraid" was released as the first single from the album. The video featured Hustler publisher Larry Flynt, who also put the band on the cover of an issue of Hustler that year. "Afraid" reached #10 on the US mainstream rock charts, but that too did little to generate interest in the album. The second single released was "Beauty" which reached number 37 on the mainstream rock charts. "Find Myself" and "Glitter" were released as a promo singles. The band felt that the album's sluggish sales were due to Elektra not promoting the album properly, claiming that the label was only interested in promoting R & B acts. Rhone denied this claim though, stating that Mötley Crüe was a major priority for Elektra and that the label had spent a large sum of money in order to get the band to perform "Shout at the Devil '97" on the American Music Awards in January 1997

To promote the album, Skeleteens Beverages in Pasadena, California created a soft drink for the band called, "Motley Brue." The drink came in bottles which featured the new, "Pig logo" and consisted of large amounts of blue #1 which turned everything blue. The intentions were to have people that drank the soft drink urinate green fluid. Mötley Crüe helped design the bottles that featured lyrics from Generation Swine songs on the reverse of each label.

Generation Swine debuted at No. 4 on the Billboard 200, selling over 80,500 copies in its first week and was certified Gold by the RIAA on August 27, 1997. Despite the strong charting debut, the album failed to return the band to the level of critical and commercial success that had been hoped for with the reunion, and according to Nielsen SoundScan the album has sold about 306,000 copies in the U.S. to date. In 2008, singer Vince Neil stated that the album was "terrible" due to "too much experimenting".

Generation Swine would be the group's final release on Elektra Records, as the label and Mötley Crüe would break their relationship off in early 1998. Future releases from the group would come from their own Mötley Records.

On July 7, 1997, Corabi filed a $4-million lawsuit against the band for alleged breach of contract, fraud, and slander. Corabi's claim was that he had not received royalties or credit for his work and contributions while he was in the band.

Corabi was only officially credited for two songs on the original pressing of Generation Swine, "Flush" and "Let Us Prey," but claimed that he was responsible for at least 80% of the material on the album.

Track listing

All tracks written by Nikki Sixx, except where noted.