Tommy Lee Albums (2)
'Tommyland: The Ride'
Release Date 8/2/2005
Tracks 12
Label TL Education Services, Inc.
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
Released in conjunction with his book of the same name, as well as his new reality television series Tommy Lee Goes to College, Tommyland: The Ride is the Mötley Crüe drummer's second foray -- not including Methods of Mayhem -- into faux-solo land. Lee lends his name, drums, and some vocals to 12 rockers, power ballads, summer anthems, and emo-drenched exercises in futility that employ the voices and guitar playing of pretty much anybody available. There's nothing genuine here, but nobody who has followed the highly public exploits of the eternal "bad boy" with any kind of devotion will be looking for a crack in the sky with Lee's tattooed hand reaching down with a scroll full of wisdom, so why overanalyze? Dave Navarro and Butch Walker provide the meat on "Good Times," an amiable slice of California pop that doubles as his TV show's theme song, the tough and catchy "Sister Mary" features Carl Bell of Fuel, and "Tired," a pop-punk bull's-eye sung by Good Charlotte's Joel Madden, celebrates the many attributes of Lee's ex-wife Pamela Anderson. Even Backstreet Boy Nick Carter rises to the occasion with "Say Goodbye," a perfectly rendered acoustic number that's a veritable template for the art of the tender-verse/loud-chorus heartbreaker. There are some things in the world that provide balance, and a record like Tommyland is the fulcrum on which all things that actually matter rest. ~ James Christopher Monger, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
When word got around that Tommy Lee's first solo album, Never a Dull Moment, would be coming out in May 2002, fans didn't know what to expect. Would the album pick up where Lee's Methods of Mayhem project of 1999 left off? Or would it, by some chance, recall his years with Mötley Crüe? The latter seemed unlikely because when Lee left Mötley Crüe in the late '90s, he had obviously grown frustrated with that band and was yearning to try something totally different. As it turns out, Never a Dull Moment is neither a carbon copy of Methods of Mayhem nor a return to a Mötley Crüe-like sound. The material on this fairly diverse CD (which Lee produced with Scott Humphrey) generally falls into the alternative metal and alternative rock categories; many of the tunes are hip-hop-influenced, but few of them are straight-up rap-metal in the Limp Bizkit/Korn/(hed) pe/Kid Rock vein. And for the most part, Never a Dull Moment sounds more organic than Methods of Mayhem's 1999 album, which gave the impression that Lee was trying a little too hard to be contemporary (by late-'90s standards) and prove to the world that there was more to him than "Shout at the Devil" and "Girls, Girls, Girls"; even so, Methods of Mayhem's debut was, despite its imperfections, one of the more memorable rap-metal efforts of 1999. But on Never a Dull Moment, a 39-year-old Lee sounds like he has grown more comfortable in his new rap-influenced, techno-influenced alterna-metal/alterna-rock wardrobe -- and that wardrobe ranges from raucous, in-your-face party jams ("Higher," "Face to Face") to songs that are tuneful and surprisingly thoughtful ("Ashamed," "Hold Me Down"). Not every track on Never a Dull Moment is a five-star gem, but more often than not, the CD is an exciting, inspired reminder of Lee's desire to forge ahead. ~ Alex Henderson, All Music Guide
