Bob Rock Clarifies Comments About Nikki Sixx’s Bass Playing

Bob Rock has issued a statement clarifying comments he made about Nikki Sixx on an episode of Talk Is Jericho.

As previously reported, Rock talked about working on Mötley Crüe's 1989 album Dr. Feelgood. He said, "[While making] 'Dr. Feelgood', [Nikki] says to me, he goes, 'I don't think I ever played on any of the Mötley Crüe records. I think somebody came in at night and replaced all my parts.' He says, 'So I don't really know how to play bass.'" He added, " ... So, I worked with him through 'Dr. Feelgood,' did a lot of edits and made him play every note."

Rock's clarifying statement states, in part, " ... Unfortunately, like many things on the Internet today, it was taken out of context and misconstrued. When I began working with Mötley Crüe on the 'Dr. Feelgood' record, the band was sober for the first time and Nikki particularly was recovering from a very public addiction to heroin. We joked around a lot and Nikki, in his very self-deprecating style would say he didn’t even remember playing on their prior records. This was Nikki’s way of saying that for the record we were working on, he was showing up to do the best he possibly could and to make the best record of the band’s career, which we did."

Rock added, "At no time did I ever actually think Nikki didn’t play bass on Mötley Crüe’s records. He’s one of the most unique and talented players in the world and his approach to the instrument is part of what has made Motley Crue great throughout the years."

He continued, "Lastly, I was commenting on and commending Nikki because he never stops learning and never stops improving. I respect Nikki for always wanting to be better at his craft and it shows. I have worked with some of the biggest bands in the world and I can say unequivocally that Nikki Sixx is one of the most talented players, lyricists and songwriters I’ve ever had the pleasure of working with.

Rock concluded, "And if the Internet wants to latch onto a story from one or two sound bytes, it's extremely unfortunate because it doesn’t reflect the truth of the contributions he’s made to music over the last 40 years."

Rock has been working with the Crüe on new music with touring guitarist John 5. He confirmed on Talk Is Jericho he produced three new songs with them are "so amazing." So far, there is no time table for release.

Motley Crue, through all of the obstacles (and there have been plenty), has managed to survive for four decades. It's an overwhelming thought when you think about it.

Just reading or watching The Dirt gave fans an idea of the absolutely insane things the band has gone through. From drugs to horrific tragedies and everywhere in between, The Crue has seemingly seen or done it all.

The latest chapter in the band involves the exit of Mick Mars. The guitarist retiring from touring with Mötley Crüe in October 2022 seemed to come out of nowhere. Apparently, the band thought the same.

Nikki Sixx told Guitar World, "We never saw it coming that Mick wasn’t going to be able to tour and was going to have to quit the band."

At the time, Mötley Crüe was about to hit the road again with Def Leppard following the success of The Stadium Tour. Sixx expressed that after Mars' retirement, the band didn't want to let fans, Def Leppard or tour promoter Live Nation down. This then led them to bring in guitarist John 5 to fill in for Mars. Sixx referred to the substitution as "a no-brainer in a horrible situation -- something we did not ask for or want.

Of course, a lot has played out in the press in the aftermath of Mars' retirement. To begin with, Mars filed a lawsuit against Mötley Crüe alleging his percentage of band profits was cut from 25 percent to 5 percent.

He claimed in his lawsuit the band held a meeting to "unilaterally" remove him from Mötley Crüe. He was also allegedly removed from many of the band's various corporations and LLCs. Additionally, Mars claims bassist Nikki Sixx repeatedly "gaslighted" the guitarist. Sixx told Mars he consistently forgot chords and fans were complaining about his playing. (Mars claimed in the lawsuit Sixx "did not play a single note on bass during the entire U.S. tour" and accused him of using backing tracks and pantomiming.)

While this issue is still ongoing, let us not forget they've provided rock fans with quite the catalog of songs, with a number of those tunes now considered rock/metal classics.

From the classics to the deeper cuts, here are the 40 best songs of Motley Crue, ranked.