The wheel just swerved straight into 1994 and landed on Mötley Crüe for Episode 196.

New singer. Darker sound. More flannel than lipstick. We’re diving into the album that made fans argue harder than the internet comment section ever could.

Mötley Crüe is the sixth studio album by American heavy metal band Mötley Crüe. It was released on March 15, 1994. It was the band’s only album released with singer John Corabi, and was the first album of new material released by the band since their 1989 album, Dr. Feelgood.

The album, which was recorded under the working title of Til Death Do Us Part, was the first release by the band after signing a $25 million contract with Elektra Records.

Following the success of the Dr. Feelgood and Decade of Decadence albums and tours, the members of Mötley Crüe were tired and needed to take a break from the non-stop pressures of the road. Instead of being given a break, the band, then consisting of bassist Nikki Sixx, drummer Tommy Lee, guitarist Mick Mars and singer Vince Neil, had returned to the studio to begin work on the follow-up album to their 1989 album Dr. Feelgood on a two-week-on, two-week-off schedule. While working on new material in the studio in early 1992, Sixx, Lee and Mars had a falling out with Neil that led to the singer quitting or being fired from the band, effectively leaving Mötley Crüe without a frontman.

Meanwhile, John Corabi was the vocalist of the Los Angeles-based hard rock band the Scream when he read an interview that featured Sixx in an issue of Spin magazine. In the interview, Corabi found out that Sixx was a big fan of the Scream‘s first record, Let It Scream. Corabi wanted to get in contact with Sixx and thank him for the compliment, as well as possibly opening the door for collaborating with Sixx on material for the next Scream album, so he had his manager get the number to Mötley Crüe‘s manager, Doug Thaler. After speaking to Thaler’s secretary, Corabi was told to leave his phone number so that Sixx could get in contact with him. Not thinking much of it, Corabi left his number and continued with his responsibilities with the Scream.

After receiving a phone call from Sixx and Lee, where they informed Corabi that Neil was no longer in the band, he was invited to audition. After a couple of sessions, the band told Corabi that he was their choice for Neil’s replacement, but told him to keep quiet about it until they were able to work out some pending legal technicalities, as Elektra Records could have possibly reneged on the band’s new contract if the label knew Neil was gone.

Mötley Crüe
John Corabi – lead vocals, acoustic guitar, rhythm guitar, six-string bass
Mick Mars – lead guitar, six-string bass, sitar, mandolin, backing vocals
Nikki Sixx – bass, piano, backing vocals
Tommy Lee – drums, piano, backing vocals

Production
Bob Rock – producer, mixing, acoustic guitar, rhythm guitar, mandolin
Randy Staub – engineer, mixing
Brian Dobbs, Ed Korengo, Darren Grahn, Jim Labinski, Bill Kennedy, Kim Lomas, Roger Monk, Ken Villeneuve, Greg Goldman – additional engineers
George Marino – mastering
Bob Buckley – orchestral arrangements and conduction

Additional Musicians
Scott Humphrey – programming/synths
Glenn Hughes – backing vocals on “Misunderstood”
Marc Lafrance, Dave Steele – backing vocals
Hook Herrera – harmonica
Sammy Sanchez – mandolin
members of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra and the Vancouver Opera Orchestra
Akira Nagai – concertmaster

Intro Music/Wheel Spin Music by LiteSaturation from Pixabay