Vince Neil preview

Vince Neil
Austin’s, Libertyville
Thursday, March 22, 2007
Friday, March 23, 2007

You might be surprised to learn Mötley Crüe frontman Vince Neil has not one, but two solo records. You shouldn’t be surprised if he plays only a few of those during his two night-stand in Libertyville.

After all, it’s not like Neil’s time away from the Crüe (Nikki Sixx and Tommy Lee claim the singer quit in 1992; Neil says he was fired) in the ’90s was exactly littered with success. He did score a minor hit with his first solo effort, Exposed, thanks to the track “You’re Invited (But Your Friend Can’t Come).” To his credit, Neil did something his former bandmates didn’t: He stuck to the style that made him a star. Sixx and Lee wanted to be darker, grungier, and more modern to fit in with the changing musical climate, which was at least part of the reason Neil was ousted. They failed miserably with 1994’s Mötley Crüe because nobody accepted these spandex-and-aqua netters as a bona fide grunge act. Neil at least had his dignity. That is until 1995’s Carved In Stone, an album that sounded so un-Vince Neil you wonder if he was even around during the songwriting process or whether he just handed the reins to producers The Dust Brothers, who turned Neil into a industrial/electro/grunge act.

The record bombed and a few years later Neil was back with the Crüe, who proceeded to record — what else? — an industrial/electro/grunge record in Generation Swine, an album that was actually decent but railed by critics.

Vince Neil is, and always will be, no matter how many breakups, hiatuses, porno movies, etc. the band endure, the frontman for Mötley Crüe. That’s why when he takes the stage at Austin’s, you’re going to hear bargain-price versions of Crüe songs, not Vince Neil songs. Plus, Neil — never a polished live performer — can hardly remember the words to “Red Hot,” what makes you think he’ll remember anything at all from “Breaking In The Gun”?

— Trevor Fisher

Category: Stage Buzz, Weekly