Motley Crue Theatre of Pain LP

Certified 4x Platinum in the US and their first Top 10 Album, 1985's Theatre of Pain made it all the way to #6 and includes the timeless classic with the record-setting video "Home Sweet Home" plus the Crüe's first Top 40 hit "Smokin' in the Boys Room" (#16).

Backing away from the mild pseudo-Satanic posturing on parts of Shout at the Devil in favor of a more glammed-up image, Mötley Crüe really began to hit their commercial stride with Theatre of Pain, which broke them on MTV with the power ballad 'Home Sweet Home' and a remake of Brownsville Station's 'Smokin' in the Boys' Room'. Overall, the guitar riffing sounds less heavy metal and more pop-metal; similarly, the sound of the record is slicker and more arranged, polished for mainstream acceptance and airplay. A higher percentage of dull filler has crept into the songwriting, but there are still enough high points to rescue the album's momentum.