:: Vince Neil - Tattoos & Tequila

Vince Neil

After the phenomenal success of Mötley Crüe’s 2001 tell-all autobiography ‘The Dirt: Confessions Of The World’s Most Notorious Rock Band’, it was only a matter of time before the individual members of the band put pen to paper and released their own take on the band’s sordid history, and the life they led throughout it all. And sure enough, drummer Tommy Lee’s ‘Tommyland’ was released in 2004, followed closely by bassist Nikki Sixx’s ‘The Heroin Diaries: A Year In The Life Of A Shattered Rock Star’ in 2007. Predictably enough, vocalist Vince Neil has decided that it's time to put his story down on paper, with his book ‘Tattoos & Tequila’ due to be released in the coming months. But aside from his upcoming book, Neil has also decided to put together a new solo album, with ‘Tattoos & Tequila’ his first proper studio album since 1995’s critically panned ‘Carved In Stone’. Unlike Neil’s past solo efforts, ‘Tattoos & Tequila’ is an album almost entirely made up of covers, with the opening title track ‘Tattoos & Tequila’ the first of the album's two originals. And what a song it is! Penned by Marti Frederiksen, and backed by his current touring band, ‘Tattoos & Tequila’ is a heavy rocking tune in the vein of Mötley Crüe’s more recent efforts, and one that seems custom fit for Neil in terms of his vocals and the overall vibe. The other original song is ‘Another Bad Day’, which was originally written around the time of Mötley Crüe’s ‘New Tattoo’ album from 2000, but never recorded. Again, the ballad-like tune seems to fit Neil perfectly, and coupled with Neil’s strong performance, turns out to be a strong song. From here, Neil fills out the remainder of the album with some of his favourite classics, with songs from Cheap Trick, Sweet, The Hollies, Scorpions and Aerosmith being the most familiar within the track listing. After the rather dreadful cover of Sex Pistols ‘Anarchy In The U.K.’ from Mötley Crüe on their ‘Decade Of Decadence ‘80 – ‘91’ compilation, I wasn’t expecting much of an improvement on Neil’s take of ‘No Feelings’. But much to my surprise, this cover is definitely one of the album’s unlikely successes. Towards the tail end, Neil takes on a bit of country (Creedence Clearwater Revival’s ‘Who’ll Stop The Rain’) and cranks up a bit of classic Elvis Presley (‘Viva Las Vegas’), before finishing things up with a fantastic rendition of Elton John’s rocking ‘The Bitch Is Back’. And after the failure of his solo albums in the past, Neil will be the first to admit that his strength has never been as a songwriter, but more as a front man and a vocalist. And with that in mind, it’s not surprising to find that one of Neil’s strongest album’s to date just happens to be a covers album! ‘Tattoos & Tequila’ isn’t about to win any awards for its originality, but it will at the very least have a whole lot more longevity than his former releases. And if you don’t believe me, then just give it a listen. Trust me, this is one fun album to listen to.