Hanoi Rocks - The Days We Spent Underground 1981-84

While Hanoi Rocks never reached the success of bands like Guns N Roses and Motley Crue, there is no denying the influence they had on those bands and so many others that came along after them as they meshed glam, punk, metal and more into their own unique sound.  The band got their start when vocalist Michael Monroe met guitarist Andy McCoy in Finland in 1979 and was then rounded out by Nasty Suicide on guitar, Sam Yaffa on bass and Gyp Casino on drums. The new five CD box set The Days We Spent Underground 1981-84 collects their first three studio albums, along with their singles and rarities collection Self Destruction Blues and live album All Those Wasted Years.  

“Tragedy”, the opening cut from their debut Bangkok Shocks, Saigon Shakes, Hanoi Rocks, is a high energy rocker with a hint of punk and strong sense of melody that made for the perfect introduction to the band.  Driven by tribal percussion, “Village Girl” is a solid rock track with some elements of glam and some great swirling psychedelic guitars.  On “Stop Cryin’” and “First Timer” they infuse their sound with a bit of a punk edge with the former also including some Michael Monroe sax.  “Don’t Never Leave Me” could be considered a glam ballad with a hint of sleaze and some spoken word interludes that really set it apart.  The influence Hanoi Rocks had on Guns ‘n’ Roses is very evident on “Lost In The City”, a rollicking rocker that takes inspiration from Gene Vincent and Chuck Berry and mixes in a little glam.  “Cheyenne” opens simply with acoustic guitar and vocals before kicking into a very hook-heavy track that’s a bit ragged around the edges and is highlighted by Monroe’s emotional vocals and heartfelt lyrics.  The influence of The Clash is very evident in the track “11th Street Kids”.  While not a total failure, their cover of Bobby Vee’s “Walking With My Angel” adds a bit of an edge and alot of saxophone, but is by far the poppiest track here and comes across as a bit gimmicky.  Closing out the disc is “Pretender”, another straight-up, somewhat ragged rocker.  

A year after their debut, the band was back with their sophomore effort, Oriental Beat.  While for the most part it’s not too far removed from its predecessor, it’s a more cohesive release and the band seems more confident.  “Motorvatin’” kicks things off and is a catchy rocker driven by Yaffi’s pulsing bass and a little harmonica.  Along with the next two tracks “Don’t Follow Me” and “Visitor”, it’s definitely a precursor, but way better, to bands like Poison and Faster Pussycat.  The punk influence isn’t quite as evident this time around, but there are several tracks, the glammier New York Dolls sounding “Teenangels Outsiders”, “M.C. Baby”, which is reminiscent of The Damned, and The London Calling era sound of “No Law Or Order”, where it’s still in the forefront.  While the title cut is pure, driving ragged glam rock, several other cuts find them expanding the diversity of their sound.  “Sweet Home Suburbia” has a slinky, somewhat funky shuffle and “Devil Woman” and their cover of Hoyt Axton’s “Lightnin’ Bar Blues” both dip their toes in the bluesy side of things.  The album closes fittingly with “Fallen Star”, a deeply emotional vocal and piano ballad.

Released later in 1982, Self Destruction Blues was a compilation of singles and b-sides that had previously only been available in Finland.  While there are a few lesser tracks, it works very well as an album and for the most part doesn’t feel like a compilation.  First up is “Love’s An Injection”, a glammed up rock anthem and one of the album’s stronger tracks.  Next is “I Want You”, which along with “Kill City Kills” tap into a bit of Stones swagger.  Two of the most infectious tracks are “Cafe Avenue” and “Nothing New”, the latter of which is made even better with a rollicking piano and handclaps.   Both are more on the pop side of things with very strong hooks.  The title track is a slice of straight up Chicago styled blues with some great harmonica from Monroe.  They stick to the blues on “Beer and a Cigarette”, a sleazy blues rocker with a bit of a “Train Kept A-Rollin’” groove and more harmonica.  If it wasn’t for the fact that it’s a compilation, “Whispers In The Dark”, a synth rock tune, and “Desperados”, which kind of just lopes along and has a bit of a silly vibe, would both be a bit of a misstep.  Neither cut is really bad, but they just really don’t feel like they are Hanoi Rocks tunes.  “Taxi Driver”, driven by a chugging bass line and often reminiscent of “Summertime Blues”, is not a bad song, but is still one of the weaker tracks here.  The album gets back on track for the last two cuts with the straight-up punk of “Problem Child” and the dark, piano driven “Dead By Xmas”.

In 1983 the band relocated to London and released Back To Mystery City, which was produced by former Mott the Hoople members Dale “Buffin” Griffin and “Pete “Overend” Watts, and marked the debut of Razzle on drums.  After kicking things off with “Strange Boys Play Weird Openings”, a short, English folk instrumental comprised of acoustic guitar, flute and birds chirping, the big sounding “Malibu Beach Nightmare” explodes with a blast of Ramones influenced punk that has a party like atmosphere complete with sax and a rollicking piano.  "Mental Beat" starts off with a Ramones drive, but then evolves into a bit of a noisy, offbeat singalong.  Inspired by the apartment full of rats they lived in after moving to London, “Tooting Bec Wreck” has a raw rockabilly foundation and a bit of the atmosphere of The Cure.  Slowing things down a bit, “Until I Get You” is a really strong ballad that still has their edginess and grit, while “Sailing Down The Tears” is more of a midtempo glam track with a hint of the Stones, and “Lick Summer Love” is a rocker with a slow, slinky groove and more of Monroe’s sax.  The next two tracks, “Beating Gets Faster” and “Ice Cream Summer” are both straight-ahead rockers but are a little too generic and polished and don’t really have any of that grit that makes them stand out.  They get back on track for the title track, another ragged glam rocker with a chorus that is extremely close to “Mony Mony”.

The final disc is their live album All Those Wasted Years, which was recorded at London’s Marquee Club in December 1983 and really shows the band at their finest.  Compared to the studio versions, most of the tracks are a little heavier and a little rawer.  The band sounds extremely tight and Razzle’s drumming is especially impressive.  After opening the show with a great cover of The Chantays’ surf classic “Pipeline”, they tear through a set of some of their strongest cuts.  In addition to thirteen originals, they also throw in a handful of covers, including Hoyt Axton’s “Lightning Bar Blues”, Alice Cooper’s “Under My Wheels”, The Stooges’ “I Feel Alright” and the blues classic “Train Kept A-Rollin’”.    

Following the albums found here, the band signed to CBS and released the album Two Steps from the Move in August of 1984 and things were looked very promising for the band.  Unfortunately, that was derailed four months later when Razzle was killed in the infamous car wreck with Vince Neil.  While this resulted in the band breaking up the following year, since that time there have been several reunion albums and tours.  

It's been over forty years since Hanoi Rocks hit the scene, and there are a multitude of bands who were influenced by them, but there has really never been another band that sounded quite like they did.  While this box set is great and it's nice to have all these releases together in one place, the one big drawback is that they have all been reissued over the years with bonus tracks and unfortunately none of those are included here.  

(HNE Recordings)