Tommy Lee has released Tommyland Rides Again via BMG — a reimagined version of his 2005 solo album Tommyland: The Ride — marking the first time the record has been available on digital streaming platforms.
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The refreshed edition was remixed by Lee and collaborator Smiley Sean at Lee’s own Dolby Atmos-certified studio in Los Angeles, with the project also available in an immersive Dolby Atmos mix.
“A couple years ago, my kids were tripping out and like, ‘Dad, you gotta re-release this,’ ’cause it was 20 years since it came out,” Lee recently explained to Billboard of the new project. “I didn’t really think much of it, but then the studio got done being built and I was like, ‘I wanna remix some of my stuff’ — one being Tommyland: The Ride, for its anniversary.
“So I learned the process, and once you hear Dolby Atmos, it’s insane. I’ll never listen to regular stereo again. And now we’re going down the rabbit hole and I’m remixing anything.” The release includes a new bonus track, “Stupid World,” featuring alt-rock artist and former professional skateboarder Chad Tepper, alongside an accompanying music video.
Physical formats — including CD and, for the first time, vinyl — follow on Sept. 18.
“Whenever I do something solo, without Motley Crue, I’m like a little kid in a sandbox,” Lee said. “It’s just you, and you sort of have the freedom to do whatever it is that’s blowing your skirt up.
“The cover art kind of says it all; it’s basically a, like, roller coaster (track) going into my ear, into my f***in’ crazy, eclectic musical styles mind, and that’s what it’s always been.”
The original Tommyland: The Ride, released independently in August 2005, peaked at No. 62 on the Billboard 200 and produced lead single “Good Times” featuring Butch Walker, which reached No. 95 on the Billboard Hot 100 and served as the theme song for Lee’s NBC reality series Tommy Lee Goes to College.
The album was part of an ambitious multimedia rollout that also included Lee’s autobiography of the same name. Despite its modest chart performance, the record featured a heavyweight cast of collaborators spanning rock, pop and punk — among them Nickelback’s Chad Kroeger, Good Charlotte’s Joel Madden, Backstreet Boys’ Nick Carter, Sum 41’s Deryck Whibley, Dave Navarro of Jane’s Addiction, Andrew McMahon and Butch Walker.
Two decades on, Lee says the Dolby Atmos technology available at his studio made revisiting the album irresistible. “The cover art invites you to take a ride inside my twisted musical world and experience its new life after 20 years,” he said. “And in Dolby Atmos.”
The release arrives as Lee heads back on the road with Mötley Crüe for The Return of the Carnival of Sins tour this summer, celebrating both the 20th anniversary of that original 2005 concert run and the band’s 45th anniversary. Mötley Crüe have sold more than 100 million records worldwide and hold a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.