Energy remains but not the edge

Motley Crue

“Saints of Los Angeles” (Motley Records)

*1/2

For all its back-in-the-saddle brio, Motley Crue’s first new studio album together since 1997, “Saints of Los Angeles” -- released today in advance of the July 1 kickoff in West Palm Beach, Fla., of a summer-long tour -- isn’t really a return to the band’s mid-’80s heyday, when they delivered catchy riffs, polished guitar fuzz and ghastly ideas about romance.

There is some of the old energy here, thanks in part to the presence of drummer Tommy Lee, who drives “Down at the Whisky” and “Chicks=Trouble” like somebody with a head full of stimulants. Yet the album lacks the tune-craft that once made vintage Crue such hits as “Dr. Feelgood” and “Kickstart My Heart” so appealing.

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-- Mikael Wood

Albums are rated on a scale of four stars (excellent), three stars (good), two stars (fair) and one star (poor). Albums reviewed have been released.