The sound engineers at OEM Inc. have spent thousands of hours with the original masters of the most
famous songs ever recorded. They use them to create products like Jammit, an iPhone app that allows you
to play along with those original tracks. There are many, many things to learn from those original tracks.
Through a partnership with Gearhead Communications, OEM Inc. engineers are sharing their discoveries
exclusively with Premier Guitar readers in what we like to call…
“Looks That Kill” by Mötley Crüe
By Chris Baseford
From the album Shout at the Devil (1983 Elektra)
Produced by: Tom Werman
Engineered/Mixed by: Geoff Workman
Recorded at: Cherokee Studios in Hollywood, California
Available in the JAMMIT “Mötley Crüe, Vol. 1” application
Mötley Crüe has always been known for
their wild antics and endless debauchery,
but listening back to their earlier albums, it’s
apparent they are much more than womanizing, drug-dazed party animals. Their second
album, Shout at the Devil, launched the band
into mainstream notoriety, and it would be
looked on as one of their strongest albums
musically. Released well before the swarms of
wannabe ’80s rock bands, “Looks That Kill”
was quintessential Mötley and it cemented
the band’s rightful place in music history,
influencing the next generation of rock ’n’ roll
in the process. While we were mixing several
songs from Shout at the Devil for Jammit’s
Mötley Crüe bundle, “Looks That Kill” was
the standout track when it came to dissecting the tracks and recreating the original mix.
Let’s dig in and I’ll tell you why.
Recorded in the band’s adopted hometown
of Hollywood, California, Shout at the Devil
was definitely a step in the right direction
both musically and sonically. Having garnered
some success with their first album, Too Fast
For Love, and having secured a big record
deal with Elektra, the Mötley boys had the
resources to get into a world-class recording facility where they could spend the time
necessary to carve out their signature sound.
Dubbed one of the best recording studios in
America, Cherokee Studios would play host
to the recording sessions that would ultimately lead to a bigger and better Mötley Crüe
sound. Recording aficionados may recognize
Cherokee as the home to one of only a few
Trident A Range consoles, which even today
are renowned for their amazing sound and
which most certainly left a sonic imprint on
“Looks That Kill.”
Larger-Than-Life Foundations
Any Tommy Lee fan most likely knows, and
hears, the influence that Led Zeppelin drum-
mer John Bonham had on him. And listening
to the isolated drum multi-tracks shows an
intentional lean toward a more open and
lively Bonham-type sound. The drum tracks
consisted of two kicks (one for each drum
in Lee’s double-bass setup), a snare, stereo
tom tracks (several toms bounced down
to a left and right pair), a hi-hat, an overall
stereo kit track, and a mono ambient track.
I always loved the wide-open kick sound on
this album, which was a welcome departure
from the tight, dry, overly muffled drum
sounds of the late ’70s. The cracky, bright
snare complemented the kick drum nicely,
and when mixed in with an abundance of
the overall kit and room microphones, it
made for what would eventually become a
Tommy Lee signature: larger-than-life drum
sounds. Having worked extensively with
Tommy in the studio, I can attest to the
amount of time that would’ve been spent
tweaking and experimenting with the drums
and the microphones to make sure every-
thing sounded big and bombastic. Tommy
would repeat this concept again on Girls,
Girls, Girls, on which he experimented with
drum triggers, and then again on the album
Dr. Feelgood, creating one of the best drum
recordings known to rock ’n’ roll.
As soon as I deciphered the track arrangement for “Looks that Kill,” it was apparent that songwriter and bassist Nikki Sixx
wanted to expand on his sound as well.
There were three tracks for bass: a DI track
