Motley Crue entered the 1990s as one the biggest, most popular bands in the world. The band was riding high off their "Dr Feelgood" (1989) album and they had just signed a multi-million dollar contract with Electrica. It looked like one of rock's most popular bands from the 1980s was poised to take the 1990s head on.

But almost overnight, things changed. In 1992, a lot of internal and external factors changed the fate of the Crue. In the early 90s, almost overnight, pop-metal, and melodic hard-rock was replaced by grunge and alternative rock (Soundgarden, Nirvana, Pearl Jam). After Nirvana's "Nevermind" exploded, Motley Crue's style of music was made almost instantly passé. Around the same time, singer Vince Neil and the rest of the band parted ways (Neil says he was fired, the rest of the band maintains that he quite).

Truth be told, had the original lineup of Motley Crue stayed together and stuck to their guns, they probably would have weathered the 90s and the new musical climate, much like Aerosmith or Van Halen (before their lead singer fiasco). Instead, the Crue changed lead singers and embraced a modern sound.

Although Motley Crue's 1994 self-titled effort (with lead singer John Corabi) borrowed from some of the styles that were popular at the time, like Soundgarden and Stone Temple Pilots, it was still an outstanding album (see my review). And although it has achieved cult-classic status among rock fans, it was a massive flop and generally ignored by the public at large.

In 1996, while sessions were underway for a follow-up album to the '94 self-titled album, Vince Neil and the rest of the band reconciled their differences and the original lineup was reformed.

1997 saw the release of the reunion album "Generation Swine." Like its 1994 predecessor, it debuted in the top ten, took a nose dive and sold poorly, and has received mixed reaction from fans.

Before going into a more detailed review of this album, there is something important to know about how it was created. Motley Crue, with vocalist John Corabi were working on a new album around 1995/96. It was going to be titled "Personality #9." When Vince Neil re-joined the band, Corabi's vocals were simply removed from the songs and Vince Neil sang over them, although Corabi's guitar parts were left on. Some people who listen to this album even claim they can hear Corabi's backing vocals in some of the songs, like "Let Us Pray," although the band has denied Corabi's vocals are on the album.

"Generation Swine" has a lot of good things going for it. It's edgy, for the most part well paced, and most of the songs have infectious hooks and killer solos. And the band sounds passionate.

There's lots of good songs to be found on this album-like the off-beat opening "Find Myself," the dark and melodic "Afraid," the anthem-like title track, the industrial-rock of "Beauty," and "Let Us Pray, " and the punkish "Anybody Out There" are all solid. The cool new wave of "Glitter" and the spacey "Rocketship" add a nice touch.

But there are drawbacks to "Generation Swine." The dragging suicidal "Flush" and "Confessions," sound contrived, and their sluggish pacing puts a wrench in the momentum of the album. "Rat Like Me," and "Shout `97" are throwaways. The former sounds like a bad Smashing Pumpkins b-side, and the latter is far interior the original. "Brandon," Tommy Lee's tribute to his son, while sincere, is awkward and out-of-place on the CD, and a poor way to close it. The album would have been stronger if those songs had been left off, and the much superior "Wreck Me," and "Kiss the Sky" had been included in their place (they are included as bonus tracks on the reissue).

Another drawback to this album is that the music was not really suited for Vince Neil. The songs on this album were written and arranged for John Corabi and they would have sounded much stronger had he sung them. Hopefully someday, the "Personality #9" demos will be released, although I doubt it.

Perhaps my biggest bone to pick with "Generation Swine" is that it sounds contrived. The whole album, while strong at several points, stinks of an 80s hair band trying too hard to jump on a trend. It's as though Motley Crue were trying to be a Nine Inch Pumpkins. If John Corabi had been the vocalist on this CD, that would have been okay, because the Crue with Corabi was like a whole new band. Again, the songs on "Generation Swine" are suited for John Corabi's raspy, bluesy voice, and not the sunny-sunset strip style of Vince Neil. It would be like Van Halen dubbing out Sammy Hagar's vocals from "When It's Love," and having David Lee Roth sing over it.

Despite its faults, "Generation Swine" is a decent album. I'd recommend it if you're a fan of the band, although it's hardly their best album.

This is the album that was marked by the awaited return of Vince Neil to the folds - i was expecting a "reunion" sound - something reminiscent of their early work meant only to please their long-time fans. Suprisingly (and i mean that in a good way), Motley ignored the format and pushed forward with their sound. Generation Swine is definitely the most modern sounding album the Crue has ever done - and its one of my favorites - (altho, they're all one of favorites, but thats beside the point). especially with tracks like "AFRAID", "LET US PREY", and the remake version of "shout at the Devil '97".

Let Us Prey easily has the heaviest riff of their entire career - i almost fell over when the drums kicked in. vince goes along with his usual croon, then some really creepy chorus-like vocals and then lets out his unearthly scream rip out. i like all the little breakdowns too - some crazy sounding guitar effects in there. this is my favorite track off the album. anyone who thinks Motley doesnt know how to rock it with the new crop of "metal" bands needs to hear this track.

The extra tracks are pretty cool too, as with all the other re-releases. i sat there and compared the normal version and the alternative mix of Afraid about a dozen times - they both have their benefits - someone should combine the best aspects of both mixes. KISS THE SKY is a very decent ballad. but the CONFESSIONS demo was most interesting to me - with Tommy Lee on vox.

Once again some bonus material that makes this album "Generation Swine", even more collectible than before. You know all the songs are original plus five new bonus tracks and a classic video "AFRAID", and all for you the fans of Motley Crue. Previously unreleased tracks are "WRECK ME", experiments give us new material ~ "KISS THE SKY", never made it under this title. A couple of demos "CONFESSIONS", vocal by Tommy rehearsing in the family garage ~ "ROCKETSHIP", believe it or not this is truly a love song. How about a mix that never made the album "AFRAID", this one has my vote...how about you!

Total Time: 47:07 on 18 Tracks ~ 440-067-634-2 ~ (4/08/2003)

I cannot figure out why Motley Crue's "Generation Swine" gets such a bad rap! This album is really good, and it showcases, for the first time in Motley Crue's history, the range of Vince Neil's voice! The album appears to have remnants of their changed sound with John Corabi at the helm (who can be heard as the lead vocalist on Motley Crue's self-titled album from 1994). Some may object to Nikki Sixx's and Tommy Lee's vocals, but one must remember that this is a band, not a Vince Neil album with a bunch of back-up singers. What is wrong with the band evolving and sounding different than anything they have done before? I find it extremely interesting how this album has enough of Vince to satisfy casual Crue fans, yet it has enough avant-garde material to satisfy the diehards, and also be new and innovative in nature as well. This album is a masterpiece as far as I am concerned, and deserves as much recognition that it deserves. In fact, one of the problems with their follow-up album from 2000 (New Tattoo, minus Tommy Lee on drums) is that it sounds too much like a "traditional" Crue album, without any killer stand-out tracks. Now, don't get me wrong, I enjoy listening to "New Tattoo," but it lacks the wider vocal range of Vince Neil, in addition to lacking interesting vocals from Tommy and Nikki.

If one were to listen to "Bitter Pill" and "Enslaved" from 1998's "Greatest Hits" album, they can hear how great Vince's voice is, which one can assume is a follow-up to what he had done on "Generation Swine." It was as if he continued on the same path as that aforementioned album when he went and performed his vocals in the studio, whereas he did not do quite as spectacular on "New Tattoo," but did fairly well nonetheless.

The album has Nikki Sixx singing on the first track of the album ("Find Myself") in the verses between Vince Neil, and the song "Beauty" has Tommy Lee singing the verses, although Vince's vocals are prominent in both aforementioned songs. The ballad "Rocketship" showcases Nikki Sixx's lead vocals, as does Tommy Lee's "Brandon," in which Tommy does all of the vocal parts.

This album is truly great, and shows how the band can be innovative, original, and different than anything they previously had done, and yet resemble their original sound. It's just too bad that they didn't follow-up the general sound and vibe since then, as it shows such originality. Perhaps if you are a new fan, you should begin by purchasing "Too Fast For Love," "Shout at the Devil," and "Dr. Feelgood," but if you are beyond the "casual fan" phase, then by all means, buy "Generation Swine," as you won't be disappointed! This is truly one of Motley Crue's GREATEST ALBUMS! All four members (Vince Neil, Nikki Sixx, Mick Mars, and Tommy Lee) perform exceptionally well on this album!

I love the crue,but this cd should've never seen the light of day.This album was built around and for John Corabi.The tracks sound as if they just had Vince come in and do his vocals over the songs.Not good!I know the powers that be were in a hurry for material with the reformed band,but this was not very smart.IMO they should've shelved this cd,and started something fresh with Vince.But all that being said,"Flush"is kinda cool,"Confessions"is also not a bad tune."A rat like me"is to me the closest song on here suited for Vince.And as for Nikki and Tommy's singing on this cd:WRONG!Very un-crue like!But if you can get this cd cheap,get it(I only bought it to keep my crue collection complete!).But I still love ya guys!