Back to Mystery City

I approached this album with trepidation, which was immediately confirmed by the medieval/baroque noodling to open. This is followed by football chant drums and dated hair rock. This process is rapidly changing my opinion of the appearance of a saxophone, which i generally saw as a positive thing…. Not anymore.

From here it is just dull dated sounded drivel of the highest (or lowest?) order

Another album that I don't entirely hate, but just fundamentally don't understand why its made it onto the list.

What is there about Hanoi Rocks that makes it stand out as worthy of inclusion? I grant you that the same thing could be said of much of the Britpop that made it into the 1001 books, but at least they have the excuse of the author being British, and therefore more integrated into that music scene, and Britpop being pretty current at the time the books were made. Hanoi Rocks seems to have dated terribly and to my ear, nothing particularly makes it stand out.

If you love glam-punk or hair metal, good for you! Enjoy this. But to me it's like watching Wayne's World... just significantly less funny.

2/5 (because I can't give 1.5)

Meh. Entretenido pero no es algo que reescucharía.

Back to Mystery City by Hanoi Rocks was completely new to me. I’d never heard the band before and, judging by the album cover, I was expecting something unapologetically 80s.

That turned out to be pretty accurate. I’ve always had a bit of a soft spot for dramatic glam rock and heavy guitar music, and this album delivers exactly that. I went into it with fairly low expectations but ended up enjoying it far more than I thought I would.

The closest comparison I can make is Mötley Crüe, although Hanoi Rocks feel a little less over-the-top and a bit more laid back. There are plenty of big riffs, catchy choruses and enough swagger to keep the album entertaining throughout.

It’s not an album I can see myself coming back to, but I had a lot more fun with it than I expected.

Favourite tracks: “Sailing Down the Tears” and “Until I Get You” were both great fun
Least favourite tracks: “Boys Play Weird Openings” lives up to its name and didn’t really do much for me. There are a few naff moments, but they're all part of the album's charm
Album artwork: A wonderfully over-the-top 80s album cover

𝘉𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘵𝘰 𝘔𝘺𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘊𝘪𝘵𝘺 makes a strong case for why Hanoi Rocks are often regarded as one of the missing links between glam rock and glam metal. Their mix of punk energy, hard rock, and swagger would go on to influence many bands that found much greater commercial success later in the decade.

Unfortunately, that historical importance doesn’t translate into an engaging listening experience for me. The album has plenty of attitude, but the songs rarely leave a lasting impression. I kept waiting for a track that would really stand out, yet by the end very little had stayed with me.

I have no trouble appreciating 𝘉𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘵𝘰 𝘔𝘺𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘊𝘪𝘵𝘺 for its influence, but influence alone isn’t enough. As an album, I find it far more significant than enjoyable.

A ver, no vivi los años en que este álbum salió, así que no es el tipo de rock que escucharía, pero suena bastante decente a ser honestos

2.1

Couldn’t stop imaging listening to this on summer car trips to random places and this album made me feel happy in a way not many albums on here will

When an album is so unlistenable that I quit after 3.5 songs, it’s like stealing a little personal time from this project. Yoink!

I had never heard of these guys, and now I know why. Sounds like something that would have inspired Motley Crue or some of those 80s metal types - that's not a glowing recommendation. It's not terrible, it's just not anything really inspiring or worthy of your listening time.

Phew. Three things I can’t stand: glam rock, hair metal and cheesy punk rock all in one band: to me, Hanoi Rocks are the epitome of what ruined 1980s rock music. Rock music for the redneck dance-off at the village disco. Silly, built on cheap hooks and with a particularly strong visual element. Rock music for teenage posters. Absolutely unimportant, absolutely trivial, absolutely boring.

There’s definitely nothing groundbreaking to be had here but it’s a fun listen and I enjoyed every song on it. Can’t really ask for much more than that.

Top Track - Sailing Down The Tears

Finland referencing Vietnam? I guess they were influential but so were the Ramones but without the weirdness.

Jeg er svak for finsk glampunk ja. Dette er arven etter New York Dolls godt ivaretatt.

This album is a brilliantly chaotic missing link between 70s punk and 80s glam, and I’m honestly surprised it took me this long to find it. It’s got that raw, street wise energy of the New York Dolls mixed with catchy, melodic hooks that clearly paved the way for bands like Guns N' Roses. Tracks like "Malibu Beach Nightmare" and "Tooting Bec Wreck" are pure fun, unapologetically dumb in the best way possible, featuring some surprisingly killer saxophone and piano work that gives the whole thing a unique, eclectic edge.

Fuck yeah, Peacemaker!

It's fun in a trashy 1980s way, but not that memorable.

Fat no for me

Girl who just read about exotica: Is this... exotica?

Nope, it's just 80s rock. It's fine. At least I learned that there's a British place called "Tooting Bec".

Pretty bad, not gonna lie.

More like Hanoi Is Okay, amirite? I knew a couple songs going into it that I thought were fine, and that’s how I felt about it overall. It was fine. Every time it threatened to be solid glam rock, it turned a bit too lame. Every time it threatened to be a bit too lame, it turned into solid glam rock.

3/5