Various Artists: Nashville Outlaws: A Tribute To Mötley Crüe

Country stars give it up for the bad boys of rock.

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This concept is not entirely new: heavy metal done country-style is something that Hayseed Dixie built a career on. And there have been previous Mötley Crüe tribute albums, such as Crüe Believers, featuring various hair-metal also-rans.

But now the two ideas are combined on Nashville Outlaws, with country artists – including Florida Georgia Line and other big-hitters – reinterpreting their favourite Mötley songs. “Country music has become the new rock’n’roll,” claims the band’s frontman Vince Neil, who also appears on this album, singing the power ballad Home Sweet Home with Justin Moore, a Stetson-wearing dude who was one year old when the Crüe had a hit with it.

This song sounds good with a little extra twang. So too Rascal Flatts’ ballsy version of Kickstart My Heart and LeAnn Rimes’ honky-tonk remake of Smokin’ In The Boys Room. But after 15 tracks, the novelty wears thin. And really, the album’s title should have been Crüegrass./o:p

Paul Elliott
Paul Elliott

Freelance writer for Classic Rock since 2005, Paul Elliott has worked for leading music titles since 1985, including Sounds, Kerrang!, MOJO and Q. He is the author of several books including the first biography of Guns N’ Roses and the autobiography of bodyguard-to-the-stars Danny Francis. He has written liner notes for classic album reissues by artists such as Def Leppard, Thin Lizzy and Kiss, and currently works as content editor for Total Guitar. He lives in Bath - of which David Coverdale recently said: “How very Roman of you!”