"OK, so let's get straight what this box set is, and what it was meant to do. First of all, Crue's spotty reissues have been very frustrating to collect. At first they were issued with bonus tracks (demos, live, B-sides), but given one additional bonus track for those of us who can afford to buy Japanese CDs. Then they were reissued yet again with those Japanese bonus tracks intact. Frustrating.One thing the reissues got wrong, and that could have been fixed so easily, would be to include the original Leathur Records mix of Too Fast For Love. Some (including me) feel it's the superior version of the album, but no matter how you feel about it, it's a long sought after collectible. Some of you are lucky to have a copy on vinyl. Some of us are unlucky to have a copy on cassette, which of course sounds worse and worse every time we play it. One one day, that cassette's just going to snap....So finally, this long long long sought after music has been put to CD, in digitally remastered glory, alongside the Elektra remix of the album. This box therefore represents a complete set of all the music Crue released from their first album to their fourth. The Japanese bonus tracks are included, the domestic bonus tracks, everything, in a four-disc set. Finally! Finally someone got it right!This being "Volume I" and only including the first four albums, we can only hope that the next volumes are equally as well thought out and complete.Rejoice, Crue fans. Someone in Crue-land is finally getting this reissuing business right. This is the package to own. Go for it, but keep your eyes on the road...."
Great, but......
Kevin Stafford | Warwick, RI | 12/06/2003
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Being a Motley-head since the leathur album, this is a great collection. Let me get the few complaints out of the way. The original Leathur mixes are from a pristine record. Not from the masters. Which I found odd because "Stick To Your Guns" & the "Too Fast for Love" (bonus alternate intro version) from the Crucial Crue remasters are from the masters. "TFFL" bonus alternate intro version IS the leathur mix, So on this set you get the same version twice. One from Vinyl and the master tape. A bit odd and redundent. So you have to keep the Crucial Crue "TFFL" to get the master tape version of Stick To Your Guns". You can hear slight suface noice on the Leathur mixes and a few "pops" but hell, If you are a crue nut like me, you aren't gonna find a copy sounding this good for the price PLUS it's on CD!My other complaint is there is no album artwork or lyrics so I need to keep the "Crucial Crue" CD's, again redundent. It's great to get the Japanese extra tracks that eventually came out in the US on the Hip-O re-reissues of the crucial Crue series.Especially the GREAT demo of " Too Young To Fall In Love", it is kickin'!I still have the "Beyond" Crucial Series, so this is cool. As far as most box sets go, they include lots of previously unreleased material which this set doesn't (except the Leathur album) I doubt I will be buying the next 3 sets that are planned for the one bonus track that was added on the Japan reissues. Nikki, add some unreleased gems and you have my $$! I would LOVE to have the single versions of "Stick To Your Guns" since it is so different (hint).To me, the set is worth it JUST to get the far superior Leathur version of "TFFL". The wait is over Motley heads! you too can own these great gems, it's worth the bucks! Take me to the top!"
From "Live Wire" to "You're All I Need"
Ian Scottish | New York | 05/03/2004
(4 out of 5 stars)
"I can't believe so many people are complaining about this set. If you don't like the idea of the first four CDs in a set because you already own all of it for the most part, DON'T BUY IT! They give you the track list on here people, you know what you're buying...most of you reviewers probably don't even own it anyway! Now that that's out of the way, let me say that this is an awesome box set. I didn't own any of these prior to getting the box set and this made it much more convienient for me. Not only is this cheaper than buying the four CDs seperatly, but you also get a very nice booklet which discusses the history of the band along with many full-color photos, bonus tracks, and most importantly the original version of Too Fast For Love. Though Theatre of Pain and Girls Girls Girls may not be Motley's best CDs, they're still worth owning in my opinion. I will agree with one negative aspect of the set, the title was not a good idea but certaintly not a reason to prevent you from purchasing this. Bottom line is that if you already own these, either keep the CDs or sell em and GET THIS! If you don't own 'em and you like Motley...what are you waiting for? I'm looking forward to the next volumes of the set."
A great compilation
Some Gravity | Indiana, USA | 04/12/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I am a big Motley Crue fan, and when it comes to a box set for a great band, you can't go wrong. So, out of all of the box sets that have been released by various artists, it is great to see that Motley Crue has released a box set. Here is a rundown of this box set:
Disc One:
1. "Live Wire" (Leathur Original Mix)
2. "Public Enemy #1" (Leathur Original Mix)
3. "Take Me To The Top" (Leathur Original Mix)
4. "Merry-Go-Round" (Leathur Original Mix)
5. "Piece Of Your Action" (Leathur Original Mix)
6. "Starry Eyes" (Leathur Original Mix)
7. "Stick To Your Guns" (Leathur Original Mix)
8. "Come On and Dance" (Leathur Original Mix)
9. "Too Fast For Love" (Leathur Original Mix)
10. "On With The Show" (Leathur Original Mix)
11. "Live Wire"
12. "Come On and Dance"
13. "Public Enemy #1"
14. "Merry-Go-Round"
15. "Take Me To The Top"
16."Piece Of Your Action"
17."Starry Eyes"
18."Too Fast For Love"
19."On With The Show"
Tracks 1-10 originally issued as "Too Fast For Love" (Leathur R-123, 1981),tracks 11-19 originally issued as "Too Fast For Love", Elektra 60174 (1982)
Disc Two
1. "Toast Of The Town"
2. "Tonight"
3. "Too Fast For Love" (alternate intro)
4. "Merry-Go-Round" (live)
5. "In The Beginning"
6. "Shout At The Devil"
7. "Looks That Kill"
8. "Bastard"
9. "God Bless The Children Of The Beast"
10. "Helter Skelter"
11. "Red Hot"
12. "Too Young To Fall In Love"
13. "Knock 'Em Dead Kid"
14. "Ten Seconds To Love"
15. "Danger"
16. "Shout At The Devil" (demo)
17. "Looks That Kill" (demo)
18. "Hotter Than Hell" (demo, not a cover of the famous KISS song, a Motley Crue original that remained unreleased until now)
19. "I Will Survive" (not the disco version, again, this is one of the Crue's original songs with the same title as another song)
20. "Too Young To Fall In Love" (demo)
Track 1A Coffman &Coffman production, originally issued as B-side of "Stick To Your Guns" (a limited edition promotion-only 7" single given away at Los Angeles Arena shows in 1981. Tracks 2-3 originally released on the 1999 expanded version of "Too Fast For Love", and track 4 and 20 was first released on the Japanese expanded version of that same album. Tracks 5-15 originally appeared on the original version of "Shout At The Devil" (1983, Elektra 60289).
Disc Three:
1. "City Boy Blues"
2. "Smokin' In The Boys Room"
3. "Louder Than Hell"
4. "Keep Your Eye On The Money"
5. "Home Sweet Home"
6. "Tonight (We need a lover)"
7. "Use It or Lose It"
8. "Save Our Souls"
9. "Raise Your Hands To Rock"
10. "Fight For Your Rights"
11. "Home Sweet Home" (demo)
12. "Smokin' In The Boys Room" (alternate guitar solo-rough mix)
13. "City Boy Blues" (demo)
14. "Home Sweet Home" (instrumental rough mix)
15. "Keep Your Eye On The Money" (demo)
16. The last track on here is one of Tommy Lee's drum pieces, which is simply titled as "Tommy's Drum Piece From Cherokee Studios"
Tracks 1-10 originally appeared on the original version of "Theatre Of Pain (1985, Electra 60418), tracks 11-15 first released on the expanded version of the same album that was released in 1999, track 16 originally appeared on the Japanese re-issued version of that album.
Disc Four:
1. "Wild Side"
2. "Girls, Girls, Girls"
3. "Dancing On Glass"
4. "Bad Boy Boogie"
5. "Nona"
6. "Five Years Dead:
7. "All In The Name Of..."
8. "Sumthin' For Nuthin" (note that it is spelled that way in the liner notes)
9. "You're All I Need"
10. "Jailhouse Rock" (live)
11. "Girls, Girls, Girls" (rough mix of instrumemntal track, Tom Werman and band intro)
12. "Wild Side" (instrumental, rough mix of instrumental track)
13. "Rodeo"
14. "Nona" (instrumental idea)
15. "All In The Name Of..." (Live)
Tracks 1-10 originally issued on the album "Girls, Girls, Girls" (1987, Elektra 60725), tracks 11-14 first released on the expanded version of that album that was released in 1999, and track 15 first appeared on the Japanese expanded version of that album that was released in 1999.
There is also a booklet that comes with this box set that has several cool pictures, a track list, songs, credits, and there are two stories- "Why Motley Matters" (written by Shaun Pollit)and "Motley Crue Ruined My Life (for which I am eternally grateful"), that was written by Dante Bonutto. Shaun Pollit is the founder and webmaster of www.motley.com (the official website for The Crue), and Dante Bonutto is a London based journalist, a former artist, and a repertoire man for Eastwest records UK. He wrote the Motley Crue biography entitled "The Comedy and The Tragedy: The First Five Years". Since both Pollit and Bonutto have worked with Motley Crue, it is nice to see that they have had some contribution to this box set. All of the above mentioned are pros for this box set, so that me cover a couple of cons about it:
All of Motley Crue's albums have been re-issued, and besides the bonus tracks that appeared on them, they all also happen to be enhanced. While this box set has Motley Crue's first four albums repackaged with bonus tracks, the CDS are not enhanced, which would have been a nice addition for this box set.
Some of the same songs appear on this box set.
People with Ipods: Since this box set has Motley Crue's first four albums repackaged with bonus tracks, don't get confused: Itunes will put (or at least they did for mine)disc one and disc two together, instead of putting them seperately as disc one and disc two. As for discs three and four, disc three will be listed as "1985-Theatre Of Pain" and disc four as "Girls, Girls, Girls". All of what I just mentioned is not a con about this box set, and just becuase it did that on my Ipod doesn't mean that it will do that on yours, but if you have an Ipod and Itunes does the exact same thing with your copy of this box set like it did mine, I hope all of what I just mentioned saves you some confusion. Itunes does have a copy of this box set available-but it is only a partial album, so you won't get every song, and you will have to purchase it song by song. Besides, with the booklet and the liner notes, I would strongly recommend you get this box set at the store or order it off the internet.
Overall:
This is one of the box sets that has been released so far, and if you are a Motley Crue fan, add this to your collection, and don't forget to get Volume Two of this box set.
"
Complete, but...
the cruest | 09/06/2004
(4 out of 5 stars)
"This collection is very complete, it includes every version of every song that was made for the first 4 motley albums. Alltough the music is very complete a few things are missing. First of all they didn't included the lyrics from any of the songs, the package is very nice, but to my taste a little small (it's the size of a VHS) I tought it was a little bigger. The book that comes inside is very nice, has tons of pictures, but they should have added the lyric's!!!!. Second of all no artwork from any of the albums, this collection basically consists of a book, and the four cd's, but none of them comes with it's booklet, which I tought it would come, so that's my complain: No artwork from each cd, and no lyrics. Besides that, I do believe is kind of expensive for what you end up getting, alltough the package is nice and the collection is complete, I feel that they could sell it for a little less, maybe Mr. Sixx could think about that for the die hard crue fans!!, but in general this is a good collection for any hard core fan if you don't have the albums already."
Track Listings (19) - Disc #1