Hanoi Rocks - Lightning Bar Blues: The Albums 1981-1984 (2005) 6CD Box Set

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Hanoi Rocks - Lightning Bar Blues: The Albums 1981-1984 (2005) 6CD Box Set

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All six of the albums Hanoi Rocks made in their original incarnation – Bangkok Shocks, Saigon Shakes, Hanoi Rocks, Oriental Beat, Self Destruction Blues, Back to the Mystery City, Two Steps from the Move, and All Those Wasted Years – are packaged together, one album to one CD, in this straightforward six-CD set. There are no extras, just the albums as they were originally released, though there's a 12-page booklet with a solid history of the band and numerous (if small) reproductions of sleeves from their original releases. It's too much at once even for many fans, but for the more dedicated of that lot, it's a handy encapsulation of their primary recorded work. Hearing all of it does make it clear that, although they're often classified as a heavy metal band, they might be more accurately pegged as a hard rock band with substantial traces of glam and pop (and even some bar band blues-rock) along with the metal.

Review by Richie Unterberger, Allmusic.com

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Hanoi Rocks - Lightning Bar Blues: The Albums 1981-1984 (2005) 6CD Box Set

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Hanoi Rocks - Lightning Bar Blues: The Albums 1981-1984 (2005) 6CD Box Set

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Hailing from Finland, Hanoi Rocks burst on the scene in the early '80s with their debut release, Bangkok Shocks, Saigon Shakes, Hanoi Rocks. Producing themselves, the band took the energy and D.I.Y. attitude of the punk movement, and fused it with a love for glam rock to create an in-your-face sonic attack.

Their first release is heavy on melody and full of bravado. Lead singer Michael Monroe doesn't have the best voice in the world, but delivers the lyrics with a perpetual sneer that gives him character. Added to the mix is the razor sharp guitar playing of Andy McCoy, who rips off some impressive solos as on "Don't Never Leave Me." It's all great fun as the band never fails to lock into a solid groove and serve up highly melodic, high-octane rock. "Tragedy" has some wonderful vocal harmonies, and "Village Girl" is set to a tribal, percussive rhythm. A joyous collection of unbridled, youthful rock & roll

Review by Tom Demalon, Allmusic.com

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Hanoi Rocks - Lightning Bar Blues: The Albums 1981-1984 (2005) 6CD Box Set

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Hanoi Rocks may have been the best hard rock band Finland had to offer the world in 1982, but their sound and look was heavily influenced by the punk scenes of the late '70s in downtown New York and England. Oriental Beat finds Hanoi Rocks bringing the glam sound and look of the New York Dolls into the '80s. Oriental Beat is an album that finds itself slightly out of step with the music scene of the period – it was too late for the prime punk period of the late '70s and it was too early for the pop-metal explosion of the mid-to-late '80s. Oriental Beat is full of big singalong choruses and catchy riffs that would have made the band heavy players either five years earlier or later. The band shows its punk and glam influences not only with its look on the cover of the album but also with the music performed on the album as well. Tracks like "M.C. Baby" and "Oriental Beat" find the band closely resembling English punk rockers the Damned. Guitarist and chief songwriter Andy McCoy does his best Johnny Thunders on "Teenangels Outsiders." Other tracks on the album show the band displaying a sound that would be emulated by many future pop-metal bands. "Motorvatin'" and "Devil Woman" would easily have found a home on MTV circa 1987, and feminine-looking, lipstick-wearing, glammed-out lead singer Michael Monroe's image would have been plastered all over music television right next to Bret Michaels, Vince Neil, and Jon Bon Jovi. Despite a respectable amount of potential on most of the album, poor production limits the effectiveness of many tracks. The drums sound like they were recorded in another building separate from the rest of the band. A slick '80s hit-making producer like Mutt Lange (Def Leppard) or Bob Rock (Mötley Crüe, the Cult) could have made this band huge in the States. Oriental Beat shows where punk would have gone in the '80s if new wave and synthesizers never came along. By listening to this album you can see the influence Hanoi Rocks had on the artists that followed them. In 1984, the band's drummer, Razzle, died in a car accident as a passenger in a car driven by Mötley Crüe's Vince Neil; the band broke up a year later. Due to this tragic turn of events Oriental Beat has to unfortunately stand as an album by a band full of potential that sadly was never given a chance to fulfill it.

Review by Paul Tinelli, Allmusic.com

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Hanoi Rocks - Lightning Bar Blues: The Albums 1981-1984 (2005) 6CD Box Set

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Hanoi Rocks resolutely break no bounds on the band's third studio effort, Self Destruction Blues, but then again, anyone expecting that was in the wrong place; those expecting obvious nods to the likes of Ziggy-era Bowie, Mott the Hoople, and the like, though, would be in heaven. Michael Monroe's confident singing, if nowhere near as wonderfully unhinged as the Scandinavian hard rock monsters of the '90s, does the job with the right amount of implied strut and sleaze; if anything, the bizarrely sweet backing vocals on many songs seem to undercut what he's trying to do. Andy McCoy and Nasty Suicide do their expected riff-and-roll, Sam Yaffa doesn't disgrace himself on bass, and the end result is entertaining – if not mind-blowing – fun. The genre exercise of the title track works better than some might have thought, with Monroe blowing on his harmonica in prime Chicago electric blues style and getting a reasonable wail going (the production on the track intentionally sounds old, to boot). The best moments, though, come from the unexpected moments – check the low-key verses on "Café Avenue," with Monroe quietly purring tales of decadence and surviving on the streets, or the giddy pop nuttiness of "Desperados," one of the least threatening, but still fun, rough-guy songs ever. "Kill City" finds drummer Gyp Casino – who was replaced by Razzle after recording and prior to the album's release – pulling off a bit of introductory percussion that might not be out of place on a Santana record. However, the of-the-time synth line on "Whispers in the Dark" should be taken out and shot.

Review by Ned Raggett, Allmusic.com

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Hanoi Rocks - Lightning Bar Blues: The Albums 1981-1984 (2005) 6CD Box Set

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Having so obviously worshipped at the altar of Mott the Hoople for much of their career, it's little surprise that for their fourth album Hanoi Rocks went straight to the source, getting both Dale Buffin Griffin and Pete "Overend" Watts to produce Back to Mystery City. Whatever else they brought to the sessions, the duo makes Hanoi Rocks sound like a much more powerful band than before; compared to Self Destruction Blues, the riffs are more explosive, the drumming pounding, and Michael Monroe is in full swing. The aura of '50s rave-up, '70s glam party, and '80s hard rock chaos that the band made their own sounds even better than before, but the production duo also made even more room for intriguing experiments within the songs themselves. Thus, the full-on glam stomp, mock-Burundi drums, and animal noises during the merry romp "Tooting Bec Wreck" (one of many Hanoi Rocks songs paying homage to home-away-from-home London), or the clearly obvious "Mony Mony" steal from the title track, with reverbed vocals working wonders. One thing's for sure: calling the first song "Strange Boys Play Weird Openings," and having it be a mock rustic folk song – with acoustic guitars, flutes, and chirping birds – is a great way to have fun. More so, admittedly, when things suddenly kick into the brilliant rocker "Malibu Beach Nightmare." Other songs, like "Beating Gets Faster" and "Ice Cream Summer" (gratuitous misogyny aside), may be more Hanoi Rocks by-the-numbers, but it's a good enough pattern to follow. In their own way, they weren't so much pioneers as followers of a style that not many attempted at the time. They get extra points, as well, for having one of the more entertainingly crude song titles around: "Lick Summer Love."

Review by Ned Raggett, Allmusic.com

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Hanoi Rocks - Lightning Bar Blues: The Albums 1981-1984 (2005) 6CD Box Set

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Although many would like to forget the '80s glam rock movement, there's no denying that one of the genre's leaders, the oft-overlooked Hanoi Rocks, were by far the best. Unlike other bands of the era whose influences were strictly heavy metal, Hanoi had roots in punk rock (Stooges, Ramones) as well as hard rock. Their 1985 double live album, All Those Wasted Years, shows that they were the real deal (as well as a major influence on future raunch-rockers Guns N' Roses). Nearly all of the band's best tracks are included here, such as "Back to Mystery City," "Motorvatin'," "Mental Beat," and "Taxi Driver." Also included is a triple-shot encore of cover songs: Alice Cooper's "Under My Wheels," the Stooges' "I Feel Alright" (aka "1970"), and the Yardbirds/Aerosmith standard "Train Kept A-Rollin'." The death of drummer Razzle a year after this concert was recorded proved a crippling blow for the band, and they splintered not long after – which is sad, because Hanoi Rocks had the talent to put all the other glam metal bands of the '80s to shame.

Review by Greg Prato, Allmusic.com

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Hanoi Rocks - Lightning Bar Blues: The Albums 1981-1984 (2005) 6CD Box Set

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Had Razzle not died so tragically, there's every reason to believe that Hanoi Rocks could easily have taken things to the next level of hard rock glory. As it is, Two Steps from the Move will have to remain a testimony to what might have been instead of a further springboard. "Up Around the Bend" may have been little more than an easy way of getting a chart hit, but they still got one nonetheless, and the energetic way the band handled the CCR classic showed they were no slouches with the material. Working with Bob Ezrin was the more notable change here; with Dale Buffin Griffin and "Overend" Pete Watts having given Hanoi Rocks their best production yet with Back to the Mystery City, the legendary hard rock producer showed he still had the touch with his work on Two Steps from the Move. He also seemed to have his hand in all the band's doings – nearly all the songs on the album are co-written efforts between Ezrin and various bandmembers, while he contributes everything from percussion to vocals. Given that Hanoi Rocks never made any pretense at being immediate and catchy, it's hardly a case of selling out, more a matter of a pro making everything better – and that he does. In terms of combining the attitude, gang shouts, punk energy, and classic rock burn of the band, things couldn't be better – Monroe sounds phenomenal, the McCoy/Suicide guitar team comes up with some great riffs and even better trade-offs, and the Yaffa/Razzle rhythm section keep it all chugging. Highlights: "Boiler," a perfectly saucy tale about one's lady love using a bit of Brit slang, the heavy-duty strut and stomp of "I Can't Get It," the tearjerker-with-feedback "Don't You Ever Leave Me," and "Boulevard of Broken Dreams," as perfect a neo-Mott the Hoople anthem as any.

Review by Ned Raggett, Allmusic.com

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Hanoi Rocks - Lightning Bar Blues: The Albums 1981-1984 (2005) 6CD Box Set

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