Motley Crue - Loud as F@*k (Sound & Vision) (2 CD / DVD)

Another year, another new Mötley Crüe compilation. While fans have been bombarded with quite a few Crüe "hits" sets over the years, they always waited patiently for a much-rumored box set. In 2003, fans finally received the four-disc box Music to Crash Your Car To, Vol. 1, while Europe received an additional, more streamlined anthology a year later, Loud As Fuck. Made up of three discs total (two audio, one DVD), Loud does not include any rarities like Crash Your Car does, as it focuses on strictly the best tracks from all of their studio albums. The track listing is not in chronological order, but almost all the expected Crüe classics are included -- the early faves ("Too Fast for Love," "Live Wire," "Shout at the Devil," "Knock 'Em Dead Kid"), the group's mid- to late-'80s commercial peak ("Smokin' in the Boys Room," "Wild Side," "Kickstart My Heart"), as well as latter-day tracks that only die-hard fans will be familiar with ("Glitter," the Vince Neil-less "Hooligan's Holiday," etc.). If you're a newcomer and don't already own Too Fast for Love and Shout at the Devil, you'd be better off starting with those (since much of their subsequent releases weren't as consistent as their first two full-lengths), before working your way to the career-spanning Loud As Fuck. [Note: Also included is a bonus DVD, which includes ten promo videos from throughout the group's career.] Greg Prato.