Live at the Whisky: One Night Only – Vince Neil

Vince Neil at the Whisky. It may not be the Beatles at the Star Club -- or even Otis Redding at the Whisky -- but it has weight, a sense of history, and purpose. The Whisky was one of Mötley Crüe's mainstays, so when the singer returns for a show and a souvenir live album years later, it should be an event. It's not. It's an oldies show, a Crüe revue performed by the man himself. Even Vince Neil knows that nobody comes to see him to hear his solo songs. He knocks out "Look in Her Eyes" (remember that? The first tune on his first solo record) early in the show, devoting himself to the Nikki Sixx songbook for the rest of the record, hitting most of the big tunes: "Kick Start My Heart," "Home Sweet Home," "Looks That Kill," and "Dr. Feelgood," among them, of course, along with the de rigeur cover of Brownsville Station's "Smokin' in the Boysroom." Though there are some songs that are firmly for the die-hard fans -- fan favorites and album tracks like "Knock 'Em Dead, Kid" are revived -- this still plays like an oldies show with all the schtick that entails, including a flirtation with medleys, as he has "Girls Girls Girls" slide into "Same Ol' Situation." Neil sometimes is in thin voice, stretching the limits of his upper register, and, on record at least, his exhortations to the crowd get tedious, particularly since they're just variations on "make some noise" and "get your hands up," usually punctuated with some conjugation of "f*ck" (although "get your drunken hands up" on "Dr. Feelgood" is a nice turnabout on an old favorite). All in all, it's perfectly respectable and not a bad listen (something that can't honestly be said about Neil's other solo efforts), but it's a nostalgia-fest -- Vince is dedicated to keeping his music alive, and he's doing a good job with it, but you gotta believe like he does to have Live at the Whisky: One Night Only work for you. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide