Search - Hanoi Rocks :: 12 Shoots on the Rocks

Hanoi Rocks

Steven Swan | Illinois | 01/22/2010

(4 out of 5 stars)

"When first seeing this one a few years back available I thought it was another greatest hits, but was pleasnatly surprised to see it was indeed new material from this classic group of glam rock legends, or at least the team of Andy McCoy and Michael Monroe were back.

To me the newer stuff by the group seem a bit heavier, alot of Monroes solo work seems to mirror the Hanoi sound at times which is undertandable and fine by me also, both can co-exist perhaps and can be a wonderful volum of music to enjoy.



This CD has alot to offer, and I have many favs, it's got that classic Hanoi sound, albeit a bit like said harder perhaps in places but true nonetheless. I have alot of favs in "Obscured", "People Like Me", and "In My Darkest Moment" to name a few along with probably my fav here in "A Day Late A Dollar Short" which appears to be penned by McCoy only. Monroe plays once again the Sax, Harmonica, some guitars, synths, and even percussion. They do a very good version of "Delirious", "Winged Bull" (Daryl Hall) is okay but just not a song i like at all, it never seems to get going in an interesting direction for a Hanoi CD, it sounds like a CD closer perhaps. It picks up again with a couple more favs later on in "Watch This", and "Gypsy Boots" which restore the rocking fun of this wonderful Cd. "Designs On You" is a nice closer.



They do include a hidden track at some point, and it is with this very CD that I have officially grown tired of the hidden track. It was fine when bands actually put a quality song on there, but then it began to be the thing to put a joke track, a snippet of noise there...so you wait or fast forward 5, 10, sometimes 15 minutes or whatever go to track 69 and all you hear is a weird voice or clatter of what sounds like drums being knocked over. This CD has the chorus I believe of Cheech and Chongs "Up In Smoke" done somewhat acoustically or something, which is fine I guess, but it could have come 10 seconds after the last song rather than 5 minutes if you ask me. Listenign to a group of CD's in the changer causes me time after time to get up and eithe fast forward or just end the CD and skip to the next one with the remote, the whole thing has lost it's validity and needs to be used better from now on that's all.



Otherwise a good Hanoi Rocks CD, full of good ol fashioned rock and roll done up Hanoi style updated for the new generation perhaps, even if unnoticed, it still to me remains very important....much more than what you might hear on the radio at any given moment."