John Corabi says that there was talk about MÖTLEY CRÜE being expanded to a five-piece shortly after Vince Neil was brought back to sing for the band in 1997.
He said:
“[The idea] was floated for a minute,”
“I don’t know if it was management or what the deal was, but they were, like, ‘We’re bringing Vince back. And maybe we could keep you as a guitar player and you could maybe give Vince a break midway through the set and do a couple of your tunes.’
And I was just, like, ‘Yeah, sure. Whatever. Let me know.’ And I actually was going to the studio with them for about a month, even after they told me Vince was back; I was in the studio with them and Vince pretty much daily for about a month, and then it just kind of stopped.”
With Corabi on vocals, MÖTLEY CRÜE released one critically acclaimed full-length CD, which ended up being a commercial failure in the wake of grunge despite a Top-Ten placing on the album chart. When Neil returned to the fold, Corabi was left on his own and formed the band UNION with ex-KISS guitarist Bruce Kulick.
“Everything happens for a reason,” John told Live 105. “Like I kind of hear people go, ‘Man, you’ve been in a lot of bands.’ Yes, I have. I’ve also been married several times too, and every time I get into something, I think, ‘This is the one.’ I think that’s just human nature. When I was in THE SCREAM, I thought I’d be around for 30 years, playing with THE SCREAM guys. Who knew I was gonna get a call from MÖTLEY? And then I joined MÖTLEY and everything was peachy.
And the way they were talking about Vince, I thought it was a done deal. I thought I was gonna retire with MÖTLEY, go into the [Rock And Roll] Hall Of Fame and call it a day. Who knew they would bring Vince back? Who knew that the record that I did with them would be as disastrous as it was? I mean, at that point, when I joined that band, they could fart on record and it would sell three million. Who knew?”
2 comments
That album took on a life of its own after the fact… In a lot of people opinion it’s one of the best albums the band did… It just came at a bad time for straight forward rock music and calling it a Motley Crue album was a bad decision on the part of the record label and the powers that be… There was a lot of grungy elements to the album and the second guitar and Corabi’s voice really changed the whole sound of the band… It really was a great album and I think a lot of people who heard it later on after Vince was back have stated this… Not knocking Vince but the band never recaptured the same feeling of Dr.Feelgood… Even with Vince back in the band they never seemed like a cohesive unit again they were just a band going thru the motions… I think a second album with Corabi would of been more of a commercial success as fans adjusted to the new sound of the band… The songs on that ’94 album still sound good today and don’t sound 25 years old or dated at all…
Radio still mattered then. Radio did well with the guy with all the stories about him. The guy from the videos. They didn’t play the album he wasn’t on.