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Back To Mystery City: strange boys

J. Holmes | yokohama, japan | 10/21/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"boiled down to it's bare form, Hanoi Rocks is a hard rock band...pure and simple. from their blues-based song structures to their street tough attitude, this is rock and roll in it's most primitive form. the refining touch is added in liberal doses, as these Finnish boys digested the influence of glam rock, punk, and reggae and redirected it within their music to create some of best written and classic songs ever! how can anyone listen to cuts like the title track to this album and not recognize the genius at work here? these tunes are packed and overflowing with brilliant melodies, ultra catchy hooks, and riffs galore. just in case you might have not known, Hanoi Rocks was a direct influence on many (if not all) of the Los Angeles hair rockers from the 80's and 90's...Poison, Motley Crue, Guns N' Roses. but please don't hold those band names as reference points to the mighty Hanoi Rocks. because the Rocks had more class and firepower (not too mention a streak of weirdness and an embraceable sense of freakishness that their Los Angeles counterparts, due to unbreakable egos, would never be able to charm out of themselves) than all of those bands combined. this album contains classics such as the drugged and dazed "Tooting Bec Wreck" which stumbles and crawls along with it's howling melody and was a big live favorite back in the day. and the shimmering pop rock of "Until I Get You" is a definite standout on this record. the weirdness creeps in right from the beginning with the gentle folk strum of "Strange Boys Play Weird Openings." when is the last time you heard nature sounds of birds chirping and flowing streams when you pushed play on one of your other rock records? haha...like i said before, pure genius at work. a recommended album. a recommended band!"

Spectacular

Erik Smith | California | 04/30/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"A mixture of blues, punk, and old school rock n roll come together in this great album. Songs that stand out are the classics: malibu beach nightmare, mental beat, tooting bec wreck, and until i get you. Altough every song is catchy, upbeat and memorable just like all of Hanoi Rock's music. In my opinion, this band is highly underrated and to the major population, unknown. It's suprising that bands like the New York Dolls and Guns N Roses are more recognized even though Hanoi Rocks is far superior to both. Don't let this album pass you by."

TREND SETTERS....AND NO ONE EVEN KNOW'S IT!!!!

T. Mason | ca. | 03/18/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Where to begin, bowie?,gabriel?,. Cause let's get real...that's when it started!



We could go on all day! For you younger Cat's i'm talking about what vH1 calls glam!



Education time!!! There was never anything called "Hair Metal"

or "GLAM METAL"...or a "Mullet". These terms did not exist until Vh1 needed a name!!They used to call it glitter rock! in the 70's...Bowie, sweet, slade,kiss,queen,t-rex, mott the hoople, new york dolls and yes... even twisted sister!!!

I'll try to summ it up quick, the whole glam thing that happend in the 80's was influenced by most of the bands mentioned,{the shock rockers as

we'll...alice cooper and so on...)But nobody seems to remember that HANOI ROCKS came along in the late 70's and inspired the likes of MOTLEY CRUE, GUNS AND ROSES, getting the picture??? And then came the others...Poison,Faster pussycat, L.A. Gunns,Jetboy,.

Google pictures of Hanoi,,.. then google pictures of the 80's bands mentioned,..You'll see what i mean..As for the sound?, ....glam is simple..it's power pop, hard rock,punk, and all attitude!!!Once you have that?? the look just falls into place!!



The first time i saw guns n roses it was 1987 ...i had loud music in my house...the t.v. was on mtv, but the volume was off!!! The welcome to the jungle video was on... i looked at the t.v. and said to myself...cool ...hanoi rocks got back together!!! at the end in the lower corner of the t.v. it said guns and roses...????who are they?? i thought.

Enough Said?

Even axl admits "if hanoi rocks would have stayed together, there would have been no motley crue or guns n roses"

Google that quote along with axl and you'll find it for yourself.!!



Moral of this story? If you think u like 80's glam, you BETTER buy some Hanoi Rocks!!!!"