Dr. Feelgood (album)
{{#invoke:other uses|otheruses}} Template:Use mdy dates {{safesubst:#invoke:Unsubst-infobox||$params=italic_title,name,type,longtype,artist,cover,border,alt,caption,released,recorded,venue,studio,genre,length,language,label,director,producer,compiler,chronology,prev_title,prev_year,year,next_title,next_year,misc|$extra=italic_title,longtype,border,caption,language,director,compiler,chronology,year,misc|$aliases=italic title>italic_title,Italic title>italic_title,Name>name,Type>type,image>cover,Cover>cover,Border>border,Alt>alt,Caption>caption,Longtype>longtype,Artist>artist,Released>released,Recorded>recorded,Venue>venue,Studio>studio,Genre>genre,Length>length,Language>language,Label>label,Director>director,Producer>producer,Compiler>compiler,Chronology>chronology,Misc>misc|$flags=override|$B={{#ifeq:{{#invoke:Is infobox in lead|main|[Ii]nfobox [Aa]lbum}}|true|{{#if:Template:Has short description | |{{#if: August 28, 1989<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> | Template:Short description}}}}}}{{#invoke:Infobox|infobox}}Template:Template otherTemplate:Category handlerTemplate:Main other{{#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=Template:Main other|preview=Page using Template:Infobox album with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y|italic_title |type |name |image |cover |border |alt |caption |longtype |artist |released |recorded |venue |studio |genre |length |language |label |director |producer |compiler |prev_title|prev_year|next_title|next_year|chronology|year|misc}}{{#if:{{#invoke:String|match|error_category=Music infoboxes with Module:String errors|A|1=Raw Tracks1988Decade of Decadence 81–911991studioDr. FeelgoodMotley Crue - Dr Feelgood-front.jpgMötley CrüeAugust 28, 1989<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>1988–1989Little Mountain Sound Studios (Vancouver)*Glam metal<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
- heavy metal<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
- hard rock<ref name="latimes" />45:07ElektraBob Rockx|2=</?t[drh][ >]|nomatch=}}|Template:Main other}}Template:Main other}}
Dr. Feelgood (stylized as Template:Proper name) is the fifth studio album by American heavy metal band Mötley Crüe, released on August 28, 1989. Dr. Feelgood topped the Billboard 200 chart, making it the band's only album to claim this position. It was the first album Mötley Crüe recorded after their quest for sobriety and rehabilitation in 1989.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="iHeart">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In addition to being Mötley Crüe's best selling album, it is highly regarded by music critics and fans as the band's best studio album. This was also the band's last album to be recorded with lead singer Vince Neil until the 1997 album Generation Swine.<ref name="iHeart"/>
Recording
Producer Bob Rock found working with Mötley Crüe difficult, describing them as "four L.A. bad asses who used to drink a bottle of wine and want to kill each other."<ref name="blender">Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref name="iHeart"/> To minimize conflict and allow production to proceed smoothly, Rock had each member record their parts separately.<ref name="blender" />
The opening track "T.n.T. (Terror 'n Tinseltown)" has a sample of a woman saying "Dr. Davis, telephone please". The same sample was used by American heavy metal band Queensrÿche in their song "Eyes of a Stranger" (1988) a year prior. The title track was inspired by a drug dealer, while the end of "Slice of Your Pie" is based on "I Want You (She's So Heavy)" (1969) by English rock band the Beatles.<ref name="iHeart" /> "Kickstart My Heart" was written by bassist Nikki Sixx after his experience being clinically dead for two minutes from a heroin overdose before paramedics revived him with two shots of adrenaline.<ref name="iHeart" /> "Without You" was co-written by drummer Tommy Lee about his relationship with his then-wife Heather Locklear.<ref name="iHeart" />
The lyrics of "Don't Go Away Mad (Just Go Away)" reference "Too Young to Fall in Love" from the band's second studio album Shout at the Devil.<ref name="iHeart" /> Steven Tyler of Aerosmith sings backing vocals on "Sticky Sweet". "Nikki and Tommy and I hung out a lot," said Tyler, who was in Vancouver around the same time, recording Pump. "Of course, we're all akin by our old drinking and drugging days."<ref>Rolling Stone 1989 retrospective, precise date unknown</ref> Guitarist Mick Mars reportedly set his amps so loud that his playing leaked into Tyler's vocal recording.<ref name="Paste">Template:Cite magazine</ref> Bryan Adams, Skid Row, Robin Zander and Rick Nielsen of Cheap Trick, and Jack Blades of Night Ranger contributed backing vocals on the album.<ref name="iHeart" />
Release
Dr. Feelgood has sold more than six million copies in the U.S.,<ref name="RIAA">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and went Gold in the U.K.<ref name="BPI">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In various interviews, members of Mötley Crüe stated that it was their most solid album from a musical standpoint, due in no small part to their collective push for sobriety. The title track is the band's highest-charting single to date, peaking at No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100. In addition, it is the band's only single to sell over 500,000 copies and receive Gold certification by the RIAA.<ref name="iHeart" />
Critical reception
Template:Music ratings Reviews for Dr. Feelgood have been highly positive. Critics remarked the renewed energy and entertaining values that permeate the album,<ref name="allmusic" /><ref name="BBC" /><ref name="chicago" /><ref name="latimes" /><ref name="martin" /><ref name="Collector" /><ref name="Considine2"/><ref name="sputnik" /> bringing the listeners "in a world of everlasting party",<ref name="storm" /> where they "savored the joys of trashy, unapologetically decadent fun".<ref name="allmusic" /> Bob Rock's meticulous production was universally praised,<ref name="allmusic" /><ref name="BBC" /><ref name="martin" /><ref name="Considine2"/><ref name="sputnik" /> in particular for affording "the band the ability to write stronger melodic hooks without losing the hard rock sound they so coveted"<ref name="sputnik" /> and for the power of the guitar riffs.<ref name="latimes" /><ref name="Considine2"/>
Canadian journalist Martin Popoff wrote that Dr. Feelgood is an album "made by a dumb band trying really hard"<ref name="martin" /> while a BBC Music reviewer declared it "a glitzy flashy experience... ultimately shallow and narcissistic".<ref name="BBC" >{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Other critics stated that Mötley Crüe are not "out to win humanitarian awards or impress us with lyrical muscle",<ref name="chicago" /> but to rock "...hard"!<ref name="latimes" /> Dr. Feelgood, wrote Mick Wall in a review of 2009's reissue, "was the first time Mötley Crüe actually became well-known for music. Until then, their unthinking mash-up of glam and metal had made them a hoot onstage but a disappointment on record... Though pushed close by last year's shock return with the weighty Saints of Los Angeles, [the album is] the best Mötley Crüe have ever released."<ref name="classic"/>
"Dr. Feelgood" and "Kickstart My Heart" were nominated for Grammy awards for Best Hard Rock Performance in 1990 and 1991, but lost both years to Living Colour.<ref>Grammy Awards:Best Hard Rock Performance</ref> Mötley Crüe won the best heavy metal/hard rock album of the year at the American Music Awards in January 1991 for Dr. Feelgood.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Legacy
Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich recruited Bob Rock to produce their self-titled 1991 album after being impressed with Rock's production work on Dr. Feelgood.<ref name="Rosen">Rosen, Craig. The Billboard Book of Number One Albums. Billboard Books, 1996 Template:ISBN</ref> Rock would later produce Metallica's subsequent albums, until St. Anger, where he also played that album's bass parts.
Nike SB created a shoe based on the album cover.<ref name="iHeart"/> To celebrate the 20th anniversary of the album, Mötley Crüe performed the album in its entirety at Crüe Fest 2.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Track listing
Template:Track listing Template:Track listing Template:Track listing Template:Track listing
Note
- The original Korean LP edition does not contain the first two tracks, "T.n.T. (Terror 'n Tinseltown)" and "Dr. Feelgood".
Dr. Feelgood: The Videos
Dr. Feelgood: The Videos is a video album released in 1990 and features all the music videos from the album, concert footage, interviews and recording session footage.
Videos include
- "Dr. Feelgood"
- "Kickstart My Heart"
- "Without You"
- "Don't Go Away Mad (Just Go Away)"
- "Same Ol' Situation (S.O.S.)"
Personnel
Mötley Crüe
- Vince Neil – lead vocals, backing vocals Template:Small, harmonica Template:Small, shakers Template:Small
- Mick Mars – guitar, "demonic voice" Template:Small
- Nikki Sixx – bass Template:Small, backing vocals Template:Small, organ and piano Template:Small
- Tommy Lee – drums, percussion, backing vocals Template:Small
Additional musicians
- Bob Rock – bass Template:Small, backing vocals Template:Small
- John Webster – honky tonk piano Template:Small
- Tom Keenlyside, Ian Putz, Ross Gregory, Henry Christian – Margarita Horns Template:Small
- Marc LaFrance – backing vocals Template:Small
- Emi Canyn, Donna McDaniel – backing vocals Template:Small
- David Steele – backing vocals Template:Small
- Jack Blades – backing vocals Template:Small
- Steven Tyler, Bryan Adams – backing vocals Template:Small
- Robin Zander, Rick Nielsen – backing vocals Template:Small
- Skid Row, Bob Dowd, Mike Amato, Toby Francis – backing vocals Template:Small
Production
- Bob Rock – production, engineering, mixing
- Randy Staub – engineering, mixing
- Chris Taylor – assistant engineering
- George Marino – mastering at Sterling Sound, New York
Artwork
- Bob Defrin – art direction
- Don Brautigam – cover art illustration
- William Hames – photography
- Kevin Brady – artwork, design
- Mike Amato – project coordinator
Charts
| Chart (1989–1990) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Finnish Albums (The Official Finnish Charts)<ref name=FINI>Template:Cite book</ref> | 6 |
| Chart (2022) | Peak position |
|---|
Certifications
Album
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Video
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