Mick Mars recently revealed he chose not to have John Corabi sing on his upcoming debut solo album, noting how the two musicians didn’t want to repeat what they did on Mötley Crüe’s highly underrated 1994 self-titled record.
Despite his ongoing issues with Ankylosing spondylitis as well as his caustic spat & ongoing legal battle with Nikki Sixx, Vince Neil, Tommy Lee, and their representatives, Mick Mars decided not to back down.
He responded to the situation by putting out a long overdue solo album. However, some fans must be wondering why “The Other Side of Mars” doesn’t feature the other notable Crue outcast John Corabi, especially given that Mick seems to share the ever more popular opinion that Mötley’s 1994 record was pretty good.
Speaking to Igor Miranda in a recent interview, the guitarist explained (transcription via Blabbermouth):
“[John] was doing… I really wanted him to sing on it, but I know he was busy with Dead Daisies and doing these other things. I don’t know… He was kind of, like, not adamant, but kind of unsure. John is a good friend of mine, and we both kind of decided that [we should] not repeat the ’94 album, that kind of thing. I think we made the right choice to have him not to sing, even though he’s got an incredible voice.”
Mars also expressed his love for “Mötley Crüe” early this November when he suggested that the album might have just suffered from being released at the wrong time:
“At the time, people actually weren’t ready to accept it. After time and stuff, and then all this, it’s like, ‘Oh, okay. How come this didn’t…’ You know?”
“So it’s all good with people rediscovering stuff like that as cool. It’s like when you rediscover an old Beatles song or an old Stones song. You rediscover it, and you go, ‘Whoa, that’s better than I remember.’ [Laughs]”
“I thought it was a great album when it came out, and I still do. I’m really happy that a lot of people are rediscovering that album because that one has a lot of really good songs on it — as well as very meaningful things to say.”
“The Other Side of Mars” is set for release on February 23, 2024, by Mars’ label 1313, LLC, and MRI. You can check out the single “Loyal to the Lie” below.