Mötley Crüe — Saints of Los Angeles

𝐅𝐑𝐎𝐌 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐂𝐑𝐘𝐏𝐓𝐒 - 𝐂𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐁𝐑𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐏𝐀𝐒𝐓 𝐀𝐋𝐁𝐔𝐌 𝐑𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐀𝐒𝐄𝐒 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘 𝐨𝐟 𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐃 𝐑𝐎𝐂𝐊 & 𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐕𝐘 𝐌𝐄𝐓𝐀𝐋…

15 years ago this week, the lords of sleaze were

deemed the “Saints of Los Angeles"!

On June 24, 2008, Mötley Crüe released their ninth full-length studio album, “Saints of Los Angeles” via Mötley Records/Eleven Seven Music. It was the first full-length studio album with the band's original lineup since 1997's “Generation Swine”, following the return of drummer Tommy Lee, and also their final album before their three-year hiatus from 2015 to 2018. As of 2022, “Saints of Los Angeles” remains as the last album of new material from Mötley Crüe, although they did release four new songs in 2019 on the soundtrack to the biographical film about the band, “The Dirt”.

“Saints of Los Angeles” debuted at No. 4 on the Billboard chart, selling about 100,000 copies in its first week. It debuted at No. 14 on the Australian ARIA chart, No. 5 in Sweden, No. 3 in Canada, No. 47 in Italy, and No. 9 in Finland (although it climbed to number 6 in its second week).

The album's first single, its title track, was their second highest-charting single in the US mainstream rock charts, peaking at number 5. However, subsequent singles fared less well: "Mutherfucker of the Year" peaked at number 29 and "White Trash Circus" at number 37 on Mainstream Rock charts.

Background:

Bassist Nikki Sixx stated in his blog that he believed the band were "on to some of the better songs we've had in years". A tentative working title – “The Dirt” – was eventually scrapped. "The album is loosely based on “The Dirt”," said Sixx. "Each song is like a mini-story, and you can plug it into the book. Some of its funny, some of its serious and in-your-face. It's like a typical, successful Mötley Crüe record."

The album features production and songwriting from members of Sixx's other band Sixx:A.M., as singer James Michael and guitarist DJ Ashba are involved in almost every song. Frequent Aerosmith collaborator Marti Frederiksen also was heavily involved with the songwriting process.

Touring in support of “Saints of Los Angeles”:

Two tours, “Crüe Fest” and the “Saints of Los Angeles Tour”, supported the album. Crüe Fest ran during the summer of 2008, with supporting bands were Buckcherry, Papa Roach, Sixx:A.M., and Trapt. The “Saints of Los Angeles Tour” ran during early 2009 and supporting bands were Hinder, Theory of a Deadman, and The Last Vegas.

Critical Reception:

“Saints of Los Angeles” was met with "mixed or average" reviews from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, this release received an average score of 54 based on 11 reviews.

In a review for AllMusic, critic reviewer James Christopher Monger wrote: "Mötley Crüe have been trumpeting their hedonism for so long and so loudly that it's become more of a caricature than a way of life, and while “Saints of Los Angeles” is the best thing they've laid to tape since their codpiece heydays, it's more of a walk down memory lane/Sunset Strip than a legitimate call to arms."

Bram Teitelman of Billboard said: "While not every song is a winner, the title track and sleaze anthem "This Ain't a Love Song" are standouts.

Links to Artists, Albums, and Music Videos:

Click this link to listen to “Saints of Los Angeles” via Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/album/saints-of-los-angeles/1608392861

Click this link to watch the official music video for “Saints of Los Angeles”: https://youtu.be/IR2QmRJNS4w

Click this link to watch the official music video for “White Trash Circus”: https://youtu.be/WDvWzTiOesM

Click this link to follow Mötley Crüe on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MotleyCrue

Note: The reviews shared here are for historical reference. The views and opinions expressed within are not always supported (in full or in part) by Into the Wells. — E.N. Wells

Mötley Crüe — Saints of Los Angeles

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