Motley Crue - Too Fast For Love [Indie Exclusive]

Nobody would sign them, so they did it themselves. In November 1981 four broke degenerates from the Sunset Strip put out their debut on their own Leathür Records label in an initial run of 900 copies, recorded in a handful of days at a cheap Hollywood studio with the band producing. Those original copies now trade for serious money. The record inside is the reason why.

Nine songs, no filler, no patience for anyone's approval. "Live Wire" opens with a Nikki Sixx bassline and a Tommy Lee drum charge that still sounds like a bar fight starting, and "Piece of Your Action," "Public Enemy #1," and "Take Me to the Top" keep the tempo pinned. Mick Mars plays with a nasty, trebly bite closer to punk than to the arena metal the band would perfect later, and Vince Neil sings everything like the cops are already outside. It is glam swagger played at hardcore speed, cut with the budget audible in every track and better for it.

Elektra signed the band in 1982 and had Roy Thomas Baker remix the album for a wider release that August, and that version became the standard one. It stalled at number 77 on the Billboard 200 on the way to eventually going platinum, which tells you everything about how it actually spread: hand to hand, tape to tape, for years. Four decades on it stands as the blueprint for everything the Strip became.

This 45th anniversary edition brings a fresh 2026 remaster to indie stores exclusively on red and black marble vinyl. Debut albums this feral do not come along often. Get it in the correct colors.