Back to Mystery City

Not sure what to make of this Glam Punk / Rock / Metal album from 1983 - inspiration for, or inspired by Spinal Tap? A Finnish version of The Sweet perhaps? Musically accomplished, but nothing really stands out.

Not a fan of glam/hair metal so this will be a long listen... yeah 1 song in and ive got a headache.... Pathetic. Bland.

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 think I was going to like this. But it was a fun little noise blast.

Didn't like this. 80s pop.

Primary-school level hair metal.

Słuchałem tego albumu w sumie wiele razy, za każdym razem obiecując sobie, że tym razem go zrecenzuję. Miałem chyba trzy podejścia, za każdym razem słuchałem go co najmniej dwa razy. A mimo to w zasadzie nic nie pamiętam. Jedyne, co mi zapadło w pamięć, to przejście na werblu, które szło w rytmie przyśpiewki "C-C-CWK-CWKS-Legia". Pamiętam kilka momentów, które brzmiały jak prekursor późniejszych zespołów, ale to tyle. Nie drażniło mnie to, słuchało mi się wcale znośnie, ale wypadło szybko z pamięci. Słabiutkie 3.

Płyta brzmiała dla mnie lekko egzotycznie i po zgooglowaniu tematu okazało się, że to fiński zespół, a płyta została wydana przez japońskie studio. Cały krążek ma bardzo świeże brzmienie i po prostu przyjemnie się tego słucha, porządny kawałek rocka lat 80'.

It sure does rock.

Can’t believe the album was only 20 mins

I already forgot what this album sounded like

I'm gonna try to be brief on this one since I don't have a ton to say. I feel like I've been writing longer and longer reviews, so it'll be nice to just say a few sentences for once. Hanoi Rocks is somewhat influential in regards to the development of hard and glam rock, even influencing huge bands like Guns 'N' Roses and Poison! As for the album itself? I think it's good! It's not a complex album or anything, but does it have to be? The writing is definitely a bit basic, but it hasn't aged too poorly or anything. The style is fun. I enjoy it, but I'm a sucker for cheesy 80s hard rock so of course I enjoyed it. What's weird is that some of the songs are incorrect on Spotify, so I had to listen to them on YouTube. I don't know why that is. The singing works. The album's not special, but I enjoy it. Solid 3/5.

It was ok

This is certainly eighties hard rock, alright!

Naff

Its glam rock...I love that this site calls them heavy metal. This isn't the first time and I think its funny because these types of bands seem to have lost their "heavy" feelings as the years have gone by. Now they just seem like overexaggerated fun rock. Listening to it today, this is something I would jump around and dance and sing to and headbang. It may not be amazing, it isn't anything unique and different but I enjoyed listening to it.

This band supposedly influenced 80's hair metal. But this album is way more creative and musically interesting than any of those bands. The songs lack super catchy melodies and it took me two listens to adjust my ears to it. I think the instrumentation is great (piano and sax make appearances) and the songwriting is pretty creative with great energy.

Apple Music mysteriously does not have this album on its platform, so I picked another, Two Steps From The Move, released shortly after this one in 1984. Finnish Glam Rock, let’s go! Sounds Motley Crue-ish. I’m not slamming it. I love the Crue. These songs are pop metal, full of hungry vigor and I highly approve.

Note: I think the order of this album on Spotify is messed up after the first three tracks. The lyrics of some of the songs weren't lining up with what they were singing, so I switched to the full album on YouTube. Update: the full album order also seems messed up on YouTube, so I am absolutely confused and don't know if I'm listening to the full thing or if half of these are even songs that are on this album. Update to my update: I sought out the individual songs on YouTube and think I finally listened to the right songs, which are most definitely wrong on Spotify and the YouTube full album. The first three and last three tracks are correct, but the middle four (Tooting Bec Wreck, Until I Get You, Sailing Down the Tears, and Lick Summer Love) are not the right songs. Despite the confusion and excessive toiling I had to put in to listen to the correct thing... This is a pretty lovable album. Feels like they just rock hard without thinking or trying too hard. And that's ok. An album doesn't have to be a masterpiece to be thoroughly enjoyable. I also appreciate that they reflected on Lick Summer Love and correctly assessed it being an awful slime-ball. Shows growth! Also, RIP to their drummer Razzle, whose death seems to have stopped the band in their tracks, just as the train was really getting rolling. Another tragic loss in the music industry.

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.

Some fun songs but also the usual grating glam sound.

fun album. wildly inconsistent track volumes. beating gets faster in particular is so much louder than the tracks immediately before and after it.

Song format : start low & slow, end loud & fast. Works for me.

Ok.

Fun vibe

I didn’t expect to like this. Undeniably fun. Immediately hearing the influence they had on early King Tuff, who I thought was more an amalgam of many things than so directly impacted by a smaller handful of artists.

Rating: 5/10 Meh.

80s pop rock, my favourite genre. Let's just forget that I have ever listened to this album.

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.

not on Apple Music, searchin on YouTube the title track reminded me of seeing Billy Idol in concert last year. I liked that HOLD UP. The handy 'official' playlist on Youtube Music is WRONG. They're different Hanoi Rocks songs! "Tooting Bec Wreck" is actually a song called "Don't Never Leave Me". "Until I Get To You" is "Lost in the City". "Sailing Down the Tears" is "First Timer". Labeled as "Lick Summer Love", it's "Cheyenne". All 4 songs are from their 1981 debut! I guess I didn't question why the song titles didn't match to the lyrics (I thought it was hilarious a tender love song, opening with "I don't wanna hurt you, I don't wanna see you cry", was titled "Lick Summer Love"), but what gave it away were the song lengths on Wikipedia. Okay, so the real Back to Mystery City is less indebted to new wave/punk, and sounds more like the glam metal acts to come. Though I probably should revisit this down the road. I can't enjoy a party glam metal album while also stressin about the fallibility of the corporations that have the rights to this music -_- HL: "Ice Cream Summer", "Tooting Bec Wreck", "Until I Get You" February 24, 2025

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.

The line from the 70s punk, post-punk, glam and more flow through bands like Hanoi Rocks. The 80s Hair Metal scene can claim a lot of inspiration from back to Mystery City. This was a fun, jaunty listen. 3.5/5

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

This was a fun one. They felt more new wave than 80s hair metal.

Not too bad for 80s rock, but nothing special.

Sure, I guess - it's utterly symptomatic of 80s rock, to the point where I could've told you the main beats before I even listened. It's fine, but nothing I'd put on again frankly.

Klingt gut, aber es ist viel Durcheinander - es ist schwierig mitzusingen und durch in den Liedern klare Melodien zu erkennen. Wäre das gegeben, easy vier, vielleicht sogar fünf Sterne

high 2

17 minutes isn’t an album

I thought I was going to hate it seeing the reviews - But not even close, loved every minute.

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

While listening Lick Summer Love one can hear the origins of vocal style on Guns N Roses. This doesn't provide more credibility than 3 stars.

Even though it’s a Finnish band, I’ve never really been a huge fan of Hanoi Rocks. And I think I haven't even listened this album through ever. On this tuesday morning it sounded groovy and joyful. I kinda like. 3 stars.

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.

3 out of 5.

Нормальный альбом, не очень зацепил

A really good album, I like Malibu Beach Nightmare, Mental Beat and Tooting Bec Wreck the most.

вроде обычный говнарский глэм рок, но мне понрав

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

If the New York Dolls knew how to write songs.

I didn’t have high hopes when I saw the band name and album cover. And yes, it was definitely dated and cringy, but overall I thought the songwriting was actually pretty good.

As 80s Rock goes this was bang average

Я нормально ставлюсь до New York Dolls та своєрідного «гламуру», який вони привнесли в рок музику. Більш того, їх «контроверсійність», фактично, породила панк як такий, адже їх перший альбом вийшов у 73-у році, а натхнений ними, дебютник Sex Pistols побачив світ тільки у 77-у. Але чому я взагалі про них згадав? Справа у тому, що Hanoi Rocks фактично є продовжувачами їх ідей, як візуально, так і музично, хоча тут вже і відчувається очевидний вплив #heavymetal. Тож перед нами, насправді, доволі чипляючий #glamrock, або навіть #glampunk, що нагадує навіть більше гаражний рок 70-х ніж hair metal, який я терпіти не можу. Це гарний альбом, не більше, не менше. Його було приємно і цікаво послухати, та він здобув певний комерційний успіх. Саме завдяки цьому альбому Hanoi Rocks отримали контракт із мейджор лейблом та випустили ще один, на мою думку, більш кращий альбом Two Steps From the Move (1984) І можливо, якщо б не трагічна автокатастрафа, що забрала життя їх барабанщика Razzle, та призвела до розпаду гурту, вони б стали значно «більшими». А популярний у 80-х #glammetal, був би геть іншим, та вочевидь, кращим жанром.

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

first listen super forgettable

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.

Not really what I was expecting, but I guess I don’t know what I was expecting. I was pretty distracted while listening, but paid attention enough to know this isn’t something I’d listen to again. That said, it also wasn’t annoying.

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.

Hanoi sort of rocks?

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

I'm not sure I'd listen to this again but I was pleased to listen to this and learn about this band. It also helped me make some connections: I knew that Vince of Mötley Crüe had killed someone drink driving, but I now know that that person was Razzle, the Hanoi Rocks drummer, and this basically killed off Hanoi Rocks as a band. Which is all a bit sad and unnecessary. There's a lot of fun stuff here. It's very silly and Glam and 80s. It's not the best in this genre though. Maybe its the songs themselves which are just a little lacking some oomph? This was in danger of being a 2* album but the inclusion of a song about what was once my nearest underground station pushes this up a notch.

Just pretty generic stuff from a mostly unknown band. Not bad at all, but nothing memorable.

OK, nothing special.

Cool 80s sounding album. Catchy songs.

This is a bit of a weird one and I'm not sure if I like it or not. You get the feeling that this is what meth sounds like, though.

Never heard of this band before, I feel they're just a copy of various other mainstream bands from the same genre/era. It was pretty standard, nothing to write home about. Not sure I'll listen to them again, and I don't think they would make it to any of my playlists. Enjoyed listening whilst coding some automation requirements, so deserves a 3 for that.

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

Classic glam rock

Could have been so much worse, i.e lyrically and guitars. Its fine, very cheesy, but how could it not have been. Instruments are good. Favourite songs: First, until I get you, beating gets faster. Overall around 6/10

It's a little on the lighter side than "Hair Metal", but it's a fine album. What more would you expect by the cover art? Motley Crue mixed with David Bowie? You wish.

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

Really glam rock album from a band that doesn't get much share of the limelight (★ ★ ★ 1⁄2) ✅ 73/100

Well, the city does rock - this only a little bit

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.

6.5/10 A pleasant surprise. Silly, fun glam metal with influences like British new wave, the Clash, and maybe even some Springsteen sax. Well produced, well sung, but undeniably silly and a little vapid in the lyrics. Best: Back To Mystery Beach

Is this glam punk? A bit of fun, I enjoyed it

Pretty fun

Seemed like connective tissue between English punk and sunset strip hair metal

Schlop

Just another 80's band where it is style over substance but decent music so 3 stars or C,

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!

What a cool/interesting/enjoyable album. Firstly, how did I live and get wrecked countlesss times in Tooting Bec and Broadway for years, without knowing about that song!? Secondly, I had never really twigged the progression between post-punk and glam/hair metal so much before. This definitely feels like a missing link album, and who knew that came out of Finland. Thirdly, it’s just a cracking fun album, first 4 tracks absolutely bangers. Mental Beat is the best for me, and you can see its influence on more modern punk/garage bands, The Hives in particular (the Scando influence is strong). The album is less strong in the latter half but ends on a banger which is a belting homage to punk/Bowie etc. Thanks list.

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.

"Annoy" Rocks, am I right??

"Oh, finally a rock album outside of the UK or the US in this list..." * Hanoi Rocks * "ARRRRRRRGHHHHHHHHHHHH"

Some catchy songs at the end of the album. Mental Beat was kind of weird.

3.5

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

Fun stuff! Cool production, although as per usual lost me by the end. Glam rock 4 life.

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

As forgettable an album as I’ve heard.

83 was a rough year because all the bands looked more interesting than they actually were

Meh. Fav Songs: Hanoi Rocks

Everything wrong with the 80's in one album. It's just a bad version of Bon Jovi. Why the hell is this album even close to this list, just no!

No

This one surprises. Loved it and hope to find a copy.

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

Another fun surprise and a picualer bridge between glam rock and glam metal. It has the added benefit of being unpolished with touches of post-punk.

Had never heard of it before but thought it was fine. Wouldn't necessarily listen again.

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.

Fun sounding Glam Rock, only heard bits of Hanoi Rocks over the years, happy to give this a go, not understanding the bad reviews by other users. Stand out tracks: - Malibu Beach Nightmare - Mental Beat - Tooting Bec Wreck - Until I get you - Beating gets faster - Back to Mystery City

It’s ironic that the band that invented glam metal knew that the genre was a joke and treated it as such, but all the bands that came along and copied them were too dumb to realize that wearing wigs and eye liner and screeching over screechy guitars makes you a clown, not a cool tough rock god.

I was amused. A bit simple, and not as rock and roll as I might like, if going this particular direction, but at some point, you have to appreciate the earnest delivery of clichés.

Not sure why this is on the list

Good vibes

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

Crap.

yea hair metal is just rough man

I can't believe I enjoyed this, but I did. A precursor to so much 80s glam rock garbage to come, but so much more fun. Don't take it seriously, and it's a fun listen.

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

This glam punk meets hard rock nonsense was basically very silly, but also quite listenable. I assumed it would offend me and my delicate ears to the core, so it gains marks for not being at that end of the rock spectrum. It's also, in a way, quite a cool band name and album title, so have a little bonus decimal places for that.

2.5

Pretty decent. Nothing special or anything to write home about. Doesn't do anything new, or groundbreaking. It's just an album that you can stick on, have fun with and go about your day, nothing more, nothing less. It's just another 80's glam rock band, and I feel like other similar artists did it better.

2.3 2x decent but nothing special

Finnish glam metal sounds a lot like a pop punk precursor, but it definitely feels a lot more uplifting and leans on a lot of common tropes. Also, they incorporate saxophone?

fun 80s hard rock

Easy listening, but nothing much to shout about

Bit glam for me

A good album. I wasn't super into it, but this had good energy. Fun instrumentals and a decent vocals. 'Back to Mystery City' takes my fave pick.

A lot of silly fun, I enjoyed it.

Kind of like a more anthemic sounding New York Dolls. A little bit of the punk sneer, but not enough of anything to be truly memorable. The run of songs from Tooting Bec Wreck to Lick Summer Love is very solid. Lyrics were kind of weak. Would recommend, but not strongly.

The mystery is why did this get on the list.

Blends the better elements of 80s alt-pop with touches of punk for enjoyable results!

It had some moments that raised its score, but I did not hear a reason why I needed to hear this album.

It was OK. Must have been influential in its day or something, but I neither loved nor hated it.

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

Glam rock

Enjoyed this. I had always heard of them because of the death of one of the members and reasons around it. Never heard before.

Oväntat bra. Kommer absolut lyssna mer på Hanoi Rocks.

In a nutshell: uniquely 80s Sounds like a mashup of New York Dolls, Sweet, Mötley Crüe and Poison. Could be inspiration for The Hives. Not for everyone. Overall: 2/10

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

It’s a 1.5 —- it’d be a 2.5 or 2 — there’s a few songs that are a tad catchy and fun, but I found it obnoxious to listen to and will not revisit.

4.33 ★★★★

Fun album, maybe not the most substantial, but fun for what it is. 3.5 stars

Super fun and catchy and really reminded me of New York Dolls/Johnny Thunders stuff. I really liked "Malibu Beach Nightmare" and "Tooting Bec Wreck". 4 stars.

2.5

More like Hanoi Sucks. Getting through this was tough. Every song plays like super rubbishy, not at all glamorous early glam punk metal but they’re all like 5 minutes long and I wanted to get the first plane ticket out of this Mystery City pretty much instantly.

Why is this here? It’s ok, I guess.

Pretty good. Good vibe to them, not much stood out though. Cool hair?

Inte min typ av pudelrock

This was pretty bad…

6.5/10

Might be the best hair metal band/albums of the 80s. I think they are massively underrated

Opening for Motley Crue, these guys! And that’s about the only place they should have stayed.

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!!

Beach boys punk rock

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.

Good

Favorite Track: Ice Cream Summer

This kicks ass. Early punk energy. Adding this to my collection.

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

Ah, the 80s. These riffs are as powerful as the hairdos on the cover.

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.

No thanks.

Couldn’t even access it on Apple Music so had to go on YouTube, gotta love the ads too. Anyway, not a good album. Just no clue how this ended up on this list.

Hey, at least it's only 25 minutes.

Unavailable on Apple Music. Will revisit if I can find it on YouTube. It’s a fine album but the listening experience on YouTube with ads is really holding it back. I don’t feel that I can fairly rate this album because I cannot listen to it uninterrupted. From now on if it is not on Apple Music I will give it a 3/5 and move on.

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

Meh

Arguably the one band that gets to the claim the title for "Big in Japan". No doubt, Hanoi Rocks would be one of the more influential forces on the visual kei in terms of fashion and personality. As for the album, Back to Mystery City is a fairly good glam rock record, though never impressing me much beyond a few catchy songs.

So instead of Ram, Toxicity, Discovery, Pinkerton, The Black Parade, and absolutely no Ween we get this laughably bad shitty generic 80s glam record. Great.

Sjedim u hotelu Bonavia i pokušavam se pomiriti s “Back to Mystery City” od Hanoi Rocks koji svira u pozadini. Jedan od onih albuma da traje dulje mogao bih ne poceti nervirati. Back to Mystery City je, da prostiš, glam rock s punkastim prizvukom, okej na minutu, al’ niš posebno. Dečki su svoj zvuk i imidž pokupili od Sex Pistolsa, New York Dollsa i te ekipice koja voli distorziju sa gro pudera, iako nisu ni do koljena tim bendovima. Realno, album je okej za slušat dok se tuširaš il delas nekaj drugo . Ritmičan, nekad i zabavan i može proći na kratke ture. Ima tu momenata u pjesmama koje su fakat super, ali ni jedna stvar nije baš hit da ti ostane u uhu. Najbliže tome dođe naslovna stvar, “Back to Mystery City,” koja zvuči kao nešto što bi KISS odbacio u potrazi za hitovima. Njihov najpoznatiji hit je bio 1984: i to hit auta Vincea Neila iz Motley Cruea u drugi auto, te tako ubio bubnjara Razzle. Ta je nesreća sjebala cijeli band i uništila im karijeru u Americi, a nakon toga se ni jedan album nije uspio ozbiljno probiti. Sve u svemu, ovo nije album koji ću staviti na playlistu za neki izlazak, a pogotovo ne vožnju (pun intended). Više je album za trenutke kad ti treba da nešto žmrlji u pozadini, a da pritom ne para uši. 6.5/10

Oh wow, cover mi je vrh 😁 ne očekujem puno, ali me jako zanima. Dosta pank glemerski, tako sam nekako i zamišljala album. Nezz, ja sam jedno vrijeme intenzivno brijala na to, iako sad kužim da kvalitetom nije na nekoj wow razini, meni je to i dalje amusing. Volim to razdoblje, jbg, i u rocku, i u panku i u popu.😁 Ovo nekako ima elemente svega toga. Zanimljivo da nisam naletila na njih nikad prije. Sviđaju mi se neobični prijelazi u ritmu i melodiji, s te strane mi se čine dosta originalni zapravo. Kul su mi surfi dijelovi i orijentalni zvukovi usred svega.Vrh mi je back vokal na Until I get you (i stvarno zvuči kao back Floydima, familiar boja glasa nekako). Ta stvar me isto dosta podsjeća na Classix Nouveau, možda mi zato tako dobro sjeda. Nezz, za razliku od većine albuma dosad, meni ovo nije loše i daleko od neslušljivog. Bogato je, neobično, ne zvuči treš, ima elemente više žanrova, zabavno mi je. Doduše, mogu zamisliti da ljudima koji nisu skloni panku ili 80s ovo neće biti privlačno. Htjela sam dati nižu ocjenu prvo, ali realno ovo mi je jedan od boljih albuma koje sam dosad slušala (izuzev petica, naravno). Ne mogu reći to za baš sve pjesme (prvo dio albuma mi je bolje legao), ali overall mi je ovo 4/5 ili 7/10.

A ono Nisam ovo baš slušao s previše pažnje Nit mi je dobro, nit mi je loše, onak pozadinski pank dok pijem kavu na državni praznik Stvarno nemam šta pametnije za reci Nije mi pre pankerski, nije mi pre popoerski Sve nešto između 5/10

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.

no no no no

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.

The connective tissue between New York Dolls and GnR. This represents the alternative path 80s metal could have taken. Less solos and shredding, more glam, less shouts to the devil - and even some straight up nods to 50s RnR. Better than most of their piers but in the end still an 80s metal album.

Just don’t get and really didn’t enjoy it at all. Even reading about the album, I still don’t understand how it mad the list. Seems like there are some better choices.

I get why people like it, I am just not one of those people. I wanted it to be done. There was not disdain, but there was not a ton of joy.

To my ear, feels very Bowie. But then I guess I just don't have much other experience with this brand of glam-y punk stuff.

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.

Wasn't really expecting to like this, but pretty fun tbh. Decently catchy, doesn't take itself too seriously, and didn't overstay it's welcome. 3 leaning 3.5 I feel

Maybe periodically updating this list isn't what's needed anymore. Maybe it's time to just scrap it and start from scratch because like this album, there's a lot of fluff/filler on here that just doesn't need to be. There's nothing remarkable about this album at all. From off-key, whiny vocals to generic, uninspired performances (that awful flute in the intro track). Heck, this isn't even a popular album among their listeners on Spotify..

rock bateau

Yet another hair band. Not a bad one. 3.

Awesome so far. How have I not heard this before?

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.

Not a bad album. Mix was a little quiet, but pretty enjoyable overall. 3.5/5

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

3/5

Cool Peacemaker

3-

Like several other reviewers, I don't really get why this album is on the list. It's a perfectly serviceable glam / stadium rock album, but there's nothing more than that. Nothing new, interesting, vital or exciting. If it's your type of music, you'll like it, but it's hardly worth going out of your way to listen to.

We already had Rio when this came out

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

Tja geen idee. Niks aan Hanoi Rocks is naar mijn idee nieuw of vernieuwend. Hooguit het land van herkomst, maarja boeie! Het is stomme 70-s Glamrock ver in de jaren 80. Het klinkt niet slecht of saai maar kan ook geen enkele vezel in m'n lichaam beroeren. 3,5/10

This was bad

5/10

50

No está completo en Spoti, vamos a Youtube. Esto no empieza como esperaba. "Malibu Beach Nightmare", "Tooting Bec Wreck" y "Ice Cream Summer". Leyendo en la wikipedia veo que es otra banda rota por la muerta prematura de un miembro en accidente de coche. Interesante y el tipo de aporte que uno espera en esta lista.

Not awful actually.

Back to Mystery City Do you think the recording of the acoustic guitars in the intro to Strange Boys is supposed to sound so wobbly? I guess it might make you think you are about to listen to a vaguely pastoral album based around Blackbird. But by looking at the cover you clearly aren’t in for that sort of thing. Indeed you’re actually in for some occasionally pleasingly schizophrenic and stupid but ultimately not particularly good and quite badly recorded Finnish rock. Is it a joke or are they serious? I can’t really work it out if the dumbness is real or deliberate but I am significantly reminded of Anvil. Malibu Beach Nightmare was apparently originally a calypso. I wonder what that was like if they thought this was a better way to do it? Among the rest of it I quite like the looming (synth?) bass on Tooting Bec Wreck, Sailing Down the Tears is quite a decent pop rock song, as is Ice Cream Summer, and I don’t mind the New York Dolls influenced 60s-sih garage punk of Back to Mystery City at all. So overall it’s as completely terrible as it might suggest, but apart from some fun dumbness on a couple of tracks it’s not particularly great either. Probably a high 2, not enough to get into the 3s but not totally abject either. 🇻🇳🇻🇳 Playlist submission: Back to Mystery City

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

Credit for at være forgangsmænd for en af de mest anstrengende subgenrer nogensinde, jeg synes egentlig det var helt fint, vældig catchy og mere tekstur end så meget andet 80’er rock. Proto guns n roses Hvilket Black Sabbath cover @Claus?

Transikoner??? Lød ret fedt, gode riffs osv

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

Not what I expected, essentially a glam rock album. Pretty good! Albeit an odd inclusion on the list

Suomi mainittu! Siis hieno bändi mutta ei tämä nyt näiden paras levy ole??? 4/5

Pakkohan sitän on siniristilippua vähän heiluttaa ja todeta, että hyvä räminälevyhän se tässä. 4/5

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.

It was alright. Loved that it was so short.

I mean, it's entertaining enough but I'd find difficulty in writing a great deal about it.

It deserves one extra credit for sounding so outdated without necessarily sounding like Dad Rock. I enjoyed the upbeat style, and it is always fun to know bands from anywhere other than the US and UK, even singing in English. Sometimes, I doubted if I was listening to some kind of Kiss cover band.

Fun and light and wafty, just like their haircuts.

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

Sure, fine, alright.

Wow. Now THIS is a great justification for this list. A band I heard of but never heard. Instantly the best glam metal band I have ever heard and the only one I have ever liked. Their story is somewhat intertwined with Motley Crüe's, and I mistakenly lumped them into the same bucket so very pleased to be corrected now. Much more creative and interesting than Crüe, to me at least. I am looking forward to checking these guys out further.

I know I've heard *of* Hanoi Rocks, but I'm not sure I've ever heard them, or at least anything from this album. A fine album overall, I'd say, but not particularly distinctive or memorable, except perhaps that they're Finnish instead of British or American? There is a somewhat appealing whiplash-effect, though, to the various flavors of glam- and hard- and faux-punk-rock tracks (at various times shades of The Clash or Motley Crue or even Kiss). And no noodling overlong tracks on this album! Compounding the mystery of why this was included: the Wikipedia article is truly atrocious and uninformative; and the "1001 Albums" entry seems to fixate on how outrageous they looked and performed on stage, with not much to say about the music itself. Apparently you had to be there...

Super cute! Feels like the male equivalent of what the Go Gos tried to achieve and I am here for it. Love the drums on "Mental Beat."

Great rock album. That classic 80's rock will never get old and always sounds fresh. Never heard of them but will listen to their other stuff.

I thought this was a lot of fun. It’s not breaking any ground but it’s catchy and pretty consistent. Really liked Tooting Bec Wreck and Lick Summer Love

Never heard of this band before. This album took a few tracks to heat up but was fun when it got there. "Lick Summer Love" rocked as did the intro of "Beating Gets Faster".

Didn’t hate it.

Straight up 80’s hard rock.

I mean it's okay, it's also only 17 mins long so I wasn't able to for a strong opinion either way

Surprisingly good

Expected this to suck. It didn’t!

Interesting to finally hear them. It was fine without being spectacular

Weird inclusion in this list...

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.

This is not reinventing rock music but it’s solid and fun to listen to.

Bit of a tick box exercise here I think to get Finland onto the list. Nothing against Finland at all but I could say a lot about how bad this album is. Wiki states they have now broken up. Thank goodness for that. 1/5 31/7/24

Nope.

It was alright. Didn’t blow me away, but there were a couple of catchy songs. I question the providence of the version I heard on streaming; the volume matching track to track seemed to be all over the place which created a bit of a disjointed listen.

Yeah this was fine. Nothing makes it stand out for similar type of music from its era.

It’s like hair metal meets the cure or something - not bad but not my favorite.

So glad I'll never have to listen to this again. Even the band sound like they're dialling this in. Just awful, one star awful.

Pleasant, not special.

Bij het zien van de cover dacht ik al "oei" en ja hoor, het klinkt exact hoe de albumhoes eruit ziet: nogal foute glamrock uit de 80s. Daarom een 2.4*

no no no no no no no n-

Is it innovative? No. Is it the peak of it's genre? No. Is it special? Not really. Is it well made? Not particularly. But it is fun if you just want some dumb glam rock and can appreciate it for what that means.

It was....fine for hair metal, but is this really the album that's going to be the considered the "gold standard" for that era? Really? Somedays, I just don't know with this list...

As far as 80's hair bands go, this one suuuuux. Cool name tho. But that's about where it ends. Singer struggles to hit pitches, guitar work is ok, lyrics are straight out of a rhyming dictionary. Themes are idiotic. Beats are sophomoric.

Interesting to hear this back to back with Megadeth. This is like a slowed down, more tuneful version and is much better for it. Still not to my taste but infinitely preferable to Megadeth/Iron Maiden.

Spotify only seems to have 5 tracks of this album so I'm basing it on that. I thought it was going to be terrible but in the end it was ok. They are something more than a hair metal band. Definitely glam.

Good. Memorable for this line from their Wikipedia: "After the short tour, Monroe and McCoy agreed to reform the band. This would be (as the two put it), a "rebirth", not a reformation of Hanoi Rocks, mainly because none of the other members were able to join: Razzle was dead; Nasty Suicide had become a pharmacist;"

This was so much fun. Upbeat, cool guitar lines, easy listening. I may actually check out some of their other stuff

generic rock n roll.. and every song sounds the same.. not bad but why is it on here? this list makes me wonder if most music is actually bad, which is why mediocre average things make in on here. but no, i've listened to plenty of good albums not on this list. so what's the excuse?

Im D with a bit of glam rock, this was pretty unremarkable though solid 2

Not good, but dumb in a kind of fun way. Eh, actually not that fun, though. I was going to round up from a 2.5, but by the end, it’s hard to go higher than a 2. I did sort of like “Lick Summer Love.”

B-52s meets Gin Blossoms meets Beach Boys? Somehow it works!

This was average. Nothing special. Probably forget about it by tomorrow.

It’s fine. I’m pretty sure most of the songs are in the completely wrong order, but whatever. I doubt it would affect my rating.

Nunca había escuchado hablar de ellos. Como dije en el disco anterior, si la historia los olvidó, por algo es.

This was a pretty good 80s rock album. I appreciated that some of the songs had hook that I could see myself returning to. Not bad. 3/5.

J'ai l'impression que cet album est présent non pour sa qualité mais plutôt parce qu'apparemment il aurait eu une grosse influence sur la scène glam ? Quoiqu'il en soit il y a clairement une raison qu'on ne s'en souvient pas autant que ses contemporains : ça va de droite à gauche, la production et le mixing sont inconsistants, les compositions ne se démarquent pas. Vraiment rien d'intéressant à cet album. 3/10

Proto hair metal. Not exactly Chinese rocks

I may not know a lot about mixing, but I was thinking the whole time how poor it sounded for being from 1983. I had the volume all the way up. Then Beating Gets Faster started and I had to scramble to turn it down. That song is probably the best even if only because the mix is so much better. Damn. I was excited for some Finnish glam rock. But this left me disappointed.

No, I don't need to listen to this before I die.

The history of the album is more impactful than the album itself. By today's standards it is just another hair metal album.

Ice Cream Summer

It's not terrible. Not remarkable either, even by the genre's standards

These bands need to stop making intro songs so good that they then cannot deliver on making the rest of the album even close to as good Intro song was a 5 but the rest was just so boring that I'm giving it a 1 because I am disappointed

Fun, some really good songs, probably won't go back to it

80s glam rock shenanigans l. For what it is, it's not too bad. Awful cover art, mind you

Cheesy and full of hair! Spotify only have half of the album, which was probably a blessing

Bag of shite

Had a mate who was into this band, didn't see the attraction then and I still don't get it.

Terrible lyrics, big hair, generic guitar sounds; this was all a bit of an accident. Nothing to see here, move along please.

Hadn't heard of Hanoi Rocks before... not bad, in as far as 80s Glam Rock goes.

Why was this in anyone's list of music to listen to?

Glam metal with a saxophone? Sign me up

Niet alle tracks zijn beschikbaar op Spotify, dus ik moest nog moeite doen ook. Ik heb het over voor m'n zelf opgelegde missie. Aardige, een tikkeltje foute, glam-achtige semi punkrock. Geen ramp om een keer te horen, maar tegelijkertijd hoort dit niet in deze lijst. Ik kan hier wel een 3 voor geven. Dit was, los van dat ik het moest zoeken op Youtube (waar ook verkeerde versies staan), makkelijk te doen.

I enjoyed this album a lot. It's nothing revelatory, but it is good, cheesy hair metal, brimming with camp. However, while I get that salacious lyrics are a hallmark of the genre, the lyrics occasionally dip into misogyny and creepiness ("I can see by the way you walk you've never been with a man before") in a way that I found jarring. Part-and-parcel for the time, I know, but off-putting to listen to now. "Until I Get You" is an absolute banger though.

I tried to listen to this but I’m not convinced it exists in the form it’s supposed to be listened too. Could I have tried harder? Yes but I went by probably a year to just write this.

bummer, i was hoping this would be an overlooked gem

I’ve time traveled to a party I missed out on. Because I never would have listened to this based on the album cover(s). But this was a surprisingly fun party. I thought it would be like Motley Crue but it is thankfully not that. Oh it’s rock-a-billy!

I was expecting not to like this but it was rock solid

Glam rock. Está bien. Venga, un 4.

Está chulo.

Bored to tears. Also not for me

Every song sounds like a Frankensteined collection of other riffs. Which isn't to say it isn't enjoyable at times, but it's not exactly memorable or all that good.

This was not good. At all. 2/10

Fun ride, nothing made want to come back

5/5 - shockingly good. I can see where GNR got it from

I don't think this is a good album at all - but I do think it's a pretty fun album. The lyrics are intensely bad, at least for the 2-3 songs of which I read them. Maybe some 16-year olds will find them touching. The different intensity in vocal delivery between the backing and main vocals on Lick Summer Love was pretty weird. Probably the backing female vocalist being the main vocalist for the whole album would have been a notable improvement, maybe even 5 stars. At least it would go a long way in helping the band sound less like a teenager garage band. For all the criticism, the album still has a bunch of really solid hooks and it seems like fun pub or rock bar background music. So if that was the goal, they achieved it. The instrumental delivery is mostly on point, especially the guitars and occasional keyboard lines are quite good.

Bright but forgettable.

This kinda glam hair metal classic rock stuff just does nothing for me.

The one album not on apple music, after the last two really great albums, I'm glad I don't have to listen to this one.

For some reason, not on apple music so I had to piece together what I could from other albums. Not bad stuff, but it's in that territory of '80s rock that we've already had enough of a dose of, nothing really distinct here. Very middle of the road, think I'd axe it, and not even being able to access the full album doesn't help. Favorite tracks: Strange Boys Play Weird Openings, Malibu Beach Nightmare. Album art: Cool, fine, whatever. 2.5/5

Really didn’t rate this at all.