Wow, it’s hard to believe it’s been 14 years since Nikki Sixx of Motley Crue fame released the first Sixx: A.M. record, boy does time fly when you’re having fun or so they say.
Sixx: A.M’s first album was the menacingly titled ‘The Heroin Diaries Soundtrack’ and it was released to accompany the book of the same name. So what we have now is the latest Sixx: A.M. release titled ‘Hits’ which is the musical accompaniment to Nikki’s latest book “The First 21 How I Became Nikki Sixx”. The album kicks off with ‘Life Is Beautiful” and ‘This Is Gonna Hurt’ and these are hard-hitting yet melodic tracks with deep meaningful lyrics to accompany the music.
The next handful of tracks take in the best songs of the band’s discography so far and particular standouts are ‘Pray For Me’, ‘Stars’ and ‘Belly Of The Beast’. Now, most Sixx: A.M. fans will have the above tracks on the band’s albums but with the hits collection we also get some new tracks with ‘The first 21’, ‘Penetrate’ and ‘Waiting All My Life’ and these are all quality additions to the Sixx: A.M. canyon with stunning melodies that instantly lodge in the listeners head and are sure to be stunning when performed live.
We also get a couple of fresh takes on two classic Sixx: A.M. tracks “skin” and “life is beautiful” which makes this collection even more special. So this record is a must-have for the casual as well as the die-hard fans of the band.
THE ICE ROAD SOUNDTRACK DEBUTS ROCK SUPERGROUP L.A. RATS
Nikki Sixx, Rob Zombie, John 5 and Tommy Clufetos Team for a Wild Ride on the
Iconic “I’ve Been Everywhere”
Legendary Track Executively Produced by Sixx
When Scott Borchetta called his friend Nikki Sixx, he knew he needed something with velocity, power, and speed. Charged with helming the soundtrack for Liam Neeson’s upcoming June 25 Netflix thriller The Ice Road, the visionary label founder wanted a rocking ‘psycho-billy’ track to anchor an eclectic collection of songs sampling the American roots music tableau. Talking to the full-tilt bass player and songwriter about a dream collaboration between Sixx, Rob Zombie and Zombie guitarist John 5 possibly writing and executive producing a song for the film, Sixx asked Borchetta to send him an example of the kind of song he envisioned for the soundtrack. Johnny Cash’s thumping “I’ve Been Everywhere” was already earmarked as a hopeful to be included in the film as it really synthesized everything the film was about. Nikki listened and then sent it to Zombie. Both rockers felt the iconic Cash track was the perfect song for them to record.
Sixx called Borchetta back and said, “Why don’t we just cut this?”
The guys were all in on the song that name-checks cities across the nation – and Zombie had the vocal gnarl to bring that weathered, long-haul tone to the song that spent 22 weeks at No. 1 for Hank Snow in 1962. Opening with an ominous audible cloud and industrial noise, a hellish train beat emerges from the lumbering aural wave. Zombie’s voice slices through the ballast, authoritative and churlish. Commanding the ride that begins “”I was totin’ my pack along the dusty Winnemucca road,” his guttural delivery morphs Cash’s intensity with drummer Tommy Clufetos’ crashing attack.
Laughing, Sixx says of the L.A. Rats and their affinity for this song of hard traveling, “Isn’t it ironic? This song that’s so Rock & Roll, that’s so Country, that’s so all of it – it’s the traveling circus, city to city, riff to riff, greasy cheeseburger, rinse and repeat. It’s poetry based on reality – and it’s something every one of us has lived.”
“We wanted to bring that fire that’s Johnny Cash, but it’s also how do we flip it? So John 5 and I brought in this Zeppeliny half-time thing from the beginning with Rob talking on the outro. But I also did some stuff (that suggested the original) like those big walks through the guitar parts upright player style, which is something I don’t do in Mötley or Sixx:A.M. We all had that freedom to go other places, and we did.”
Collaborating for the track, the union of Zombie, Sixx, Zombie guitarist John 5, who was raised on “Hee Haw” and Black Sabbath/Ted Nugent/Alice Cooper ringer Clufetos created a chemistry that was more than the sum of their parts. With a frisson that comes from equal parts rebellion, aggression, fierce musicianship and deep respect for the song, “I’ve Been Everywhere” embodies the intensity of The Ice Road and Neeson’s performance.
“We all grew up thinking great bands don’t follow the rules or drive the speed limit,” Sixx explains. “When I called Rob up, he said, ‘I’ve always loved Johnny Cash, and I’ve always loved this song.’ I think that’s what we all share: we all play live and know there’s this magic (that comes from that); there’s the swagger you can feel, that energy you can smell. This song has all that, and that’s what we went after.”
“I’ve Been Everywhere” is now available via Big Machine Records.
Wow, it’s hard to believe it’s been 14 years since Nikki Sixx of Motley Crue fame released the first Sixx: A.M. record, boy does time fly when you’re having fun or so they say.
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