Hanoi are back on the tannoy...
Hanoi Rocks surely need no introduction. But being a kind and generous soul, I'm going to give you one anyway - just in case there are a couple of nubile stragglers out there who've yet to check them out.
Hanoi Rocks are Finnish. Hanoi Rocks have been described as a "street/glam/trash/blues/punk rock'n'roll" band. Hanoi Rocks were thrust onto the UK - and then world stage in the early Eighties, and immediately made an impact on the post-punk rock establishment. Then, in 1984, the tragic death of drummer Razzle in a car accident (Vince Neil was at the helm incidentally - how's that for rock 'n' roll damnation?) propelled them into implosion. Their frenetic five-year assault on the world of rock was over.
Flash-forward sixteen years later - and after a couple of reunion concerts in 2001, Michael Monroe and Andy McCoy, vocalist and guitarist respectively (they sure don't sound Finnish, do they? More Second Division Footballer if you ask me) decided to rekindle their writing relationship and released the '12 Shots on the Road' album two years later. And so 2006 sees the Hanoi boys fully rejuvenated and hitting the road once more - and on the back of 'Another Hostile Takeover'...
'Back in yer Face' is great opener; a brilliant conflagration of classic melodic riffs, an unmistakably cheeky chorus and a superb harmonica inflected bridge. Monroe's voice remains as in-yer-face as ever (sorry guys, I couldn't resist), and the axe-wielding McCoy's fingers are as nimble as ever. 'Hurt' and 'The Devil in You' are rock-heavy inclusions that the recently lacklustre Aerosmith would sell Steven Tyler's buck teeth to get their boringly clean-and-sober mitts on - though the former would sound better still if the producer had dropped the synths into a canal.
Furthermore, that latter track 'The Devil in You' exemplifies Hanoi Rocks's eagerness to embrace a wide variety of musical genres. It's an indomitably catchy reggae/ska-inflected romantic expedition that might be album filler in a lesser band's hands (I dunno...Skid Row? Def Leppard? - if THAT affront gets through the editorial process I'll be fucking surprised) but in the hands of Monroe and McCoy, it's a joy. The Jamaican theme is picked up once more in the flagrantly enjoyable 'Reggae Rocker' - yeah it's a little bit silly but just as pleasing on the head doughnuts.
There are a few downsides though - before you start thinking Hanoi Rocks have slipped me a coupla notes and a bottle of sour mash to ensure a decent write-up. 'Love' is almost as bad as Dire Straits's 'Twisting by the Pool', while 'Eternal Optimist', 'You Make the Earth Move' and 'No Compromise, No Regret' are nominally enjoyable bantam-weight filler that sound like Bon Jovi c.1990...so I guess you'll either love 'em or hate 'em.
'Better High' is imbued with just enough rock 'n' roll attitude to satisfy - buttressed as it is with a great upbeat riff and superbly preposterous backing vocals and 'Dear Miss Lonely Hearts' is so daft you can't help but raise a smile (and for some bizarre reason it brought to mind 'Train in Vain' by The Clash, which is no bad thing).
On a technical level (for those of you who are interested in such matters), the album is fantastically mixed and produced - save the intrusion of those chubby synths - and although it's smoother than a buttered seal caught in an oil slick, the sheer energy and passion of the band almost blisters through the disk. Overall then, this is one album that deserves to be played as loud as fucking possible.
The rockabilly-good-time closer 'Heaven is Gonna be Empty' immediately conjures the emaciated ghosts of The New York Dolls and The 101'ers to the brain - though for some reason Monroe sounds spent on this one - bored even - and what should be a triumphant swansong to a solid rock album ends up a languid mallard on a pebble beach in Devon (Dawlish Warren if you're interested).
With 'Another Hostile Takeover', Hanoi Rocks have crafted a sound, slick and solid rock 'n' roll album. Yeah, there's some cheesy Eighties poodle-haired moments here and there - but the first half is chock-full of magnificent licks, impassioned vocals and a veritable abundance of chutzpah and talent.
If you were a fan of Hanoi Rocks back in their heyday, I have no doubt that you'll love this album. If you're a fan of Eighties rock, it's definitely worth checking out. However, if you're a guy or gal that chooses to wear a black smock and cowl and that paints a spider's webs on their face at the weekend...get thee back to your snakebite and black and your H.I.M albums. This ain't the one for you...