Motley Crue, 'Say Goodbye' Demo

Have you ever heard the Motley Crue "Say Goodbye" demo? The song eventually became "Enslaved" with Vince Neil on vocals but it was "Say Goodbye" when John Corabi was in the band. The track was emailed to me the other day and I honestly can't say whether I've heard it before or not. I'm sure I probably ran across the track at some point or another but I have to say it isn't very memorable at it stands here. Check it out.

Comments

[Ace Steele]

Sounds like once it became "Enslaved" , Nikki was "borrowing" rather heavily from the Beatles' "Lady Madonna" ...

Hey, If you're gonna steal, Steal from the best.

[Metalboy!]

It may not be as "memorable" as "Estranged" but I wonder what you would think of it if it had been as well produced as the finished track we hear with Vince.

Corabi has a killer voice and that intro sounded very promising. Too bad they cut it short in the final version.

This is why I'm a fan of demos as much as the polished, let's face it, sometimes overproduced high-gloss stuff that came out of the LA/NYC Record Machine in the 80's and Early 90's.

p.s. Ace, if it's okay for Sixx to steal why not Pretty Boy Floyd, if that really is true what you say about them nicking a lot of stuff off The Strip for their first album?

[Brian L]

What album was Enslaved on

[Allyson]

Brian,

"Enslaved" is on the Greatest Hits and Red, White and Crue.

[JAT]

Metalboy!...I think that's an easy question to answer for anyone...you don't have to be Ace and from The Strip to understand the difference. All artists "borrow" some from the previous era of bands to some degree...some more blatant than others but, I think, its generally thought of as flattering. However, if Pretty Boy Floyd did "borrow" from other bands on THe Strip, that's just plain stealing. These were bands that were/still are attempting to get signed and exposed to a national audience.

That's the difference, at least to me...but I guess I could be wrong.

[Ace Steele]

Metalboy. Where did I say it was OK? Nikki's was more a case of being influenced by & a little shoplifting of a hook from the Beatles. At least Sixx tries to make a new song before. I've actually sat there back in the old days & watched how Nikki finds riffs. Go find a vinyl copy of the Scorpions "Lovedrive" LP, put the needle at the end of the song "Coast To Coast" & spin it backwards... That's exactly how Sixx "wrote" "Piece Of Your Action". Did he steal outright? NO, the re-cycled & reinterpreted it. Fair Game.

In Pretty Boy Floyd's case, What they did was all out THEFT of entire songs. Attempting to STEAL the tunes outright & pass them off as their own. BIG Difference. Part of being a band, unless you're going to relegate your self to the Holiday Inn cover circuit, is to actually learn to play an instrument & then learn to write your own songs. Pretty Bad Farce 1/2-assed their way thru doing the first, & completely didn't bother with the second, Choosing to resort to wholesale theft of someone else's music & lyrics. That might be why Aeriel Styles & Kery Doll sued them. And aside from pitiful record sales, it might be a big reason why MCA dumped them. And what'd they do later? Lift Big Bang Babies's songs. Call me when Steve Summers actually writes a tune.

[Metalboy!]

Very enlightening, Ace. I thought Stiles was the original guitarist and left before they got signed. It's my understanding most of the stuff was his but he didn't stick around to reap the benefits.

That said, I bow to you, my friend, as you were/are there and know where all he bodies are buried.

Still, "Leather Boys With Electric Toys" is one of my favorite albums.

As far as Sixx's theft, there are som pretty blatant robberies but I don't wanna have to start going through all the stuff to pinpoint them. I would say he lifted a lot of stuff for material on "Dr. Feelgood", at least pieces of songs. But I get ya. The guy's a songwriting genius, IMHO. I think a very convincing example of his originality is the totally breakthrough "Livewire".

Imagine the look on our faces when I slipped the 8-track of "Too Fast For Love" for the first time, never having heard, let alone heard of, the band before that moment. I think we killed my Bro's cheap a*s Coby 8-Track player rewinding "Livewire" over and over again, our mouths dropping in awe wider and wider with every replay.

And if you want me to play the end of "Coast To Coast" off "Lovedrive" to find what he lifted for "Piece Of Your Action", I've got the turntable and won't have to go far to find a vinyl copy of "Lovedrive" to do so as I bought it the week it came out and still own it today.

Thanks again for the details, Ace. Your name not only befits your Strip persona but also for your excellent "Metal Detector" Rock'n'Roll detective work.

[fletch]

very true. sometimes rough demos hold a candle to, if not surpass, polished outcomes. case in point:

http://pitonsmusicworld.blogspot.com/2012/03/cinderella-fox-on-run-1986.html

this version of nobody's fool always surpassed my original expectations when I first played it. I am also surprised that some of these other demos never made it onto an album. born to rock-n-roll being one of 'em. hmmm..was that bridge and lick stolen from george thorogood or vice-versa.

[dj]

im not the biggest fan of enslaved. but ive never heard the demo before. even though im a major major major motley fan, enslaved isnt just my cup of tea. although generation swine is totally underrated im one of the six sad people ever to like that album so hate me if you want haha motley themselves probably hate me for saying that. same goes with the album Motley Crue they did with Corabi that is totally underated it is way heavy amazing guitar work tommy smashing the drums and dark kind of fucked up lyrics. damn sorry i went off i just love those albums.

[Metalboy!]

Yeah, DJ, as you may know, Mars says the album with Corabi is his favorite.

"Generation Swine" was a disappointment for me, however, though I DO like the title song. Kind reminds me of how "Done With Mirrors" was a bit shabby for Aerosmith, except for their cover of Perry's "Let The Music Do The Talking", their last truly great song. Also, that album stands head and shoulders above "Generation Swine".

[Jakki Steal]

I love both songs but except for the intro this sounds nothing like "Enslaved". I always instantly loved the Motley Corabi cd and Generation Swine. To me after the Greatest Hits cd back in 1998 along with "Bitter Pill" those are the last real Motley Crue songs written together as a band. "New Tattoo" and "Saints Of Los Angeles" are pretty much Sixx AM writing songs for Motley Crue with barely any input from Vince,Mick or Tommy!