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.”
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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.