The fact that Mötley Crüe's second and greatest album has been reissued more often than Tommy Lee has whipped out his dong on stage doesn't diminish its pouting satanic panic-inducing glory. Looks That Kill, the title track and the killer Too Young To Fall In Love mark the point where early-80s metal transformed into Sunset Strip glam, while even their ham-fisted version of The Beatles' Helter Skelter captures the death-or-glory self-delusion that helped turn the Crüe into superstars.
The basic version of this 40th-anniversary edition adds an extra disc of rough-arsed but exhilarating demos – including early versions of album out-takes Black Widow and Hotter Than Hell, aka Louder Than Hell – that reveal their rough-arsed punk roots.
It's the blockbusting super-deluxe version, a full six inches deep, that brings the "Wow". This tombstone-sized box houses all the Crüeabilia any devotee with a spare £150-plus would want. Splatter-coloured vinyl of the original albums and the demo disc are complemented by replica seven-inchers of Looks That Kill and Shout At The Devil, plus trinkets that lean into the parent-baiting occult shtick of the original release: tarot cards, a (paper) ouija board, a demonic pottery candleholder.
OTT? Of course. But then OTT was what Mötley Crüe always did best.
