This is a Random Album Generator.
One album a day.
From the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.

Back to Mystery City

Hanoi Rocks

1983

Back to Mystery City

Album Summary

Back to Mystery City is the fourth studio album by the Finnish rock band Hanoi Rocks, released in 1983. It was produced by ex-Mott the Hoople members Dale Griffin and Pete "Overend" Watts, and was the first with Razzle on drums. Besides Hanoi Rocks, the album also features keyboardist Morgan Fisher, and Miriam Stockley on backing vocals, who had also sung with Pink Floyd.

Wikipedia

Rating

2.69

Votes

5522

Genres

  • Hard Rock
  • Metal
Reviews
Like a review? Give it a thumb up to help us display relevant reviews!
Sort by: Top Date
View Author
Fri Feb 26 2021
1

I'm genuinely confused by this album, or at least its inclusion on this list. Nothing I heard seemed new, novel, or influential. The recording quality was mediocre, and song writing basic, the execution lukewarm. Maybe I missed something, but I don't think I'll be listening again to find out.

👍
View Author
Mon Jul 12 2021
1

Bad 80s Glam. The sound of doing blow off of a Macy's credit card

👍
View Author
Wed Oct 20 2021
1

Not really sure how this made it onto the 1001 list, but I can only assume it's bribery.

👍
View Author
Mon Nov 22 2021
5

I loved this album, even though the first time I listened to it tracks 2-8 were not the correct songs. Seems Apple Music has the wrong songs associated with tracks 4-8 were the wrong songs. Whatever songs those were I listened to the first time sounded like Hanoi Rocks and I really liked them... After re-listening with the correct tracks (than you YouTube): I LOVE THIS ALBUM. This band is really amazing. Some pretty strong rock tracks in here ("Malibu Beach Nightmare") with some punk and glam and 50s stuff - all blended together into BACK TO MYSTERY CITY. There are touches of Queen, Meat Loaf, the B-52s, the Rocky Horror Picture Show soundtrack - all have done some similar mixing before… What's great here is Hanoi Rocks has their own spin on these winning combinations. I loved every song on here. The styles varied a bit but still felt like a cohesive album. Some wild fun sound-effect shenanigans in the opening and scattered here and there - like the farm animals in "Tooting Bec Wreck", the spacey echoey effects in "Until I Get You,” the bells in “Ice Cream Summer.” Well done without being overdone. This is some of the best punk/rock/glam/50's style music around. I wish I had discovered them in the 80s as I think it would have enhanced my adolescence. Nevertheless lots of fun now, the lyrics were interesting, and I will listen to this often. And after being exposed to some additional Hanoi Rocks through the misidentified mystery tracks, will follow up with some more of their albums. HANOI ROCKS ROCKS!

👍
View Author
Fri Dec 03 2021
4

Hanoi Rocks delivers a delightfully catchy glam rock record, with favorites coming out of 'Until I Get You' and 'Mental Beat'. The arrangements are quite methodical and measured, with Razzle's familiar classic rock drum patterns fastening the album. A Finnish band singing in English could make you mistake Hanoi Rocks for a Brit band, which affords it extra substance as a generally pleasant listen.

👍
View Author
Tue Nov 10 2020
3

Not on Spotify, and the track order is backwards on the YouTube playlist. Fuck you, nerds. This guys hair is so amazing. I wish I had enough hair to rock that look. This is an otherwise solid rock and roll album from the 80s. Definitely worth the listen.

👍
View Author
Fri Jun 11 2021
2

Dumb glam that doesn't really go anywhere or do much interesting. A couple of fun hooks

👍
View Author
Mon Jan 10 2022
2

Um yeah, not too sure. Some sort of 80s punk/hair metal from Finland. If this has any relevance to the world of music, it must be lost on my ill-informed ears, but this could safely have never been made.

👍
View Author
Fri Sep 02 2022
2

The Mystery: What would it sound like if Poison made a Replacements album? The Answer: This record.

👍
View Author
Mon Jun 07 2021
5

Everything that I love about rock!

👍
View Author
Wed Jan 26 2022
5

Normalnie byłoby 4, ale 5 za kickoff ;-)

👍
View Author
Fri May 27 2022
5

Long time music listener, first time glam rock enjoyer. Seriously, the 80s form of glam rock has never really jelled with me, but *man* did I enjoy this album. Sounds like it was made for huge stages and big festivals, insert your own crowd chanting while listening. I'm not sure if it's the use of the name "Rosalita" and the killer saxophone solo in "Ice Cream Summer", but man, it sounds just like Springsteen went glam. Early on in the record, I thought, "this isn't bad," and near the end I was super into it. Fuck it. I'm feeling generous tonight. Favorite tracks: "Mental Beat", "Tooting Bec Wreck", "Beating Gets Faster", "Ice Cream Summer"

👍
View Author
Wed Aug 10 2022
5

I spent my entire 8 hours of work listening to just this artist.... good stuff

👍
View Author
Fri Mar 03 2023
5

Yeah, this is great. Due to the fatal car incident with their drummer and the Motley Crue singer, I somehow always associated this band with MC and never paid it the attention it deserves. Turns out: it does not have those silly glam rock sing along refrains, but it is much more rock n roll: think New York Dolls a decade earlier. My bad.

👍
View Author
Fri Sep 18 2020
4

Je ne connaissais pas, ça rock !

👍
View Author
Thu Feb 25 2021
4

FInnish glam rock. Surprisingly enjoyable. Need to dig deeper into these guys.

👍
View Author
Fri Jun 25 2021
4

Rather enjoyed this album.

👍
View Author
Mon Oct 04 2021
4

Never even heard of this bunch before. Nice fun glam mental album.

👍
View Author
Wed Nov 17 2021
4

Better than I expected, influences of/on the clash, manics, ultrasound, maybe even the jam. Didn't know they were Finnish before this, makes them 77% more interesting!

👍
View Author
Fri Nov 26 2021
4

Nice hardrock

👍
View Author
Thu Dec 02 2021
4

enjoyed it a lot

👍
View Author
Wed Dec 29 2021
4

Better than expected

👍
View Author
Thu Dec 30 2021
4

LOVED IT

👍
View Author
Wed Jan 19 2022
4

Fun glam rock album! Way to go Finland!

👍
View Author
Mon Jan 24 2022
4

Muy bueno

👍
View Author
Wed Feb 02 2022
4

Mah mah mah maaaa rosalitaaaaa Loved the classic rock vibes, really great album 4/5

👍
View Author
Thu Feb 17 2022
4

Rock on!

👍
View Author
Thu Mar 24 2022
4

03/23/22

👍
View Author
Fri Mar 25 2022
4

this is from the 80s

👍
View Author
Thu Mar 31 2022
4

Better than I expected, influences of/on the clash, manics, ultrasound, maybe even the jam. Didn't know they were Finnish before this, makes them roughly 77% more interesting!

👍
View Author
Thu Mar 31 2022
4

Pretty good. A cross between punk rock and a hair band…glam rock?

👍
View Author
Fri Apr 22 2022
4

Normally I wouldn't give the time of day to heavy guitar oriented rock from the early 80s but something about this caught my interest. At the end of the day I'm happy Spotify had only half the tunes available since I would have likely got bored if I had to listen to an hour of this.

👍
View Author
Wed Apr 27 2022
4

Never even heard of this band but damn if this album wasn't a lot of fun.

👍
View Author
Thu Apr 28 2022
4

I really need to stop judging a book by its cover. This band looks terrible by all accounts and I was ready to hit the 1, maaaybe 2 star button. Boy was I wrong, this wasn't 80s synth heavy glam, but a rock album through and through. Fast guitars, driving drums, a singer that can belt, this was a fun listen to aside from one or two songs that didn't land. Hanoi Rocks sounds like what Kiss looks like.

👍
View Author
Fri Jun 10 2022
4

This is a weird album. It seems as though Hanoi Rocks was unsure of what kind of band they were. It's glam, it's rock, it's pop, it's punk. It's a really odd, and at times exceptionally awkward, stew of genre tropes and my initial impressions were not good, to be honest. But, as the album progressed, it started to win me over. "Back to Mystery City" is very strange but, on balance, it's fun and interesting. I think the novelty is worth a star.

👍
View Author
Thu Jun 23 2022
4

I know Hanoi Rocks from the "Peacemaker" show. So I was kinda prepared for HR... ...what I was not prepared for was the fact that I was going to actually like the album. Yeah, it's very 80s, but it hit something in me that I kinda was missing. I really kinda dug it. Can't explain, really, Maybe it was the other stuff I was listening to previously today, I don't know. But I really enjoyed it.

👍
View Author
Wed Jul 06 2022
4

Hell yes. Toes that very fine line between shambolic and inspired, a sleazy, poppy, dirty little diamond that draws equally on punk and glam heritage. 'Mental Beat' is a brilliant track. You know why? Because it's basically 'Next Big Thing' by the Dictators, which also ruled. They wrote 'Lick Summer Love' themselves though, which also smokes. Great record!

👍
View Author
Fri Jul 15 2022
4

Very ska-punkish

👍
View Author
Thu Aug 11 2022
4

Pretty good actually 3 Love it 4

👍
View Author
Sun Aug 14 2022
4

Really enjoyed this punkish dose of proto hair metal.

👍
View Author
Thu Aug 25 2022
4

Really great stuff. It’s a shame I can’t listen to Apple Music. YouTube ads kind of ruined the flow a bit but there’s some killer tracks on here!

👍
View Author
Fri Aug 26 2022
4

Gets a lot of hate, but enjoyed the ride

👍
View Author
Thu Sep 01 2022
4

Big hair, big riffs, big fun. Rating: 3.5/5 Playlist track: Malibu Beach Nightmare Date listened: 31/08/22

👍
View Author
Wed Sep 07 2022
4

Chips and hooks and charisma

👍
View Author
Thu Sep 22 2022
4

I've got a soft spot for 80s glam rock. Lot of this sounds like it could be on a GTA vice city radio station and that's no bad thing Tacky but enjoyed it!

👍
View Author
Wed Oct 12 2022
4

One of few occasions where I'd say that Vice City missed out not adding tracks from this album

👍
View Author
Fri Oct 28 2022
4

Rating: 7/10 Best songs: Tooting bec wreck

👍
View Author
Mon Oct 31 2022
4

This would be a fun, 3 star-worthy album if it were just some guys from, like, Branson Missouri. The fact that they're from Finland bumps it up to 4 stars for me. They do such an excellent job of imitating/replicating that early 80's American sound of punk-leading-into-glam-rock. It's good!

👍
View Author
Mon Oct 31 2022
4

Pretty good compared to most of the mid 80s European post punk that we absolutely HAVE to listen to

👍
View Author
Sun Nov 27 2022
4

Entretenido

👍
View Author
Mon Nov 28 2022
4

Glam rock

👍
View Author
Fri Dec 02 2022
4

Jaunty 80s rock and roll which is pretty entertaining throughout and Rosalita is a classic track.

👍
View Author
Fri Dec 16 2022
4

Увидев столько негативных отзывов, я испугалась, но послушав мне понравилось Прикольный глэмрок какой то Звучит приятно

👍
View Author
Thu Dec 22 2022
4

Didn't strike me as particularly influential but it was fun and short. 7/10

👍
View Author
Thu Dec 22 2022
4

7/10. I thought this was pretty cool. Only gets a 7, but it's like the 7 I gave Bat Out Of Hell where it's way more interesting than a 7, but that doesn't actually make me like it enough to be an 8.

👍
View Author
Wed Feb 15 2023
4

I saw a Finnish band from the 80s and thought another tedious Gen X nostalgia thing that sucks, but I actually kinda liked this one

👍
View Author
Wed Mar 01 2023
4

Never listened to this band, but this is stupid glam metal and I am absolutely here for it. This was better than I thought and influenced Poison/Motley Crue and others. Great album as long as you are willing to have fun with it.

👍
View Author
Mon Mar 27 2023
4

хмм хмммм смесь всего

👍
View Author
Thu Apr 08 2021
3

1984. Key Songs: Malibu Beach Nightmare, Back To Mystery City

👍
View Author
Thu Dec 10 2020
3

3.5

👍
View Author
Mon Jun 07 2021
3

Enjoyable but not enough to leave a lasting impression

👍
View Author
Wed Jan 27 2021
3

Record is good but the album they did after this one has way more bangers on it. Very underrated band but didn't age as well as Motley Crue.

👍
View Author
Thu Feb 25 2021
3

Another familiar name with little context that comes to mind. Finnish glam rock? Extra points for weirdness, especially in the first half, and a really first tier album title.

👍
View Author
Wed Apr 28 2021
3

not my cup of tea but had some enjoyable moments

👍
View Author
Wed Jan 27 2021
3

I was going to give a two, but then when I heard the saxophone I decided to add another star.

👍
View Author
Sun Jun 06 2021
3

more 80's meh... at least it doesn't have those synths

👍
View Author
Wed Jul 21 2021
3

rock de los ochenta. No esta mal.

👍
View Author
Sun Feb 28 2021
3

rock. from the 80s. some songs missing on spotify. nothing lifechanging

👍
View Author
Wed May 26 2021
3

Nothing too special but some enjoyable glammy punk. I managed to get the whole album on YouTube as Spotify didn't have it all

👍
View Author
Thu May 20 2021
3

better than expected

👍
View Author
Thu Jun 10 2021
3

Not a huge fan of hair metal, other than the aesthetics, but this album was a pleasant surprise.

👍
View Author
Sun May 16 2021
3

Très sympa n'en deplaise à l'horrible Rob Wuppert qui n'aura décidément jamais rien compris à la musique

👍
View Author
Wed Jun 23 2021
3

Some solid 80s rock 'n' roll. 7.9/10

👍
View Author
Fri Jun 18 2021
3

I don't think I've heard of this band before, and all of the music seemed new. There was some decent rock on this album. There were tracks that hinted at hair metal of the 80s ("Strange Boys Play Weird Openings") and other tracks that fit in with tracks from Billy Idol ("Back to Mystery City"). The album was okay, but I don't think I'd ever sit down to listen to the whole album again.

👍
View Author
Mon Jun 07 2021
3

Overall I liked it. Not amazing but ok.

👍
View Author
Sun Aug 15 2021
3

had never heard this album - and i may well have heard of these guys, but gotten them mixed up with saigon kick, which would most certainly have tainted my view of them. good to have that cleared up. this was fun - and super cool that these guys are finns, to boot.

👍
View Author
Mon Sep 06 2021
3

Vaikka kuinka suomilasein yrittää katsoa niin vähän keskinkertaiseksi rokkipläjäykseksi tämä jää. Ei sinänsä häiritsevää, mutta ei kyllä millään tavalla innostavaa tai mielenkiintoistakaan. Oikeastaan ainoa biisi joka jollain tavalla herätti mielenkiinnon oli Back To Mystery Cityn demoversio. Varmaan siinä oli enemmän rockmeininkiä kuin muussa levyssä, joka toisinaan kuulosti häiritsevän siloitellulta ja lattealta. Peruskolmonen.

👍
View Author
Wed Sep 08 2021
3

Not call album on spotify

👍
View Author
Wed Sep 22 2021
3

Some I liked and some I didn't. 0RS

👍
View Author
Wed Oct 20 2021
3

Sounds a bit like the clash. Strong bass. But... Kinda sounds basic.

👍
View Author
Fri Oct 22 2021
3

It is catchy rock n roll, and maybe a few more listens might endear it to me, but for the moment so-so 3stars

👍
View Author
Mon Nov 08 2021
3

Pues bien, lo escuché de fondo, mientras trabajaba y no logró cautivarme. Me llamaron la atención solamente "Lick Summer Love" y la canción titular. De ahí en fuera, yo creo que okay sin aplausos. 7/10

👍
View Author
Mon Nov 22 2021
3

I'd never heard of Hanoi Rocks. I think I would have really loved this album 30 years ago when I was listening to L.A. Guns and Motley Crue. I really liked Malibu Beach Nightmare and Back to Mystery City and, to a lesser extent, Mental Beat. The others felt like a bit of a slog for me.

👍
View Author
Mon Nov 22 2021
3

Some rock from the 80s. I wasn’t a big fan of similar music in the 80s and I guess I am still not. It doesn’t offend my delicate sensibilities, and it doesn’t stand out as something that I will listen to again.

👍
View Author
Mon Nov 22 2021
3

It's decent rock 'n' roll. Absolutely listenable. I love the descriptions of the songs on Wikipedia maybe more than the songs themselves. They certainly enhanced the experience. I think I liked "Tooting Bec Wreck" the best. Synthesizer, rats, drugs, and a great neighborhood name.

👍
View Author
Sun Nov 28 2021
3

I liked this more than I expected to based on the cover. It was actually pretty enjoyable.

👍
View Author
Wed Dec 08 2021
3

5/10

👍
View Author
Thu Dec 16 2021
3

Interesting story, I was only vaguely aware of this band and no idea they were from Finland. But album is pretty average

👍
View Author
Fri Jan 21 2022
3

Looked intimidating but was good!

👍
View Author
Wed Feb 02 2022
3

Considering I don't ever listen to glam rock, this is probably one of my favorites in the genre. Especially because of the punk sound they have. I look forward to checking out their other records.

👍
View Author
Fri Feb 11 2022
3

it was veryyy hardcore. I didn’t hate it i thought it was loud and cool but it didn’t have like a click or something specific i liked about it.

👍
View Author
Thu Feb 17 2022
3

Might be the only Finnish album on here. Gotta respect it

👍
View Author
Thu Feb 17 2022
3

Hanoi rocks ROCKS!!!!

👍
View Author
Thu Feb 17 2022
3

Solid album. Finland represent.

👍
View Author
Fri Mar 04 2022
3

Kinda fun. Not a fan of the glam subgenre but this felt kinda different. Love the random ass use of horns.

👍
View Author
Wed Mar 09 2022
3

I enjoyed this more than I feel I "should" do (or expected to, for that matter). I think I just admire the sheer unlikeliness of a Finnish band writing a song about Tooting Bec.

👍
View Author
Sun Mar 13 2022
3

Basic glam rock from the 80s. Nothing special. Reminded me of The Clash sometimes.

👍
View Author
Fri Mar 25 2022
3

Another reviewer describes this album as "dumb glam." I mean, yeah. Isn't it great? Well, I had a blast listening to this album, but it turns out if you're listening on Spotify, this is not Back to Mystery City. About half the tracks are mislabeled. With a little digging on YouTube, you should be able to find the others. These are the actual songs Spotify shows as being on the album: 1) Strange Boys Play Weird Openings; 2) Malibu Beach Nightmare; 3) Mental Beat; 4) Don't You Ever Leave Me (mislabeled); 5) Lost in the City (mislabeled); 6) First Timer (mislabeled); 7) Cheyenne (mislabeled); 8) Beating Gets Faster; 9) Ice Cream Summer; 10) Back to Mystery City. In spite of the annoyance of having to find the right tracks, I really enjoyed listening to this. Hanoi Rocks gets associated so much with 80s glam metal that I was expecting not to like this, but they're better than a lot of those bands. This album has a Mott-Meets-Sweet-Meets-New York Dolls vibe to it, ramshackle but with a surprising pop sensibility. The songs are glammy and trashy and tongue in cheek, all of it in good fun. Fave Songs: Tooting Bec Wreck, Beating Gets Faster, Until I Get You, Ice Cream Summer, Mental Beat, Malibu Beach Nightmare

👍
View Author
Thu Mar 31 2022
3

meh glam rock. Must've been a bummer to listen to the radio in the 80's. Can respect that they became an influence for later Glam bands that were better in my opinion.

👍
View Author
Thu Mar 31 2022
3

Never really listened to this band before, Slightly better than expected - more rock n roll, as I was expecting a Poison vibe. Seems like a band that could have been huge with some really good production - where’ Rick Rubin? I liked “Sailing down the Tears”, rest is good, but not good enough to bump to a four.

👍
Load more reviews