Notice
Formed in 1981, the masters of trash and thrash known as Motley Crue--Vince Neil (vocals), Nikki Sixx (bass), Tommy Lee (drums), and Mick Mars (guitar)--rose from the gutter of Hollywood's Sunset Strip in 1983 with their second full-length effort, Shout at the Devil(Elektra). As the Crue's career blossomed, their partying reached disturbing heights, culminating in a collective rehab stint in 1988. In September of the following year, Motley Crue released what would become their most commercially successful recording effort, Dr. Feelgood (Elektra)--the first album the band recorded while all its members were clean and sober. Overrun with hits like "Dr. Feelgood" (#6), "Without You" (#8), and the killer guitar anthem, "Kickstart My Heart" (#27), Dr. Feelgood stayed at #1 on Billboard for two weeks and sold millions. To celebrate more than two decades of the band's debauchery, let's take a closer look at "Kickstart My Heart"--a classic Crue cut issued during the glam-rock heyday.
THE TUNING
Virtually every Motley Crue tune ever recorded features guitarist Mick Mars tuning all six strings of his Kramer axe down a whole step (low to high: D-G-C-F-A-D). Legend has it, Mars was inspired to use this tuning approach after witnessing Van Halen in 1981,the year of Crue's formation.
THE INTRO
Mick Mars kicks off "Kickstart My Heart" with a few seconds of whammy bar wackiness, intended to simulate the acceleration-- with gear changes and everything--of a muscle car. With your tremolo bar fully depressed, flick the 4th string with your left hand and gradually raise the bar. After the 4th string returns to its proper pitch, repeat the process on the 5th and 6th strings, respectively. Once the band enters, three power chords--A5, G5, G#5 --provide the musical foundation for this intro, interspersed with plenty of "A" (6th string, 5th fret) palm mutes. This passage sets up another riff revolving around A5, this time in open position to facilitate the 5th string pull-offs. Meanwhile, a fully fretted D chord is also thrown into the mix, often including a little pinky embellishment to spice up the proceedings with Dsus4.
THE FIRST AND SECOND VERSES
This song's opening power chord sequence (A5-G5-G#5) also factors into the forthcoming verse sections, albeit appearing in mostly two-note derivatives, offset by the occasional C5 chord. In addition, Mars incorporates D-Dsus4 moves into this portion of his riffing.
INTERLUDE/THIRD VERSE
After the second chorus, an extended palm-muted drone of an "F" (1st string, 1st fret) sets up an interlude section, in which Mars switches to a clean tone, kicks in a delay effect, and uses his pick-hand fingers to pluck out A, G5, and D5 shapes. This passage also functions as the backdrop for the mellower third verse. For the curious, an open-position version of Mars' familiar Dsus4-D change is also used to punctuate each of the aforementioned sections.
THE GUITAR SOLO/OUTRO
After kicking in a talk-box effect during the third chorus, Mars unloads an assortment of raunchy blues phrases from the 5th position A minor pentatonic scale. Then he whips a dramatic pedal tone lick, alternating between fretted notes and the open E string-all within the A natural minor scale (A-B-C-D-E-F-G). After Mars uses his pentatonic prowess to put the cap on this solo, he continues to raunch up a storm with feedback and tremolo bar effects, blazing behind Vince Neil's vocal shrieks throughout the remainder of the song.
