Mötley Crüe: Every Album Ranked Worst To Best
7. Theatre Of Pain
Motley Crue pretty much had the entire LA scene at their feet by the mid '80s. Coming off of the colossal success of Shout at the Devil, it seemed that these guys were just getting started with their trademark brand of street level rock and roll. In spite of everything being in the right place, that didn't stop them from picking up some bad habits along the way.
In one of the first contentious picks of this list, Theatre of Pain is clearly the most bottom of the barrel record to come out of Motley's classic '80s run. Instead of the crusty punks we had gotten to know on the first few records, the spandexed look and glossy execution feels like Motley taking some of the cheesier elements of the hair metal into their own sound, oftentimes with horrible results. It also doesn't help that most of the band was strung out on drugs at this time, with songwriting not really being a No. 1 priority.
Even the members themselves struggle to listen to this one over the years, with Vince Neil saying that he doesn't even remember the songs on here outside of Smokin in the Boys Room and Home Sweet Home. Before the Crue had firmly reached the top of the rock world, this is where their momentum hit a solid brick wall.