Back to Mystery City

Never heard of Hanoi Rocks. Another middle of the road, metal hair band from the early eighties. They sounded like they were trying too hard throughout the entire album, didn’t come across as genuine to me, or maybe just amateurish. Nothing stood out on Back To Mystery City, all songs seemed like skippers. (1.75*s) Throw a bone to the Finns.

nothing really stood on the album. kinda sounded exactly what you would expect from an album from 1982.

This album started out okay. Then it got weird. Then it got okay again. Then it got boring.

Even as I was listening to it I was forgetting about it. Pretty lame.

Sleeze är ju i regel det värsta som finns och även här men vissa låtar har ändå något punkigt över sig som är lite coolare än vad det brukar vara i genren.

Not a bad album but just not for me

This is a ridiculous album.

It's been a rough week on here. A very forgettable hair metal album. Zero standout tracks. If the band had been from the US or Britain, this would have never made the list. Poor choice.

Man this thing is so close to being good. There's so many little gems hidden in all sorts of shit. The chorus of "Malibu Beach Nightmare" is written well, but performed to poorly. The desert-mirage guitar section 2 minutes 20 seconds into "Mental Beat" is genuinely an innovative bit of production sandwiched in an otherwise lackluster anthem. "Tooting Bec Wreck" is a whole bag of beans to unpack. A manic anthem aimed at the dancefloor, which I genuinely enjoyed, but damn is the vocal execution so ham-fisted. He's trying too hard to sell this one to the listener. Or trying too hard to sound like The Clash in the beginning. This is a Finnish band so I can't be too critical of the vocal delivery. But wow was this a confusing one. At the end of this songs runtime, I genuinely loved it. I can't even get my thoughts straight in writing. That's how confusing this whole record was. "Until I Got You" - that prechorus section at 1:30? Aamazing! Tactful, a nice female vocal to give a bit of depth to the song's story. The rest of the song? Completely forgettable glam! What the hell is going on!? I'm experiencing musical whiplash!! Random E Street Band sax sections like in the song "Ice Cream Summer" have me just about tapped out. In some ways, the total shitshow messy nature of this album, with it's soaring highs and deathly lows, is all a microcosm for what glam rock in the 80's really was. I heard parts of songs on here I loved more than most material this list has to offer. But on the whole? This record doesnt belong here. The most enthralling, mesmerizing 2/5 of all time, hitting just above the 1/5 line. Guns N Roses surely took what these guys were doing and ran with it

Really repetitive. Favourite track: Strange Boys Play Strange Opening

Ok, but dated. I will never listen to this again.

Nah.

Such a weird layering of the pop sound, 80s rock, and nonsensical whimsy. Is it music? Sure. And I’m sure someone likes it a great deal but that someone is not me.

Really liked a couple of their songs but most of it sounded the same to me.

Not bad, but definitely not something that's going to be making it into my playlist. Kinda like Motley Crue meets 80s punk/rock.

not my thing

This is frantic and not in a good way.

Pretty average rock. Pretty boring

Pretty forgettable. Kinda new wavey, but not really that unique.

Lol Best Song: Back to Mystery City Rating: 4.5/10 Stars: 2

Meh this could've been 3 if Bowie hadn't passed me off so much.

SUOOMIIII 🇫🇮🇫🇮🇫🇮. Heard some of their music before. In general I'm not really into glam but this album is quite ok. Maybe because it's not American 2/5

This was awful. But at least I know why it’s on the list. 2.

Saw the album cover, guessed the year it came out and knew I had to use a private session for Spotify. This is generic 80s hair metal, no way this was an album I had to hear before I had to die because I have to live through a lot of crap like this. Spotify, thank you for having a private session of this crap. 1OO1albums, what the hell with this crap?

Big hair, big sound, but not much that holds any longer than the hairspray holding it together.

I have not heard this before. I’ve heard Hanoi Rocks but I’m not super familiar with them since I generally don’t like hair metal. These songs are much less obnoxious than other hair metal I know but they aren’t very good. They aren’t bad either, just bland run of the mill hard rock that doesn’t move me. I might appreciate this more if they were more obnoxious instead of making stuff that blends into the background noise.

it's ridiculous for it to be on this list but not the worst thing I've ever heard

(36/100)

Its actually decent but fairly uninteresting I cant imagine coming back to it or describing it as an album i needed to hear before I died

Starts out pretty good, but feels like they only had a few good songs in them.

Not for me

I was surprised that this band was more punk/glam than it was hair metal. Unfortunately it's bland punk and and bland glam. The drums in particular are a let down. Not particular interesting overall.

I expected to hate this, but this is way more listenable than I though it would be. It's not as terrible as Poison or fucking Nitro I thought, maybe it's because they're finnish and not americans, I don't know, the voice has a bit more personality and it's a bit punky by moments, well the first track is. Shouldn't be on the list obviously and I was a bit bored during the second half, but it's fine.. Fav: Malibu Beach Nightmare Tooting Beck Neck

Bland hair metal. I remember why grunge killed this stone dead.

Hair band glam rock that is only mildly interesting

Glam rock. Enough said.

Vraiment, y’a des albums dans cette liste où je m’arrache les cheveux à me demander comment ils ont pu se rendre à la cut finale. Genre, aucun Gentle Giant en vue, par contre un wannabe Alice Cooper étiré à l’eau passe peinard?

Too fast and hard for me

Örugglega ekki margar finnskar hljómsveitir á þessum lista, en hármetall er ekki alveg mín tónlist.

Fat no for me

Aussi étonnant que ça puisse paraitre, le glam finlandais, c'est non.

It's weird that this is punk cuz it's pretty boring

A reminder that there's such a thing as "proto hair metal." Some decent riffage (e.g., Beating Gets Faster) and the Mott guys producing is probably responsible for the solid use of keyboards. I might rate this higher if I'd seen them live in a club in 1984, but I'm also sort of glad I didn't?

I don’t want to listen to this anymore as it was starting to grow on me the further I got! Best leave it there.

I enjoyed this like I enjoy Billy Idol. Only in very small doses, but when the mood is right, it hits the spot. Then the mood wears off and you go and listen to proper music.

What a strange fucking album. Not a fan of cock rock, which I think this falls into? But turn it breaks so many conventions. There are moments that are sweet and genre bending and then moments of ick. Almost like a novelty album of the era.

Back to Mystery City is at most a decent album. The songs themselves aren't bad but that is solely because of how generic they sound. I don't really know how it made it to this list since it adds pretty much nothing of value to it. 2/5

Better than a 2 but not quite a 3 for me.

Boring generic 90s rock

damn i already feel it's gonna be an experience that i don't want to repeat i think i get the vibe so far it's been interesting to say the least. very 80's sound light, chill, very "party like" it resembles Kult a bit – but it's more party vibe less political 2 out of 5 zmęczyło mnie to

Mid — did get better at the end

It's okay. It was kinda boring tbh. I can't say the songs were bad, but it felt pretty mid to me.

Puolet biiseistä puuttui spödifystä, mutta en tiedä oisko ne lisännyt arvoa miten paljoa. Ei puhuttele.

Meh

Bland early glam metal / soft punk. Probably inspiration for some, otherwise shouldn't be in the 1001 listens before you die.

Repetitive. I don't love heavy rock anyway, and this was just all kind of forgettable.

Hard Rock, 1983 -> 2

Album No. 0148 on my list. Neither Hanoi Rocks nor their album "Back To Mystery City" had ever been on my radar - I had simply not been aware of their existence. Well, and what can I say? I could have lived happily ever after if that had not changed. "Back To Mystery City" is really peak 80s glam metal. And not necessarily in a good way. I don't think it's a terrible album, and since it predated some of what the rest of the decade had in store regarding this genre, I guess it may have been somewhat influential. But personally, I think it's rather mediocre both in terms of music and lyrics, and is not particularly well produced either. I found the whole thing rather boring, the songs feeling somewhat generic, repeatable, and interchangeable. I'll add "Malibu Beach Nightmare", and "Beating Gets Faster" (a lighthearted pop metal song) to my playlist. To summarize: not fully terrible, but rather a forgettable album overall. 2/5 stars.

Pretty bad, not gonna lie.

That was some music I guess. Like maybe they were the progenitor of all the tropes of hair metal and I listened to far too much dad rock in high school but there was really nothing that really excited me.

Makes me wish I was listening to New York Dolls instead, which in turn makes me wish I was listening to Roxy Music instead, which once again in turn secretly makes me wish I was just listening to Virginia Plain on repeat. Nobody's perfect I suppose, and this album can attest to that.

It was OK I guess, for glam rock.

Dumb proto-hair metal without a lot of punch. Not godawful, but not particularly interesting.

A rather forgettable late 70s early 80s punk-metal-rock album for me. The album was cohesive and sounded "right", but the music didn't really interest me.

Listening session: january 31th, while going for a walk Listened to before: no Thoughts: I actually liked the album cover better than the music and that says something Favourite track: Tooting Bec Wreck

Finnish 80's glam rock? Anyone...? Come on, they're fun... look at their hair! No...? OK then, we'll leave it back in 1983 Heard before ❌️ Listened this time ✅️ Revisit ❌️ Naff ★★☆☆☆ (4/10) Total reviewed : 215 Already owned : 49 Purchased : 10 To buy list : 4 Nope : 152

1/27/26. Cool discovery! Not crazy about hair metal but this one was decent, however it felt repetitive and formulaic throughout. Was disappointed after the opening track which I really enjoyed.

Apparently, these guys helped birth Poison, Guns N ' Roses, Motley Crue, and all the other '80s hard rock glam bands. I don't knee-jerk hate those bands the way I did when I was younger, but I also don't find much that differentiates one band from another, to the point of boredom. If I didn't know the history/lineage, I'd assume Hanoi Rocks was just another one of those bands, because this sounds like all of them. I struggled to keep this on past the third track.

Didn’t finish, funky 80s rock tho

I can't take this album seriously at all. It's got a fun glam rock energy to it and if I was in a dingy basement gig venue somewhere it'd be a great time. But as an album it feels poorly produced and the songwriting is so basic it makes me feel like I could have written the songs as a teenager. I'm not quite sure how it ended up on the 1001 best albums of all time list if I'm honest. It gets an extra point for the saxophone. 5/10.

This is pretty poor

Pretty boring actually

Look, I find this type of 80s glam/hair/metal thing to be a guilty pleasure. And I definitely didn't even mind this album. And a song that was inspired by an Alice Cooper track? Count me in. But still, this album was ultimately pretty underwhelming as far as an inclusion on this project goes. It's one of those albums where I could probably listen to it and go "yeah, this is passable", but I definitely expect more from an entry on this project. Furthermore, all of the music on the album is catchy in the moment (to me), but none of it was very memorable. This is one of those albums that is about a 2.5 for me, and I had to decide "do I round up or do I round down?". Well, I couldn't really find any inspiration for rounding up, so here we are.

I don't have any songs on this to playlist, but I didn't hate any of it. It felt a bit pointless and forgettable.

I can see why this is important, but it doesn't mean I need to like it.

Lotta cringey hair metal but also a few bangers.

✅✅✅ Tooting Bec Wreck

Not my cup of tea, but didn't hate it

Positives: Not as bad as the cover image suggested. They are Finnish, even though one song was called Tooting Bec. Negatives: I have been back at school for one day and cannot remember any of it other than that there was a song called Tooting Bec and it wasn’t as bad as I expected it to be.

Was dreading this when I saw the tags of ‘glam’ and ‘hair metal’. It wasn’t as glam or hairy as I was expecting which was a blessing, though just a bit non-descript. A day later, I couldn’t tell you much about any of the songs, other than about half of them incorporating what Lyra calls the ‘football drum pattern’. No idea why it is on this list other than, from what Wikipedia told me, being the first Finnish band to chart in the UK. Big whoop.

This was my first time listening to Hanoi Rocks. They've always been one of those bands that a bunch of other bigger-name bands cite as being the originators of glam. Unfortunately, this just doesn't do it for me.

I haven't listened to a ton of actual 80's glam metal stuff like this; I didn't hate it but I was hoping it would be sillier/trashier/catchier or something.

80s garage band that never made it?

For anyone approaching this list with no knowledge of metal, you might get the misimpression that "hair metal" is one of the major subgenres. This one is essentially hard rock, with some occasional elements of pop-rock and punk. There's nothing specifically bad here, but damn it's a highly optimised mix of brash and boring. I'm quite keen to not hear this again. 2.5*

Pretty generic glam metal, it’s listenable but not remarkable. I never heard of the band before and I’ll probably forget about them before too long to be honest.

A couple times I tapped along but most of it just sounded generic and like things I’ve heard hundreds of times before. Not into it.

Eh, it’s fine but there are other hair metal bands I’d rather hear

Really didn't interest me. Was glad it finished.

Couldn’t really connect with it.

don’t feel anything special with this one. it’s fun but -to me- it’s nothing groundbreaking or obviously belonging on a list like 1001 albums to listen to before you die. favorite tracks: malibu beach nightmare until i get you sailing down the tears

Day 6 of the 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die with @marmeu. This album was overall incredibly boring and Tooting Bec Wreck being the only above average song on here. This album is just pretty boring and each song doesn't bring much new to the table. It seems to be a style I have heard oh so much and I don't see myself returning if this is my baseline. Overall boring and repetitive. 39/100

Se calhar fui eu que me fartei de rock

Quite Hanoing.

Some fun moments of glam excess but not really essential listening

I’m sorry that their career was truncated - sounds like a sad and premature end. Although Hanoi Rocks, this just didn’t for me. Never even reached the heights of mediocrity.

Was surprised to see this called heavy metal. It sounded like a weird mix of punk and new wave. It was not great.

This was loud and fast soft punk. Is this what they call hair metal? I like the glam aspects and the energy, but I didn’t walk away itching to spin it again. Not bad for some Finns!

This was generally inoffensive and I was gonna give it a 3, until I caught a stray with the errant “bitch” in the second to last song.

This is from Finland, so they are represented. Not very well. Towards the end there were a few songs that I would give three stars, but generally they remind me of your average high school garage band.

Ok, this is VERY 1980s. For starters, it's hair metal. It has everything you'd expect from the genre with added saxophone solos on top, which enhance the 80s feel. I don't really get why it's on the list as the band isn't hugely popular in modern times. Unfortunately, they lack the catchy hooks of the genre's greats. 3 stars for the music, loses 1 star for some very gross lyrics (the title track is the worst offender, but no song here is completely innocent).

Ik verplicht mezelf om niet naar de ratings te kijken voor ik een album aanzet om niet beinvloed te raken. Hier heb ik dat toch gedaan na het 2e nummer, om te kijken of ik nou gek word of dat dit gewoon een heel matig album is? Hoezo staat dit op die lijst? Is het omdat het ontzettend invloedrijk is voor Finse rockmuziek? Staat Doe Maar dan ook op de lijst? Ik heb af en toe zo ontzettend veel vragen voor hoe deze lijst is samengesteld. Voel me ook wat lullig tegenover het album van gisteren. Dat was saai, maar dit is gewoon echt slecht. Dit voedt wel weer mijn theorie dat bijna elk rock/punk album uit de jaren 80 op deze lijst moet. Nee, dit is niet echt mijn ding. Instrumentaal is het opzich prima, maar de zang is echt heel slecht. Ook lijkt de opname kwaliteit behoorlijk matig, wat natuurlijk de 80s glam vibe niet echt helpt te verdringen. Gelukkig is het een kort album, het krijgt geen 1 omdat ik het niet haat. Maar als ik nooit meer Hanoi Rocks hoef te luisteren is dat een persoonlijke overwinning. Zelfs de saxofoon op sommige nummers kan dit album voor mij niet redden, en dat zegt een hoop! FAVO: Beating gets faster(op de valreep toch een mierzoet liedje dat gewoon wel vibet ofzo)

I mean, it is not terrible. But certainly not my type of music either. To me it is boring and somehow reminds me of cheap alcohol.

Eh was not memorable

The hair metal equivalent of Coldplay just really fucking boring

Interesting

Not totally objectionable, but I really don’t think this needed to be on the list tbh.

Overrated

Painfully mediocre and generic, no idea how it got on this list.

1983. Fairly good enough but didn't push into the exciting.

Not my style

Eh pretty 80s and not really my interests

Poison ripped these guys off.

2.5

Meh, a little too hair metal-y for me. It was fine but nothing really hooked me.

The title track starts off pretty groovy, with lots of energy. The rest isn't bad, but it kind of sounds like glam rock that time forgot. Or like tracks written for the unproduced sequel of Rocky Horror Picture Show. It's much better than Mott the Hoople, which of course was on this list due to Bowie involvement. But not really great. The horns on Ice Cream Summer add a level of cheese unnecessary even for glam rock. Lick Summer Love pretty bad... that horn is back as well. Sailing Down the Tears sounds like glam rock mixed with some sort of country jangle. This album isn't the worst as some tracks have some redeeming quality, but definitely doesn't deserve this list. 2/5

Could be any 80s hair rock band tbh. If it was on i would listen i guess, but not an album i would choose to put on myself. Hate the random screaming. Feels like they're trying too hard to be "experimental" and "deep". Half the songs sounded pretty same same. Will not listen again or seek out more of the artist. Agree with Robert christgau "Monroe and McCoy lack hooks, are backed by "cute if over-calculated" dual guitar playing, and "yowl English-language lyrics that must impress Finns more than native speakers like myself.""

Another ‘meh’ one for me. Some of the songs were OK and getting a bit more catchy after a second listen. If I had gone through life not hearing this album I would definitely not consider myself deprived.

I'm so glad I wasn't around in the 80s

Hanoi Rocks? No. No they don't. Best Tracks: Mental Beat; Sailing Down The Tears; Back To Mystery City

Underwhelming hair metal. I don't think anyone would be talking about them if their drummer didn't die tragically.

Trying too hard to be badass. No sale.

I don’t hate it. It’s competent punk. But I have no idea why it’s here. I might give this 2.5 stars if I could.

Nice to have some non UK or US hard/glam rock for a change of pace from the usual. These Finnish lads are perfectly ok and rock hard. Apparently, they influenced the likes of Guns N’ Roses, Poison, Manic Street Preachers, Skid Row, Foo Fighters and Alice in Chains in one way, shape or another. Which is nice. But perhaps one had to be there in the late 70s and early 80s to fully appreciate what these guys were doing and how their sound and music was influential. While this was a pleasant enough listen when it was on, I found it totally forgettable as soon as it was over, and something I’m not ever likely to listen to again.

I think my friend Peter would love this.

You know how cave paintings are important parts of human heritage, but also, like, bad drawings?

More like Ranoi Hocks DO YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN?

Butt rock from Finland.

Sounds like generic Scandinavian glam rock. Maybe influenced Hellacopters or Turbonegro by showing that Scandinavians can play rock. Or maybe I'm making that up or imagining it. Makes me want to eat fries and grilled sausage with spicy sauce. But maybe I'm just saying that because somebody is carrying a bag of fries on the subway I'm currently on.

I've hear name before, never heard their music. I can see why they were popular.

Decent rock

This picks up after the "Toot" song but this is not a style of music that I enjoy.

Fun and energetic. Love the rollicking guitar riffs and pace of many of the songs. Sounds anachronistically like a 90s garage band mixed with 80s glam rock, so I can dimly see why it’s included here. But the singing and overall polish leaves much to be desired. Tops: Malibu Beach Nightmare Drops: Sailing Down the Tears, Ice Cream Summer

My wife grew up thinking this band's name was pronounced "hah-no-ee" rocks. Because when you're 12 and you don't have the Internet, that's what happens. We feel old.

A bunch of misses for me.

Beetje generic

nix besonderes

Never been a fan of "hair" bands. I was so thankful when grunge kicked that sh!t to the curb. This isn't good but I have heard worse.

There is hair/glam metal that is worth listening to, but this wouldn't be my choice.

There's a few songs here where they flirt with The Clash-style punk songs, but the majority of the songs feel like pretty run of the mill hair metal. If someone gave them a 3, I wouldn't argue the point, but round down for the "why?" factor.

Prefer NY Dolls for glam rock, not really into metal, and certainly not into hair metal. This wasn’t unlistenable but it also wasn’t great. Wondering if it made the list because Vince Neil killed the drummer.

I don't like how awfully American this Finnish band is.

Not bad, not exciting either.

Not really my cup of tea

Hanoi Rocks’ Back to Mystery City shows flashes of the band’s glam-punk energy, but too often feels unfocused and uneven. While tracks like “Until I Get You” hint at their melodic strengths, much of the album suffers from weak production and inconsistent songwriting that fails to fully capture their live charisma. Despite its cult following, the record struggles to stand out in a crowded rock scene.

Wasn’t for me

Not *bad* but it was a waste of my time, nothing I haven't heard other bands of the style make so meh.

Ну типа. Лучшая песня - Malibu Beach Nightmare.

Hmm, doesn't seem remotely special to me. 80s rock might be overrepresented on this list.

I think I know why this album is on the list. It must be one of those "It's so bad, it's good" situations I found this kind of unforgettable except for two songs in particular. Beating Gets Faster and Ice Cream Summer are two of the worst songs I've heard, lyrically. With lines like "All there is left is a photograph You smile and the ice cream's melting down your pants... Just like our summer, I thought it would last forever But as the autumn came, you had gone away" And... "If I'm down in a hole, or out in the streets Nothing else matters baby, if it's you and me baby. " Honourable mention should go to "Well, it's a wham bam gangbang every night there" from the title track. Yikes.

Why would you ever leave San Juan Teotihuacán?

kinda funny how this band is Finnish considering their death drive for being American. it's on the more tasteful end of this 80s big hair glam sound, which is nice. but that's only enough to make it tolerable instead of putrid. this album's just not my cup of tea in the end deserves to be one of the 1001? probably not

I hear a bit of The Hives in this but come on, it was released in 1993.

Det är utan tvekan nån amerikansk klåpare som gjort urvalet till den här listan. För hur man kan ta denna Hanoi plattan och inte nån av de tre innan är fullständigt galet. Är det för att detta va geombrottsplattan i USA måntro... Så oerhört förutsägbart . Nog om detta. Lite NYDolls och ganska mycket Sweet och Slade, upphottat glamrockstrams alltså. Men ganska roligt trams. Precis lagom hjärndöd actionrock på sina ställe medan annat faller platt. Men som sagt det är ju fel platta vi får lyssna till. Såg faktiskt HR i någon reinkarnation, kan ha varit med Dregen på gitarr (?), på Liseberg för sådär 25 år sen, det var tämligen underhållande vill jag minnas. Lite så är det här med, det är ganska underhållande men minns du för mycket riskerar det att krackelera. Trots att det är fel platta är det stabilt godkänt. Hade man fått i sig en 10-12 statköl innan man lyssnat hade det blivit högre. Tänk dig då rätt platta (läs Self destruction blues) och en hel back ...tanken svindlar

Det här var innan Stevie Klasson gick med i bandet. Det är inte utan att man undrar vad det här albumet hade kunnat bli om han hade varit med i bilden redan här. Men det kan vi bara spekulera i. Med det sagt, inledande Malibu beach nightmare är ändå rätt medryckande.

Bandet känner man igen men tror aldrig jag lyssnat på dem (inte ens 2004 då Stevie Klasson var med). Blir till en början positivt överraskad. Ett soundtrack jag inte väntat mig utifrån omslaget. Gillar blåset. Som helhet blir det dock då där med några få låtar som lyfter.

One good song off this entire album. Not offensive but not good either.

This kind of juvenile hair music is a dime a dozen

Глем відверто не мій жанр. Тут є хороші пісні, приємно було послухати, але точно не повернусь до нього.

Ніколи не любив глем-рок (окрім т-рекс, якщо Болана й компанію можна вважати глем-роком). Цей альбом місцями був веселим, але не більше.

Torilla tavataan!

Normie mid.

"lick summer love" is damn good, horny as fuck, but good. but the rest of this is not great

This was pretty underwhelming. I am not a fan of this era of big hair rock music and this was no exception. Very dumb lyrics and nothing really fun or catchy. If you aren’t going to be smart you should at least be fun and this wasn’t for me. I don’t see any reason to revisit this one. Not as bad as one star but I suppose two stars is fair since it wasn’t painful

Interesting back story but that’s about it

"lick summer love" sounds like it has Toad singing in the background

I don't have a problem with Glam rock, but this album is extremely limited and plain. It certainly it does not deserve being in this list, nor in any playlist of mine. 4/10

extremely confused by this album/band. I know its tongue and cheek but is it full novelty or am I suppose to be taking this serious. more research is needed.

im listening to this on youtube because my son has hand foot and mouth disease and hes listening to How To Train Your Dragon audio books on spotify and hes currently on chapter 21 wow great job son its nice to hear razzle on the drums for the first time. i dont understand so much music from the 80s. it just whooshes right over my head, kinda like "bop-it" jamesons bass work. 2

Very hair-metal/glam-rock and nothing I could discern that really made it stand apart. I think it would appeal a ton to people that are into that kind of thing but didn't feel particularly transcendent in the genre

Gross theatrical glam misogyny with just a hint of pedophilia in the background. Musically it's more complex and interesting than a lot of what was occuring in 1983 but all of that prowess was leveraged to then vomit out more bret Michael's-esque nonsense so what was it all for? I'm not sure if this was a joke or who was supposed to be in on it? I don't think it's me?

This is so standard and atypical 80’s glam rock which I wonder why did they include it - maybe as a benchmark to rate all the other albums off of ? Wish it had more going for it

1983 is one of my favourite years of music, so much great music produced in that year. This though, is not great it is just painfully loud and doesn’t do anything. Not my jam.

Fairly generic. Didn’t hate but was looking at my watch waiting for this to be over. 2.5/5

This album was direct and to the point. Very diluted Sex Pistols vibe and heavy hair band feels.

I disliked this less than I should have but I still can't ever imagine there will be another time I'll listen to this by choice. 4.75/10 (2.375/5)

Yeah. Glam metal isn't my thing. The saxophones don't help either as it had a jarring effect that just turned me away. It tried but this is mediocre at best.

Umm just not my typa music felt like it couldnt make its mind up

Das Album wurde 1983 in den Parkgate Studios im britischen Hastings aufgenommen. Der Mix fand anschließend in den Scorpio Sound Studios in London statt. Hanoi Rocks ist eine finnische Band. Die Mitglieder zur Zeit der Aufnahme waren Michael Monroe, Andy McCoy, Nasty Suicide, Sam Yaffa und erstmals auch Razzle am Schlagzeug. Musikalisch bewegt sich das Album im Bereich Hard Rock mit Einflüssen aus Glam Rock und Punk. Der Sound ist rau, melodisch und rhythmusbetont. Zu den bekannten Songs zählen „Malibu Beach Nightmare“, „Mental Beat“, „Until I Get You“ und „Back to Mystery City“. Diese Stücke zeigen verschiedene Facetten der Band, von aggressiven Rocktiteln bis hin zu balladesken Momenten. Das Album vermittelt den Eindruck einer Band, die sich stilistisch weiterentwickelt und dabei ihre Wurzeln nicht verliert. Die Produktion wirkt authentisch, der Sound roh, aber strukturiert. Persönlich hinterlässt das Album einen geschlossenen, ehrlichen Eindruck – es verzichtet auf Glanz, ohne an Ausdruck zu verlieren. Eine klare Momentaufnahme dieser Phase der Band mit erkennbarer stilistischer Handschrift.

Ok I guess? Nothing that wow.

Favorite Track: Until I Get You

It was fine but I got bored about halfway through. 2.5 stars but skew to a High 2.

This was about as "just fine" as music can possibly get. Ran through it twice and while it didn't bother me to have it in the background, it never once struck me as particularly interesting. For that this gets a high 2.

That was some glam rock for sure. Pretty much summed up the 80s hair metal scene in one album.

Didn't really show me anything new or that interesting so wondering about it's inclusion onto this list.

Minute slay.

Post punk, no matter good or not, bores me. I think this was good but still bored.

2.5

idk who tf this is, but it screams British and that they think its important. haha. i would say this is a period piece, a taste of euro hair metal in the 80's... and that's it. 2/5

2/5. Here they go again, giving me just a fun and exciting glam rock album with some sick solos and riffs. The first half rocks and then... crazy drop in quality. The songwriting and the music suddenly is lazy and gross, and not in the good way. Then it picks up a little again near the end but that middle ground is truly not great. I don't know how to rate it but I thought I was going to like this more than I did. Oh well, it is what it is. Best Song: Malibu Beach Nightmare, Tooting Bec Wreck, Until I Get You

01) Strange Boys Play Weird Openings - / 02) Malibu Beach Nightmare - 6,5 03) Mental Beat - 6,0 04) Tooting Bec Wreck - 5,5 05) Until I Get You - 5,5 06) Sailing Down the Tears - 5,0 07) Lick Summer Love - 5,5 08) Beating Gets Faster - 5,5 09) Ice Cream Summer - 5,5 10) Back to Mystery City - 5,0 TOTAL: 5,56 (56/100) Current ranking: 512/599

point8.

Bedient auf eine spaßige Art und Weise eine Nische zwischen David Bowie und Metallica, verliert aber schnell seinen Reiz und ist eher eine Herausforderung ans akustische Sitzfleisch. Nicht zuende gehört.

Very forgettable hair rock. The last song was cool though.

Quite liked the first track but it was downhill from there. Generic glam rock that wasn't particularly interesting.

Best Song: Until I Get You. Mopey lyrics, but the layered vocals were pretty good. Worst Song: Tooting Bec Wreck. Formulaic dork rock. Overall: This feels like music that's intended to be played in stadiums but is written and performed by a group that can only book dive bars. The ambitions and theatrics far exceed the quality of the music, and the resulting discordance is ugly to listen to.

The nicest thing I can say about this album is that it sounds like they're having fun. Described as the "Finnish glam rock EQ of Michelangelo's David." While I don't even remotely agree with that statement, I do have to appreciate that someone out there loves this album enough to put it in a book.

2 This band sounded really familiar to me, though I’m not sure exactly why because I certainly don’t recognize any of their songs. In looking them up, it turns out it was the drummer for this band that Vince Neil killed in his drunk driving accident. I’m not positive if that's the reason I know the name, but in any case, F Vince Neil. That said, in listening to this album, I have to say this is one of the most confusing inclusions to me so far. It’s not terrible by any means, but I’ve seen no real sort of acclaim surrounding it, and I don’t feel like I’m hearing anything all that special myself. Granted, I’m not the biggest hair metal fan normally, but by the genre’s standards, this felt incredibly tame. The songwriting isn’t the worst I’ve heard, but there also aren’t really a ton of hooks, catch, or edge to be found, nor is there really any substance in the lyrics. A lot of this comes off as cheesy, or in the case of Lick Summer Love - the token sexually explicit song seemingly required on every album of this era - pretty cringe. If this is your thing, that’s great, but personally, I have no idea what someone would get out of this album. For all the gripes I’ve lodged at hair bands, “boring” has not been one used until I heard this.

Why is this album on this list? And can I remember any of the songs less than 12 hours later?

Not much to like about this, hair metal at its worst.

Kinda corny

Nah.

Why is this on the list? Terrible. The worst type of 80's pap.

Listens: 3 Standout tracks: Tooting Bec Wreck Seems a bit post-new wave veering into classic hair metal with a Finnish twist, to be honest, if there was no mention of them being Finnish in the album/artist description I'd have never known that. I largely dislike new wave and I'm really really not a fan of 80s hair metal, so although there are a few catchy or weird tracks and some good guitar riffs, it's not particularly interesting or exciting to me. 2

Ok 2/5

2.5

bof

C'est rigolo mais tabarouette que ça sonne le cul. Sympathique et immémorable. 2.4 étoiles

This has no right to be on any respectable list. An extra star because Mystery City seems like a nice place to visit.

generic classic rock idk

I have no time for protocockrock.

Ah weird 80's rock doing everything you can to make us remember the smell of too much hairspray with a song. As far as glam rock goes it's not bad. If you are like me and don't enjoy glam rock you should pass this one up. It has some fun songs but after a while they all sound alike and drag on you. I swear this is one of those albums that got played in movies set in the 80's. It's on a radio as background noise but tells you the era perfectly.

It's ok, but again, the hipster critics have decided that this, rather than Motley Crue or Poison best represents Glam Metal. Or even Van Halen or Guns and Roses (though they do have an album here). I give it 2.5. The songs are ok, but nothing like Motley Crue's 'Girls Girls Girls' or even Van Halen's 'Hot for Teacher.' Those songs are, if nothing else, fun (and well played and performed.) There seems a caculation here that great rock and roll hides. It's ok, but I don't think a must listen.

2 - pretty generic and not very good

No stand out songs. Very forgettable.

I see this album is fairly influential for 80s hair metal, so ok. As far as the album itself goes...i mean, there are worse things but I have no idea what makes or great

It seems like they're having fun out there, and it's got an annoyingly contagious sense of fun. That said, it is aggressively mid in basically every other aspect. I don't really understand glam metal, but I didn't aggressively hate this album. It wasn't a total failure.

Literally who? Sorry, don't mind me. I'm just going through the motions at this point. I need to preface this review with a reading of the 1001 Albums book as I am the natural predator of 80s music. As a man blessed with a patrician's taste in music, these dolled up, shemale-wigged glam rockers quiver in fear at the visage of my shapely, well-rounded form, bold placement of stubble and sumptuous, lady-pleasing choices in headwear. Okay, let's see. Axl Rose liked them. Theatrical live performances. Precursor to hair metal. Charted at 87 on the British charts. That's it. Fortunately, this album has an important caveat, which is that it's Finnish. This may very well be the only Finlandian album on the list, which I respect as this is my first-ever exposure to the wonderful country of Finland through music and I think this list could generally do with some more "world" albums. There are some good choices in here. I like the melodies of "Malibu Beach Nightmare" and "Back to Mystery City". The "dark" sound in the background of "Tooting Bec Wreck" is also very good. However, something important is missing from these songs that ultimately makes them feel hollow. The vocals have no bite for this style of music and the lyrics/vocals leave a bad taste in my mouth. That's all I have to say, really. It's just vaguely offputting. Maybe I shouldn't have skipped 80s album leg day as this decade is definitely an oversight in my ability to critique music.

You can hear their many influences and musical style in every unoriginal, boring track. An extra star for effort.

Interesting hair metal band. Some Axl Rose type backup vocals in some songs are pretty nice. Can't remember hearing them when I was young but it seems like something my older sister would have listened to. Not bad overall but I'm not sure I need to listen to it again.

This was kind of some freak shit but in a fun way. Good-fun rock album that takes some inventive and unexpected liberties in its riifs, instrumentation, and writing in general. Like some hair metal heads who love early Pink Floyd made a palatable alternative to Piper at the Gates of Dawn. Fav track: Strange Boys Play Weird Openings

This is some cheesy shit.

80s rock album, sounds like an early Guns 'N' Roses album.

I had preciously known Hanoi Rocks from the unfortunate tragedy of drummer Razzle’s death in Vince Neil’s car in 1984. After listening to this album I am okay with that knowledge alone. This wasn’t necessarily a bad album but it was definitely a product of the time. Most the album I was trying to classify it: was it a hair metal or pop/New Wave band? I still can’t get a bead on their identify. There are a few fun tracks, like Until I Get You, and Sailing Down the Tears. There is no regret listening to this album but I’m not going to be making a playlist from it.

Random thoughts: * I have never listened to Hanoi Rocks before. I have a vague memory of them being a punchline to a joke in the late 80s/early 90s. * It is very much an 80s sounding album. * They are Finnish! Are they the most famous pop/rock band from Finland? * Oh damn! They broke up due to the drunk driving incident with Vince Neil. Yikes. * They are the link from glam to hair metal. * Anyway, I won't be choosing this one again.

Mediocre hair rock from the 1980's. The opening tune is a parody on a folk song (out of tune recorder playing and all), not sure what it's doing there but I may like it more than the other songs. I like my metal less well behaved. I'll give it a 2 because I don't hate it, and it could be (have been) good fun live. But I don't know why this is on the list.

Didn't like this. 80s pop.

Primary-school level hair metal.

I already forgot what this album sounded like

Naff

Sounds like the fake hair metal band from vice city

Half of the songs are unavailable on Spotify. Not that I'd miss it, I'm not a fan of this sort of 80s rock tbh. Gotta love that 80s look though!

-all I knew about Hanoi Rocks is that they’re Finnish and Vince Neil killed the drummer. captivating lore already -this is admittedly sort of mediocre in a lot of ways. very annoying vocals and bad chemistry with the instruments.. but idk there were a few songs I fucked with. it’s anachronistic hair metal stuff I can only hate on it so much -Favorites are Until I Get You and Lick Summer Love

80s glam rock. It's okay. Lyrics are sometimes powerful and sometimes kind of random.

Rating: 5/10 Meh.

I'm guessing this is on the 1001 albums list/project because Hanoi Rocks influenced glam metal/hair metal, and I hear that. There were several times I'd hear a riff or melody and connect it to the more popular band that borrowed it or stole it (intentionally or not). But as far as I'm concerned, the bands they influenced took what Hanoi Rocks did and improved on it (at least the better ones did). The farther I went into the album, the less I enjoyed it, and eventually I just wanted it to be done. Thankfully it's not some ridiculous length like an hour. If this is the band's best album, then there's not much sense in wasting time digging into the others. It's definitely nothing I'd push on someone else to listen to either.

1.5 stars. I have heard of the band but not their music. No wonder why they are hardly mentioned these days or have their music played like other bands from the early 80s. I had to take a look to make sure I was playing the right album because, honestly, this seemed like a joke, as if the band was spoofing the genre with the awful singing. It is bewildering how it is included in the 1,001 albums.

One of the worst genres of music, but at least there’s some catchy choruses.

high 2

I don’t know what this is. It’s kind of fun but also lame? Super interesting beats then toned out by 80s monotony. I truly don’t hate it but I don’t love it either. 2.5

I've never been huge fan, possibly never listened to this album from start to finish. I have to admit, I don't like them that much. I do however understand how influential they were for the birth of glam rock and basically the whole scene that spawned Guns 'n Roses et. al. Andy McCoy is a talented guitarist, but not the kind that I prefer. Hanoi is not punk enough, they're not hard rocking enough and their music feels gimmickey. I'm going to listen to this album through (now half way) but do not expect to be blown away by any of the remaining tracks.

Confused as to how this was included…. Nothing particularly stood out to me. Kind of just classic 80’s rock, bang average

Just not my jam. Too much effort to listen to the whole thing.

I guess it's the type of music I usually like to listen to, but it was just way too forgettable for me to say I actually enjoyed or will remember the album

This sounds like it looks. Super 80's, which for me is not a problem. I like the punk energy and glam feeling when they come together successfully. But plenty here doesn't work, is just boring and pedestrian. My favorite is probably the minute or so it sounds a little Adam and the Ants in Tooting Bec Wreck. In sum I don't hate it, but there's also nothing special here justifying its inclusion on this list.

Another Must Hear Before I Die head scratcher here.. I don’t see the significance of this one. The album isn’t necessarily bad, but I don’t think it’s good either, and I know it’s not my thing. Moving on.

I could see this being a big influence on other bands, but it’s not something I’ll listen to again because I’ve heard it done better elsewhere

This is very silly hair metal and I kinda love it but also it’s dumb. Lol.

This was alright to have in the background, easy enough to listen to. Fairly mid rock and roll?

Definitely some 80s hair rock here. Not my favorite genre, but it's not absolutely terrible. I don't think I'd ever revisit this one.

Not a big fan of this one

I am not sure if these guys are serious or not? Bonus point as it is kind of fun!

Sometimes they will start a good riff and you'll think this will actually be fun, but then they'll do the corniest chorus you'll ever hear in your life and you will count the minutes until the album ends.

Burde kanskje gi litt mer pluss for å være eneste finske album på lista, men syns ikke dette var så veldig spennende. Høres akkurat ut som coveret ser ut. Beste låt: Ice Cream Summer, fordi den har en del med bjeller som er skikkelig julestemning.

Has not aged well

I don't think I've heard music from Finland so that is something new. That is about it for the something new. Some alright guitar but nothing better than the countless other small bands in this period. Tough to rate because I didn't hate it but just think it was a waste of time Rating: 1.7

Hanoi Rocks - Back to Mystery City This is stereotypical 80's music at it's finest. While they are some good songs on it here and there, nearly everything sounds exactly identical, so pretty much you are just listening to the same song 9 times (excluding the intro, which was indeed weird). It would've got a better score if the songs didn't sound repetitive and dull with the hooks and riffs they were delivering, so for now, this is fine. 1.- Strange Boys Play Weird Openings = 4/10 2.- Malibu Beach Nightmare = 7/10 3.- Mental Beat = 8/10 4.- Tooting Bec Wreck = 6/10 5.- Until I Get You = 8/10 6.- Sailing Down The Tears = 7/10 7.- Lick Summer Love = 7/10 8.- Beating Gets Faster = 8/10 9.- Ice Cream Summer = 8/10 10.- Back To Mystery City = 6/10 FINAL SCORE: 6.9/10

I don't think I'd ever heard of them before. It's fine, but they're no Scorpions.

Well....not the worst Brit shit on here.

A soft rock special that I would have loved aged 12. Was expecting something a bit more out there/ fun given the Finish connection. A bit disappointed.

I always wondered what Hanoi Rocks sounded like. They were one of those badges on the back of denim as a kid. It's kind of middling putative glam rock but the big problem is that, as it's their second language, the lyrics are painfully bad. Trite and obvious rhymes. It's not great, but then not everything is.

Not sure why this is on the list

A metade do disco disponível no Spotily demonstrou que se trata de hard rock típico dos anos 80.

I listen to it twice because I had the time but to be honest it's just pretty mundane glamrock to me

2.3 2x decent but nothing special

Bit glam for me

The mystery is why did this get on the list.

They say you shouldn't judge books by their covers, but I think you can judge Hanoi Rocks albums by theirs

Glam rock

Bland eighties rock. Not even bombastic enough to call it hair metal.

#366 - leap year. Well, second bad link in a row. Heard \"Lean On Me\", which was a blatant rip off of \"Money Money\" Actually band sounded better than expected so get 1 extra star

2.5

Why is this here? It’s ok, I guess.

This was pretty bad…

I had heard of Hanoi rocks but never actually heard any of the music. Now that I have heard it I’m unimpressed

There is some major 80s bias on the list because there is no way this is an album you should listen to before you die

Ummmm!!

Schlock hair metal

I originally wanted to say this is one of the worst 80’s Glam Rock albums I’ve ever heard, but I don’t even think it’s the worst. It’s just not really that Glam Rock as I expected. It felt like it lacked personality to me, and I just sat through the album like what am I even listening to. How does this make a list of albums you must hear before you die, yet other glam rock classics are missing? A baffling choice of inclusion with this one.

Tooting Bec Wrecked is the highlight amidst a lot of cheesy schlager-rock party tunes.

Not on Apple Music so I couldn’t really listen to it. But from what I read doesn’t sound like anything special to me.

Hey, at least it's only 25 minutes.

Album was okay. Nothing that interesting. 2.5/5 Probably won’t listen again

Meh

3.5/10 Dosta sam ravnodusan prema ovom albumu. Iz nekog razloga mi nije smetao u pozadini, niti sam ga nesto dozivljavao. Mjesavina punk rocka i glama sa pomalo tinejdzerskim tekstovima. Ajd barem je upbeat i skoro catchy. Sailing Down The Tears i Beating Gets Faster su mi donekle bile zabavne, a druge nisam ni primjetio. Na trenutke sam se malo osjecao kao u Drmešu, sto je vise do mene ali albumu definitivno smanjuje ocjenu. Jos jedan u nizu bendova otkud Steel Panther ocito crpi inspiraciju, ali ovaj glam rock mi nije najsvjetlija tocka 80ih.

It feels like a crossroads and also dated. I'm sure it was a fun band to see with incredible energy in person...at home. meh.

Only half an album on Spotify and it doesn’t seem worth the effort to dig out the rest. Seems very simple and basic. Timeless - not in a particularly good way, just like it’s mashed together with things from different periods.

Seemed like pretty run-of-the-mill rock to me. Recording quality dipped from time to time as well which just had me wondering what makes this album so special. No answers found, for me.

rock bateau

It was okay

Wasn't a fan of this one - I found it to be stereotypical 80's music. Had me cringing a little bit, to be honest.

2 stars - very boring.

Hmm rare keuze, niet echt een populaire band, nog nooit van gehoord en dit album niet eens in de top 4 van hun Spotifypagina. Erg vergetelijk

Het doet me denken aan van alles; gejatte drumritmes van The Ramones, gekopieerde riffs van Johnny Thunders, het zit er allemaal in. Maar moet toch wel toegeven dat het bij vlagen best aandoenlijk en catchy was. Maar echt goed is het niet hè? En al helemaal niet eigenzinnig. 5,5/10 Highlights: Tooting Bec Wreck

50

This was ok, nothing outstanding, generic rock album maybe.

Ret sjovt og rimelig sigende for slut 80'er rock.. okay, produktionen bliver virkelig skramlet og ringe mod slutningen.. det begynder at blive irriterende... Pænt ringe Black Sabbath cover... Fantastisk hvordan en plade kan starte et godt sted, men som bare smadrer hele lortet på vej ud og lægger en lort på ruinerne..

B-Tier Motley Crue. Bad

This is just the track list to a generic guitar hero game. And just because you use a harmonica doesn’t make you “innovative”. The generic 80s rock obsession on this list continues.

pretty average, nothing really stood out

Big chunks missing from Spotify, but I suspect I'm not missing too much given how similar the stuff that is there sounds. Harmless, but hardly earth shattering