Back to the Mystery City

Hanoi Rocks: Michael Monroe (vocals); Andy McCoy, Nasty Suicide (guitar); Sam Yaffa (bass); Razzle (drums).
All tracks have been digitally remastered.
Old-school glam met the new generation on this third studio release from Hanoi Rocks, produced by former Mott the Hoople rhythm section Dale Griffin and Overend Watts. While the familiar Hanoi Rocks elements are in place--raucous boogie played with a mixture of fierceness and irreverence--an adventuresome lyrical playfulness is evident on songs like "Tooting Bec Wreck," "Mental Beat," and "Lick Summer Love," and Michael Monroe's vocals are especially supple and expressive. The band even takes an ironic dip into instrumental folk on the brief album intro.
But the Finnish band is in no danger here of becoming arty. The emphasis is still on rocking, and on the album closer, "Back to Mystery City," they achieve a gleefully tribal sound, no doubt influenced by the concurrent wave of Afrobeat that was sneaking into British new wave at the time.