'Theatre of Pain' was my first full taste of 'Mötley Crüe' and very quickly became a favourite back then, today my opinion still remains- that it's one of their best. More commercial in approach than the landmark 'Shout at the Devil' and while quite different, still possesses a certain crunch and the all important classic 'Crüe' sound. There's no weak tracks present and all in all a classic Sleaze / Hair Metal journey from start to finish.

The classic 'City Boy Blues' sets the album up as they mean to go along, a quality rhythmic rocker, graced with carefree lyrics, solid 'Neil' vocals, great 'Sixx' basslines and overall a superb light-hearted feel that brings back plenty of great past memories. Speaking of which a reworking of 'Smokin' in the Boys Room' follows and fails to disappoint, a truly quality sing-a-long 'Crüe' style. Even better is the short but harder edged 'Louder than Hell', a tough plodder braced by simple but effective lyrics, great rhythm, superlative work from 'Mars' and some of 'Vince Neil's' most effective and cutting vocals. The fine run continues with 'Keep your Eye on the Money', a memorable number with a huge catchy chorus, great free flowing rhythm and more strong lyrics. The first ballad is brought about by 'Home Sweet Home' a passionately executed piece that while suffering from radio overplay, still an outstanding song. The pace is lifted for the pulsating rocker 'Tonight', a simplistic number, sporting a heavy chorus, rugged drum and bass work and a sweet 'Mars' led instrumental break. Following in similar fashion is 'Use it or Lose It' a quality chugger, braced by a refined rhythm and sharp vocals while 'Save our Souls' is a darker sounding cut, that wouldn't have looked out of place on the previous release 'Shout at the Devil'. Not quite hitting the mark is 'Raise your Hands to Rock' a basic, anthemic, mid tempo number that comes across too trite and repetitive for my liking. The album goes out on a high with the impressive 'Fight for your Rights' a gutsy fist-raising rocker, with strong lyrics and effective chorus, while being graced with 'Vince Neil' on top vocals form and 'Mick Mars' again impressing.

As with all the re-mastered 'Mötley Crüe' albums, there's a good helping of bonus material and a video for 'Home Sweet Home', however the extra tracks with this release aren't some of the best. First up is a demo of 'Home Sweet Home' and this is very good, mind you it sounds almost exactly the same as the rendition reviewed above, except maybe a little slower with the keyboards closer in the mix. Another version of 'Smokin' in the Boys Room' (rough mix) follows and apart from the alternative guitar solo and a poorer recording level is the same as the album counterpart. A further demo ensues this time of 'City Boy Blues' and apart from a ropy production is the same as the song we all know and love. Next up is an instrumental take of 'Home Sweet Home', decent stuff I suppose but including the video this makes 4 versions of the same song! Another demo takes the shape of 'Keep your Eyes on the Money', a bit flat but still a great song, while the 'Tommy Lee Drum Solo' is really "scraping the barrel", not worthy of an inclusion in my opinion.

You'll see many differing reviews for 'Theatre of Pain', but I stand by my opinion that it's a classic!, just a shame the bonus tracks are so dull.