Top 10 Mick Mars Motley Crue Songs

A more accurate title for Motley Crue's 1987 album Girls, Girls, Girls could be Drugs, Drugs, Drugs. Though he was no less guilty of indulging than his hard-partying bandmates, Mars carried the bulk of the musical load with the title track's distinctive guitar lick — simultaneously bluesy and sleazy, as was his trademark — and blazing solo.

This late-career gem from the Saints of Los Angeles album is one of several hard-driving tunes cowritten by Mars and Nikki Sixx (along with a bunch of song doctors). “Just Another Psycho” stands out because of Mars' slashing riff, making it one of the most fully realized compositions from the band’s best post-reunion LP.

Motley Crue’s most metal album, 1983’s pentagram-encrusted Shout at the Devil, features “God Bless the Children of the Beast,” a gentle departure into acoustic melodies that also includes some surprisingly pretty harmony vocals. Taking a cue from Spinal Tap's playbook, the song is all "Mach" – a combination of Bach and Mozart influences.

Motley Crue had a tough time at the end of 1984 going into 1985. Singer Vince Neil, drunk and on his way back from a liquor run with Hanoi Rocks drummer Razzle, crashed his car, killing Razzle. And then came the band's third album, the relatively disappointing and inconsistent Theatre of Pain. But the bruising opener “City Boy Blues,” another Mars/Sixx co-write, is a keeper, powered by Mars' guitar-fueled hook.

Mars didn’t write any songs on the Crue’s debut album, Too Fast for Love debut, but his guitar highlighted many of the tracks. “Take Me to the Top” boasts an array of alternating riffs that Mars navigates with serpentine grace all over the fretboard.

Clocking in at just a little more than two minutes, "Red Hot" is pure speed-metal devastation and Motley Crue’s heaviest Motorhead-inspired moment. Mars’ leviathan guitar riffs are the selling point, and they prove to be so thunderous and irresistible that the song doesn't even really need a solo. But he gives us one anyway.

Mars’ playing on the title track to the band's bestselling album is one of his all-time greatest. The Crue never locked into a bigger groove, thanks to Mars' slashing lead, which cuts and chops across the song like gunfire.

Motley Crue celebrated their unlikely survival of 10 years on 1991’s Decade of Decadence collection, and in a way were venting their collective relief on the newly recorded single “Primal Scream.” Mars’ slide guitar fully defines the song’s slippery appeal before unleashing another in a long line of memorable solos.

Another showcase for the underrated scope of Mars’ pure melodic grace, “Danger” capped the fevered rush of Shout at the Devil with a notably textured and more thoughtful approach, enhanced by synthesizers orchestrated to mimic a glam-metal symphony. If any song captures the sense of danger embodied by Motley Crue around this time, this is the one.

The No. 1 spot on our Top 10 Mick Mars Motley Crue Songs, oddly enough, doesn’t credit the guitarist as a writer. Even though Nikki Sixx penned "Kickstart My Heart," Mars' unmistakable revving motorcycle guitar defines the song. It's one of the group's most popular songs, and for good reason. Rev it up!