Saints of Los Angeles

Saints of Los Angeles
Studio album by Mötley Crüe
Released	June 24, 2008
Genre	Heavy metal, hard rock, glam metal
Length	44:03
Label	Mötley, Eleven Seven Music
Producer	James Michael
Mötley Crüe chronology
Carnival of Sins Live (2006) Saints of Los Angeles (2008) Greatest Hits (2009)
Singles from Saints of Los Angeles
"Saints of Los Angeles" Released: April 11, 2008 "Mutherfucker of the Year" Released: August 25, 2008 "White Trash Circus" Released: February 25, 2009

Saints of Los Angeles is the ninth studio album by the American heavy metal band Mötley Crüe, released on June 24, 2008. It is the band's first studio album in eight years, and the first to feature the band's classic line-up since Generation Swine (1997). Bassist Nikki Sixx stated in his blog that he believes the band are "on to some of the better songs [they've] had in years".^[1]

A tentative title for the album was The Dirt, however this was eventually scrapped.^[2] Nikki Sixx notes that: "the album is loosely based on The Dirt. Each song is like a mini-story, and you can plug it into the book. Some of it's funny, some of it's serious and in-your-face. It's like a typical, successful Mötley Crüe record."^[3]

Saints of Los Angeles debuted at #4 on the Billboard album charts, selling about 99,000 copies in its first week of release.^[4] It also debuted at #14 on the Australian ARIA album charts, #5 in Sweden, #3 in Canada, #47 in Italy, and #9 in Finland (although it climbed to #6 in its second week).

Though the band's first single, the title track "Saints of Los Angeles", was their second highest charting single in the US mainstream rock charts ever, peaking at number 5, subsequent singles fared less well. "Mutherfucker of the Year" peaked at number 29 and "White Trash Circus" peaked at number 37 on mainstream rock charts.

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"L.A.M.F."	Nikki Sixx, James Michael, DJ Ashba, Marti Frederiksen	1:23
2.	"Face Down in the Dirt"	Sixx, Michael, Ashba, Frederiksen	3:44
3.	"What's It Gonna Take"	Sixx, Michael, Ashba, Frederiksen	3:45
4.	"Down at the Whiskey"	Sixx, Michael, Ashba, Frederiksen	3:50
5.	"Saints of Los Angeles" (Gang Vocal)	Sixx, Michael, Ashba, Frederiksen	3:40
6.	"Mutherfucker of the Year"	Sixx, Mick Mars, Michael, Ashba, Frederiksen	3:55
7.	"The Animal in Me"	Sixx, Mars, Michael, Ashba, Frederiksen	4:16
8.	"Welcome to the Machine"	Sixx, Michael, Ashba, Frederiksen	3:00
9.	"Just Another Psycho"	Sixx, Mars, Michael, Ashba, Frederiksen	3:36
10.	"Chicks = Trouble"	Sixx, Mars, Michael, Ashba, Frederiksen	3:13
11.	"This Ain't a Love Song"	Sixx, Mars, Tommy Lee, Michael, Frederiksen	3:25
12.	"White Trash Circus"	Sixx, Mars, Michael, Ashba, Frederiksen	2:51
13.	"Goin' out Swingin'"	Sixx, Michael, Ashba, Frederiksen	3:27

Singles

"Saints of Los Angeles"

The first single, "Saints of Los Angeles", was released on April 11^[5] and started airing on radio stations on April 15, 2008.^[6] The song was given further promotion through the music video game Rock Band, being released as downloadable content on the Xbox Live Marketplace and PlayStation Store on the same day.^[7] A video [1] for the single was premiered at a press conference by the band on April 15. The song was performed on Jimmy Kimmel Live and The Late Show with David Letterman. Jacoby Shaddix from Papa Roach, Josh Todd from Buckcherry, Chris Brown from Trapt, and James Michael from Sixx A.M. all make cameos at the end of the video. This act had also been done as the band performed the song on their previous Crüe Fest tour. The song was featured in commercials and in promos for X-Games 14.

The single version of "Saints of Los Angeles" does not include the backing vocals and the introduction from the gang vocal version.

The title track was nominated for a Grammy award for Best Hard Rock Performance but lost; it was Mötley Crüe’s third nomination. Their previous nominations for "Dr. Feelgood" and "Kickstart My Heart" in the same category saw losses to Living Colour.

The January 2009 issue of PlayStation: The Official Magazine lists Mötley Crüe’s “Saints of Los Angeles” as fifth on its list of Rock Band’s "Five Most Unexpectedly Rockin' Downloadable Songs."^[8]

"Mutherfucker of the Year"

"Mutherfucker of the Year" is the second single to be taken from "Saints of Los Angeles". The video was shot over two nights—July 15 in Clarkston, MI at DTE Energy Music Theatre and July 16 in Tinley Park, IL at First Midwest Bank Amphitheater.

"White Trash Circus"

Fans were encouraged to vote for the song of their choosing for the next single from SOLA. The contest was between "Chicks = Trouble" and "White Trash Circus", with "White Trash Circus" earning more votes and being chosen as the new single. The music video for "White Trash Circus" was released on February 25, 2009. The video features Tyler Connolly of Theory of a Deadman, Sully Erna of Godsmack, Ryan McCombs of Drowning Pool, and John Allen of Charm City Devils.

Tours

Two tours, Crüe Fest and the Saints Of Los Angeles Tour, supported the album. Crüe Fest ran during the summer of 2008; supporting bands were Buckcherry, Papa Roach, Sixx:A.M., and Trapt.^[9] The Saints of Los Angeles Tour ran during early 2009; supporting bands were Hinder, Theory of a Deadman, and The Last Vegas.^[10]

Reception

• Allmusic link
• Billboard link
• Los Angeles Times link
• MusicReview link
• Only Rock link
• Popmatters link
• Rolling Stone link
• Sputnikmusic link

Personnel

• Vince Neil - vocals
• Mick Mars - guitar
• Nikki Sixx - bass
• Tommy Lee - drums

Additional Personnel

• Josh Todd, Jacoby Shaddix, James Michael, and Trapt - backing vocals on gang vocal version of "Saints of Los Angeles".

References

1. ^ Nikki Sixx Online Diary
2. ^ "MÖTLEY CRÜE: New Song Available For Streaming". Blabbermouth.net. http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=94690. 
3. ^ "Sinners & saints". canada.com. http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/entertainment/story.html?id=884235b9-8106-4197-b7c5-c679870397a2&p=2. 
4. ^ Hasty, Katie. "Coldplay Scores Second Week Atop Album Chart" billboard.com. July 2, 2008.
5. ^ "Motley Crue, 'Saints of Los Angeles' - Song Premiere". Spinner.com. http://www.spinner.com/2008/04/11/motley-crue-saints-of-los-angeles-song-premiere. 
6. ^ "MÖTLEY CRÜE: New Song Available For Streaming". Blabbermouth.net. http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=94690. 
7. ^ Dustin Burg. "Xbox 360 Fanboy: Rock Band debuts Motley Crue 'Saints of Los Angeles' single". joystiq. http://www.xbox360fanboy.com/2008/04/15/rock-band-debuts-motley-crue-saints-of-los-angeles. 
8. ^ "Rock Band’s Five Most Unexpectedly Rockin' Downloadable Songs," PlayStation: The Official Magazine (January 2009): 58.
9. ^ "Concert Announcement: Cruefest with Motley Crue". STLtoday.com. 15 April 2008. http://interact.stltoday.com/blogzone/the-blender/the-blender/2008/04/concert-announcement-cruefest-with-motley-crue/. Retrieved 18 April 2010. 
10. ^ "MÖTLEY CRÜE Kicks Off New Tour - Feb. 2, 2009". Blabbermouth.net. 2 February 2009. http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=113580. Retrieved 18 April 2010.