VINCE NEIL – Tattoos & Tequila

Once upon a time, Vince Neil was on top of the world. He was the lead singer of arguably one of the greatest Metal bands of the 1980s, he sold millions of albums, and sold out concerts all over the world. Unfortunately for Vince Neil, those glory days are over. Now Vince Neil is not quite a household name any longer and neither is his music.

Neil’s latest solo release, Tattoos & Tequila, certainly does not represent those “glory days” of his long and infamous career. In fact, this album really doesn’t have much of anything to offer to Metal in general. Of the twelve tracks, only two are original new songs. The other tracks are cover songs of Classic Rock and Metal artists.

Regarding the two original tracks, “Tattoos & Tequila” and “Another Bad Day”, neither is very well written nor stands out. As an example Neil excitedly proclaims in “Tattoos & Tequila”; “I dream about your booty…I can’t wait until you do me again.” The song itself was written by Marti Frederiksen, who is famous for co-writing several Aerosmith songs since the mid-1990s. He also co-wrote all the songs from Mötley Crüe’s 2008 release Saints Of Los Angeles. The other original song “Another Bad Day”, a slightly better offering, was co-written by Nikki Sixx. It actually has somewhat of an old school Mötley Crüe sound. Neil’s vocals also sound fresh and youthful which was a nice surprise. However, the song itself is neither fresh nor youthful, and is ultimately not memorable.

The cover songs that Neil performs are indeed an odd mix of artists and music. Elvis Presley, Elton John, Credence Clearwater Revival, Sex Pistols, and The Scorpions just to name a few. Neil has been known to produce some great cover songs from his Mötley Crüe days, most notably “Smokin’ In The Boys Room” and “Helter Skelter”. However, none of the tracks offered here measure up to those Crüe classics. For many of the songs he simply sounds out of his element and ultimately like a bad night at the karaoke bar. If there is one small glimmer of hope included within this mess, it would be the cover of The Hollies’ “Long Cool Woman”. Neil’s particular style that he emulates actually works very well with this song.

Tattoos & Tequila might be a great album if you are drinking lots of tequila, or if you are simply looking for a good party album. However, Mötley Crüe fans should expect much more from their beloved Vince Neil other than a mediocre album of cover songs.