Red White & Crue

In the 1980s Motley Crue established themselves as heavy metal's reigning bad boys. If Elvis Presley's debauchery was merely suggested by his swiveling hips, and Led Zeppelin's was mythologized at teenage basement parties, Motley Crue's wanton excesses were celebrated right out in public for everyone to see. Combining the over-the-top theatrics and pop-savvy instincts of Kiss and Alice Cooper with the gutter-boy sass of the New York Dolls and the Sex Pistols, the Crue forged a new brand of stripped-down, radio-friendly hard rock that came to define the "pop-metal" (or "hair-metal") genre.

RED, WHITE & CRUE collects the band's greatest moments in grand style, including the lean, razor-sharp guitar and vocal hooks of the breakthrough hit "Looks That Kill" and the shout-along chorus of '80s testosterone anthem "Girls, Girls, Girls." The 2005 double-disc set also addresses the Crue's later personnel-change years (excluding any misfires), and presents three songs ("If I Die Tomorrow," "Sick Love Song," and a cover of the Stones' "Street Fighting Man") by the reunited classic lineup of Vince Neil, Mick Mars, Nikki Sixx, and Tommy Lee. With its gleeful decadence and high swagger quotient, RED, WHITE & CRUE is a testament to the enduring appeal of hard living and rock & roll.