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Cause & Effect: Motley Crue
If you were in your mid 20s and a hard rock fan in 1994, then your world was probably in a lot of turmoil. The entire industry was fully entrenched in what was the biggest musical shift it had seen since The Beatles replaced Elvis atop the charts. The bands that had been selling multiple millions of albums each and every time they released anything only 2 years earlier were now considered old and uncool. There were millions of rock fans out there that bought flannel shirts, Nirvana and Soundgarden albums, and pretended they’d never bought any of the biggest albums from only a few years before. In 1994, if you said you were an LA Guns fan or a Dokken fan, you were an outcast that had been left behind.
At the same time, the very biggest band of that era, Motley Crue was not only dealing with a shift in the musical landscape. They had also replaced their singer Vince Neil. They had just signed what was, at the time, the biggest recording contract in music history and then were going to try to drive forward with a new singer and new sound in this new musical time. It was a seemingly impossible task, but if anyone could do it, it was Motley Crue. Always rebellious, and for years the setter of trends instead of the follower of them, Motley Crue seemed like they could act as the bridge between what was and what used to be.
Armed with new vocalist John Corabi and a sound that, from start to finish, sounded nothing at all like anything they had done previously, their self-titled release was pushed out to the masses in 1994.
John Corabi, Motley CrueImmediately, it was polarizing. Most of the fan base absolutely hated it. They didn’t buy it, and further didn’t support the band to the point where the label themselves made the decision to stop pushing money into it. This was further pushed by an incident with MTV that had the channel boycott the band as well. In one of the most epic falls in history, one of the top 3 biggest bands in the world was pushed to small venues and out of the spotlight.
That said though, many fans felt completely different about MOTLEY CRUE. They loved it. Then and now, they felt it was the best, deepest and most heartfelt album the band had ever and would ever do. One such fan is author Chris Akin. A well know rock critic and the co-host of the often controversial CLASSIC METAL SHOW, Akin was a worshipper of this release in 1994. He still is. Now, for the first time, Chris Akin looks back at 1994 and the release of MOTLEY CRUE. He remembers what so many of the songs meant to him, as well as how they were perceived to the masses at the time.
With CAUSE & MOTLEY CRUE, author Chris Akin remembers both his personal experiences as well as the perception of this polarizing release on the world. It’s one of the biggest flops in music sales history, but is also one of the most brilliant releases...at least in one man’s eyes. CAUSE & MOTLEY CRUE explains why.
"Restless soul deep inside / Searches for some piece of mind / Livin' just to die / I'm an angry man I always have / Had to fight to survive my past / Sign of these times” - Motley Crue - “Misunderstood”
At the same time, the very biggest band of that era, Motley Crue was not only dealing with a shift in the musical landscape. They had also replaced their singer Vince Neil. They had just signed what was, at the time, the biggest recording contract in music history and then were going to try to drive forward with a new singer and new sound in this new musical time. It was a seemingly impossible task, but if anyone could do it, it was Motley Crue. Always rebellious, and for years the setter of trends instead of the follower of them, Motley Crue seemed like they could act as the bridge between what was and what used to be.
Armed with new vocalist John Corabi and a sound that, from start to finish, sounded nothing at all like anything they had done previously, their self-titled release was pushed out to the masses in 1994.
John Corabi, Motley CrueImmediately, it was polarizing. Most of the fan base absolutely hated it. They didn’t buy it, and further didn’t support the band to the point where the label themselves made the decision to stop pushing money into it. This was further pushed by an incident with MTV that had the channel boycott the band as well. In one of the most epic falls in history, one of the top 3 biggest bands in the world was pushed to small venues and out of the spotlight.
That said though, many fans felt completely different about MOTLEY CRUE. They loved it. Then and now, they felt it was the best, deepest and most heartfelt album the band had ever and would ever do. One such fan is author Chris Akin. A well know rock critic and the co-host of the often controversial CLASSIC METAL SHOW, Akin was a worshipper of this release in 1994. He still is. Now, for the first time, Chris Akin looks back at 1994 and the release of MOTLEY CRUE. He remembers what so many of the songs meant to him, as well as how they were perceived to the masses at the time.
With CAUSE & MOTLEY CRUE, author Chris Akin remembers both his personal experiences as well as the perception of this polarizing release on the world. It’s one of the biggest flops in music sales history, but is also one of the most brilliant releases...at least in one man’s eyes. CAUSE & MOTLEY CRUE explains why.
"Restless soul deep inside / Searches for some piece of mind / Livin' just to die / I'm an angry man I always have / Had to fight to survive my past / Sign of these times” - Motley Crue - “Misunderstood”
54 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 24, 2017
58 people are currently reading
12 people want to read
About the author
Chris Akin
8 books7 followersChris Akin is not the kind of person you would expect to write a book.
Chris Akin is the kind of person you would expect people to write books about.
For over 20 years, Chris Akin has been a larger and louder than life character in the media of one of the countries most major markets – Cleveland, Ohio. Chris has held a myriad of positions in the Cleveland media. He got his start in the media writing for the biggest free music and entertainment magazine in Cleveland – SCENE Magazine. Additionally, he was a regular contributor for magazines such as the short-lived BUZZARD BONE, the online zine BLOGCRITICS and Chicago’s MIDWEST BEAT, to name a few. Never being satisfied, Chris soon decided that he would expand past those projects and start his own magazine. So he started MUSIC’S BOTTOM LINE; a no-bullshit magazine that challenged the Cleveland print medium to keep up as it became the most respected publication for pure music coverage. While the other magazines in town focused on selling advertising, MUSIC’S BOTTOM LINE kept it’s bottom line focused on music.
At the same time, Chris took to the radio to become one of the most acknowledged and feared radio hosts in Cleveland. Hosting THE METAL SHOW on Cleveland’s biggest radio station, 100.7 WMMS and then later at 92.3 WXRK, Chris found incredible success on the strength of testing every boundary that program directors, the FCC and just common decency would allow. Regularly in trouble with station management, but more beloved for their hard hitting style, THE METAL SHOW took the Cleveland Metal Scene by storm for well over a decade. Still, Chris needed more, so he went to the internet where his rebellious ways could go unchallenged, joining THE CLASSIC METAL SHOW and converting the show from a mostly music program to a ferocious, attacking show that had no guilt about anything.
Chris Akin was on top of the world with his radio and written ventures, but when you live that high on success for a lot of years, you generally forget to prepare yourself for any sort of fall whatsoever.
That fall came on June 22nd, 2012 when his wife of over 23 years left him and soon filed for divorce. Unprepared emotionally and completely unable to cope with a failure such as this, Chris quickly spiraled into an out of control depression, considered taking his own life, and through a lot of surprising circumstances, made the decision and found the way to change his life for the better.
LITTLE VICTORIES is the story of a shock jock’s emotional struggles. It’s a real world, raw emotional look at a year that saw not only a shattering divorce, but a rebirth of a person who had spent his whole life raging against everyone, everything and who purposely pushed every button to come off as the most powerful person in any room. It profiles the victories as well as the defeats; some of which are so sickening in emotional scope that they leave you questioning how his friends ever stuck around to see him through the tough times.
…and the friends? They are numerous, highlighted by a group Chris calls “The Core 9″. This collection of 9 friends are who the book is truly about, as these are the people that saw through the blustery public facade of “Chris Akin” and challenged him at every turn to get better.
LITTLE VICTORIES is a definitive story about learning how much you hate things about yourself, and working hard to fix them. It proves that almost any change is possible if you truly want it. It showcases how far you can come, even in the most dire of circumstances. In short, it shows that no matter how bad things get, nothing is final until you quit on making it better. In Chris Akin’s case, he never quit for a second.
Chris Akin is the kind of person you would expect people to write books about.
For over 20 years, Chris Akin has been a larger and louder than life character in the media of one of the countries most major markets – Cleveland, Ohio. Chris has held a myriad of positions in the Cleveland media. He got his start in the media writing for the biggest free music and entertainment magazine in Cleveland – SCENE Magazine. Additionally, he was a regular contributor for magazines such as the short-lived BUZZARD BONE, the online zine BLOGCRITICS and Chicago’s MIDWEST BEAT, to name a few. Never being satisfied, Chris soon decided that he would expand past those projects and start his own magazine. So he started MUSIC’S BOTTOM LINE; a no-bullshit magazine that challenged the Cleveland print medium to keep up as it became the most respected publication for pure music coverage. While the other magazines in town focused on selling advertising, MUSIC’S BOTTOM LINE kept it’s bottom line focused on music.
At the same time, Chris took to the radio to become one of the most acknowledged and feared radio hosts in Cleveland. Hosting THE METAL SHOW on Cleveland’s biggest radio station, 100.7 WMMS and then later at 92.3 WXRK, Chris found incredible success on the strength of testing every boundary that program directors, the FCC and just common decency would allow. Regularly in trouble with station management, but more beloved for their hard hitting style, THE METAL SHOW took the Cleveland Metal Scene by storm for well over a decade. Still, Chris needed more, so he went to the internet where his rebellious ways could go unchallenged, joining THE CLASSIC METAL SHOW and converting the show from a mostly music program to a ferocious, attacking show that had no guilt about anything.
Chris Akin was on top of the world with his radio and written ventures, but when you live that high on success for a lot of years, you generally forget to prepare yourself for any sort of fall whatsoever.
That fall came on June 22nd, 2012 when his wife of over 23 years left him and soon filed for divorce. Unprepared emotionally and completely unable to cope with a failure such as this, Chris quickly spiraled into an out of control depression, considered taking his own life, and through a lot of surprising circumstances, made the decision and found the way to change his life for the better.
LITTLE VICTORIES is the story of a shock jock’s emotional struggles. It’s a real world, raw emotional look at a year that saw not only a shattering divorce, but a rebirth of a person who had spent his whole life raging against everyone, everything and who purposely pushed every button to come off as the most powerful person in any room. It profiles the victories as well as the defeats; some of which are so sickening in emotional scope that they leave you questioning how his friends ever stuck around to see him through the tough times.
…and the friends? They are numerous, highlighted by a group Chris calls “The Core 9″. This collection of 9 friends are who the book is truly about, as these are the people that saw through the blustery public facade of “Chris Akin” and challenged him at every turn to get better.
LITTLE VICTORIES is a definitive story about learning how much you hate things about yourself, and working hard to fix them. It proves that almost any change is possible if you truly want it. It showcases how far you can come, even in the most dire of circumstances. In short, it shows that no matter how bad things get, nothing is final until you quit on making it better. In Chris Akin’s case, he never quit for a second.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
September 11, 2018
I was hoping more for a band Biography, but it was more of a critique of their works. Very biased nonetheless. I loved Shout and the Devil because it was ferocious and I thought their self titled album with John Corabi was excellent because they were stripped down of their gimmicks with solid hooks and grooves. That was their only album in my opinion that was just purely about the music. The author just about lost me completely when he started Trashing King's X. There was a reason why Hair Metal failed in the early 90s. It was getting repetitive, boring, and it just sucked. The Seattle grunge scene was a much needed change, so go screw yourself. I was more into Thrash metal, punk and hardcore anyway. A lot of great musicians came out of the Glam rock scene like George Lynch from Dokken but overall it was one big circus and it deserved to die. FU
May 12, 2022
I couldn’t finish this. I got 16 pages into it. Just another dude’s opinion about an album. I stopped caring when he started ranting about how much he hated his job (nobody cares. Stick to the topic).
I laughed out loud and quit reading when he called the songs “She Goes Down” and “Raise Your Hands to Rock” “thought-provoking.” They might be good songs, but they are hardly high-brow, deep-thought songs that make you scratch your head.
I laughed out loud and quit reading when he called the songs “She Goes Down” and “Raise Your Hands to Rock” “thought-provoking.” They might be good songs, but they are hardly high-brow, deep-thought songs that make you scratch your head.
January 29, 2021
Small book, doesn't take long to read, but an entertaining book if you love music. This writer indeed loves music. Motley Crue is not one of favorite bands but the story of the band when members left and the band begin to decline as told by a true fan is wonderful. Good read and keep listening to music.
December 9, 2020
Not True Crue
The only album of Mötley that wasn’t true Crüe is the focus & for someone who calls himself a true fan, I didn’t see much love for anything but Corabi.
The only album of Mötley that wasn’t true Crüe is the focus & for someone who calls himself a true fan, I didn’t see much love for anything but Corabi.
January 7, 2021
Great entertaining read!
January 28, 2021
Great book if you love the Crue - read it
Great little book - a nostalgic trip onto the world if Chris Akins and Motley Crue. Definitely 5 stars. Epic
Great little book - a nostalgic trip onto the world if Chris Akins and Motley Crue. Definitely 5 stars. Epic
April 25, 2021
Just ok
One person's opinion on an ok album. Would have been neat to hear how the thought of each song came about.
One person's opinion on an ok album. Would have been neat to hear how the thought of each song came about.
July 24, 2021
Book on the non-Vince Motley Crue album and the public reaction.
November 19, 2024
A short, fan-written book that is neither good nor necessary
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews