While it’d be a stretch to say it feels modern, this is the sound of HANOI ROCKS firing on all cylinders – this time captured properly with a mix that does their energetic performances justice.īut what’s the point of a new mix if the material itself isn’t up to scratch? While Oriental Beat isn’t necessarily the first album mentioned when HANOI ROCKS comes up, lead songwriter McCoy is at a creative peak on the record. Moreover, Michael Monroe’s vocals sit comfortably and clearly above the rocking and rolling riffs. There’s just enough punch to the chords, but still some space for Andy McCoy’s jangly riffs to dance about. The rolling thunder of the slinking bass lines cut through with just enough attack, while the guitars come across more crisply and full bodied than ever before. Enter Oriental Beat – 40th Anniversary Re(al)mix.įrom the get-go, the overall sound and production of this Re(al)mix is incomparably fuller than the original release. It’s a great sophomore album, but was always let down by a thin, listless mix that robbed the band of any musical heft – a bugbear of the band for the last four decades. Oriental Beat builds on the first record’s promising framework, leaning further into the big chorus hooks while offering more aggression in the delivery. While their debut (the charming but scrappily delivered Bangkok Shocks, Saigon Shakes, Hanoi Rocks, oozed character), it also felt like a bit of a work in progress. Oriental Beat, the band’s second album, feels like a microcosm of that nascent promise. But with their career cut short by the tragic death of drummer Razzle, HANOI ROCKS have always had an air of unfulfilled potential about them. They paved the way for glam and hair metal in the UK and US, but with a scuzzier underbelly than the bands they would go on to inspire. Their edgy-but-pretty take on NEW YORK DOLLS-styled punk mixed in elements of UK acts like THE CLASH, and bleak down-and-out lyrics to create something with a bit more bite than their glam appearance would belie. HANOI ROCKS occupy an important space in the history of rock.
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