Tommy Lee might be best known for his drumming work for Mötley Crüe, but this album shows the softer side of his songwriting. He's fluent mix of listener-friendly songs and catchy melodies really shows itself on this album, filled to the brim with guest singers and musicians.
The album flows quite nicely into the well polished "Good Times". It's a really fun track to listen to, made up of an acoustic chord progression laid over an electric melody of bass and drumming. Tommy's voice is strong, and sounds nice over the harmony of the music. This leads into "Hello Again", a more downbeat follow-up. It's slow tempo and guitar melody placed over a bright piano piece by Mr. McMahon (As a favour for doing drums on Jack's Mannequin's
Everything In Transit) sounds amazingly cheery for such a slow song.
"Tryin' To Be Me" is a much more rockier song, beginning with a distorted riff and leading into a sort of Lenny Kravitz-esque song. Perfectly produced instruments play some loud and hard riffs and beats, and Tommy's gritty voice sounds better of this than the previous tracks. "Sister Mary" is a much more heavier song, and sounds like a rock ballad more than anything else. The blend of bassy riffs and the right amount of pop notes is what makes this song work well.
We are then treated to a skit from "Tommy's Butler", which is a blatent parody of British lifestyle. This leads us straight into "Tired", the chorud of which is sung by none other than Joel Madden. Poking fun at Tommy's career and lifestyle, this is another MTV-friendly pop-rock song that fits nicely into this CD. This is gladly followed up by probably the highlight of the album. "I Need You" yet again features Andrew McMahon, and is a heartfelt piano ballad mixed with electronic soundsand a string orchestra. Luckily, this is sung by Andrew and it sounds brilliant and pours with emotion.
"Make Believe" brings another level to the album, sounding more like a post-grunge anthem for the teen kids of the Kerrang world. Chad Kroeger's addition to the song isn't anything special, and the song is very much downbeat and quiet. It's OK, not one of the best on the album though. "Makin' Me Crazy" is another pop-rock summer anthem, in which Tommy is joined by Brit-chick singer Dirty Harry. Their voices sound great together, and the music is polished and melodic.
"Watch You Lose" is another song which builds up gradually, from acoustic palm-muting to a full on heavy and distorted chorus. It switches styles of music quickly, and Tommy's voice sounds good over the top of it. Now, Nick Carter makes his guest appearance. "Say Anything" is surprisingly another fun pop-rock song to enjoy. His voice isn't bad, but Tommy's voice overshadows it a lot thanks to it's deeper tone. The album ends with a beautiful acoustic version of "Hello Again", and even with the accomaniment of Andrew, it still sounds very emotional and anthemic.
Considering what Tommy is known for making in music, this album will turn a few heads on first listens. The music doesn't differ as much as it could do, and is quite downbeat in general. All these songs could be played on the radio and you probably wouldn't know it was him. Yet, there are flaws. The structure of a lot of the songs is similar to each other, and it's music isn't entirely original. There are one or two exceptions, but most are hard to place and have no memorable features other than their guest appearances. This makes the record drag out a little bit, and it's sometimes difficult to resist the urge to skip to the next track.
That being said, it's a decent attempt at making a solid pop-rock record, and has a lot of good songs on it. Tommy's voice sounds strong and deep, and the album starts out in a blistering fashion.
