Hanoi Rocks - Bangkok Shocks, Saigon Shakes, Hanoi Rocks
#53
By Bradley Glenn
February 1 1981
Hanoi Rocks
Bangkok Shocks, Saigon Shakes, Hanoi Rocks
Genre: Glam Metal
Allen’s Rating: 4 out of 5
Bradley’s rating: 4 out of 5
Highlights:
Tragedy
Don’t Never Leave Me
Village Girl
Lost in the City
In 1985, the Finnish glam band Hanoi Rocks was on the brink of US stardom. Their album, Two Steps to the Move, was charting, their cover of Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Up Around The Bend” was getting college radio airplay. They were big in Japan (No kidding).
On December 8 of that year the band was partying with Motley Crue in Los Angeles. The party ran out of beer and Razzle, the Hanoi Rocks drummer, jumped into Vince Neil (Motley Crue’s lead singer)’s Pantera to secure some more. On the way back, Neil crashed his car and killed Razzle instantly in the collision. Not soon after that, Hanoi Rocks broke up and will forever be known as a band that almost broke through to join their Crue mates into superstardom, instead leaving some original jamming tunes of the glam/light metal/pop variety. I say this as teenage fan who collected their imports and followed their every move, and thought they were always just one hit away from becoming the most famous thing from Finland since the steam room.
In 1980 the band was still very young having recently been formed by Andy McCoy (the lead guitarist and chief songwriter) and the lead vocalist/saxophonist Michael Monroe. After touring clubs in Finland and Sweden, the band recorded and released their debut album, Bangkok Shocks, Saigon Shakes, Hanoi Rocks which feels like the punk child of Billy Idol and Sixousie and the Banshees sipping a root beer. A root beer because as the musicianship and musical energy is young, brash and air guitar-able, the lyrics never make you forget that English was their second language.
Album opens with the rocker, Tragedy, kind of a speedier “White Wedding” bass riff with some nice guitars on top. Lyrics are simple and straightforward and the song lingers after multiple listens.
Following up is Village Girl, which has a nice waka-waka guitar riff over a straight pop metal backdrop. The next song, Stop Cryin’, brings Michael Monroe’s talents as a saxophonist into the song on a brief but prominent sax solo that was rare for this kind of band.
Lost in the City, is a fast blues riff which has the band really rocking out and Monroe adding harmonica to the jam. Fun, light, with the band poppin’ and boppin’. This may be my favorite song on the record, you can imagine a bunch of Finnish kids running around a big town like London, like Hanoi Rocks would do in later years. The song is as joyously simple as a night out in your 20’s with good pals and a lot of time to kill.
The album’s second side, although maybe not as memorable, still continues the buzzy guitars and solid rhythm section into more songs about youthful love and sexual escapades. That’s a compliment. Highlight is the sax driven “Walking with my Angel” which Monroe does his best sound like a Scandinavian Clarence Clemons.
All in all, a solid great listen, not to trying on ears and a good mash up of styles that gave them an original voice that was always one step away from really breaking through. 80s Glam/Pop Metal/Punk fans unite and find a new rocking album of Finnish kids lost in proverbial music city. Enjoy!
https://open.spotify.com/album/5zk7JNQ6VaMNwYan1iYFX9?si=59FB17t3T4SOVnGaYEZi9g
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