This review was published in the October 2025 issue of Classic Rock magazine, no. 345.
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The ultimate rewind into hair metal’s most notorious hellraisers.
In case it wasn’t immediately obvious, Motley Crue went to strip clubs and disrespected women throughout the 80s. Messrs Sixx, Lee, Mars and Neil produced evidence of this every couple of years from 1981, peaking with Girls, Girls, Girls (1987) and Dr Feelgood (1989), in between the well-documented mayhem which intimidated even the likes of Guns n’ Roses.
Subsequent offerings limped through the era of Bizkit and N*SYNC, and probably no one paid attention to Saints of Los Angeles (2008). From The Beginning chronicles Motley’s biggest hits, including 2024 single Cancelled, which bemoans the wokerati for claiming they can’t talk about all the stuff they told you they did in the 80s. The only difference is a re-recording of ballad Home Sweet Home as a duet with – god knows why – Dolly Parton, who’s earned the right do what she wants. Plus, it’s better than the original.
As the definitive compilation from hair metal’s pioneers, it’s a musical McDonald’s – greasy, cheesy and makes you feel ashamed of yourself afterwards. As a woman, I hate it. As a fan of music, I hate it even more.
4/10
Phoebe Flys