In the aftermath of Hanoi Rocks, Michael Monroe released 7 solo albums his 2nd 1989 release “Not Fakin It” featured Axel W. Vince Neil “I bought my way out of jail, like a modern day OJ” (Rumor Mill has it that Razzle was involved in a drunk driving indecent a few years before, in the UK where a passenger died…Karma?) The ‘Clash’s’ Terry Chimes (5jul1956 London) finished out the drum duties on the rest of the 1985 European Tour where a rare ‘live’ album was recorded and released “Rock N Roll Divorce” 1985 Live In Poland (of all places) stand out track “Looking At You” (MC5) and live tracks off ‘Two Steps From The Move’ however the band was just not the same, so in June 1985 Monroe left the band, thus ending the original Hanoi Rocks. While on some time off for Monroe’s fractured heel Razzle and Vince Neil (Vincent Neal Wharton 8feb1961) decided to make a beer run, Vince was driving drunk and lost control of his vehicle killing Razzle and injuring 2 other people in an oncoming auto. The band embark on the first US tour with Motley Crue. Being huge ‘Creedence Clearwater Revival’ fans they cut “Up Around The Bend” later McCoy & Suicide in 1986 would record “Travelin Band” as the ‘Cherry Bombz’. The year of “Big Brother” Hanoi Rocks gets signed to a major US label Epic/ Sony and working with “Mott The Hoople’s” Ian Hunter (3jun1939 UK) & Overend Watts (Peter Watts 13may1947) record their final opus as the original Hanoi Rocks, “Two Steps From The Move” in early 1984 stand outs “I Can’t Get It” “Cutting Corners” “Underwater World” “Million Miles Away” & “Boulevard Of Broken Dreams” strangely the title track was left off this release “Two Steps From The Move” however there are 2 different versions on 2 other albums. The band take off on a tour of Europe and Japan with live concerts being recorded at the Marquee Club in the UK and released as the album & VHS “All Those Wasted Years” in late 1983 notable tracks “Under My Wheels” & “Train Kept A Rollin” and a TV Broadcast in Japan which came out as an UN-Official double album “Live in Tokyo” ![]() Stand out tracks “Mental Beat” “Tooting Bec Wreck” “Until I Get You” Malibu Beach Nightmare” & “Back To Mystery City” they band do record a couple songs that do not make the LP “Malibu Beach” (reggae version) & a really odd song “Do The Duck”. Due to this tragic turn of events Oriental Beat has to unfortunately stand as an album by a band full of potential that sadly was never given a chance to fulfill it.With Razzle on board the band embark on their 4th album (but first with Razzle) which I personally feel their best and strongest effort yet “Back To Mystery City” in early 1983. In 1984, the band's drummer, Razzle, died in a car accident as a passenger in a car driven by Mötley Crüe's Vince Neil the band broke up a year later. By listening to this album you can see the influence Hanoi Rocks had on the artists that followed them. Oriental Beat shows where punk would have gone in the '80s if new wave and synthesizers never came along. ![]() A slick '80s hit-making producer like Mutt Lange ( Def Leppard) or Bob Rock ( Mötley Crüe, the Cult) could have made this band huge in the States. The drums sound like they were recorded in another building separate from the rest of the band. ![]() Despite a respectable amount of potential on most of the album, poor production limits the effectiveness of many tracks. "Motorvatin'" and "Devil Woman" would easily have found a home on MTV circa 1987, and feminine-looking, lipstick-wearing, glammed-out lead singer Michael Monroe's image would have been plastered all over music television right next to Bret Michaels, Vince Neil, and Jon Bon Jovi. Guitarist and chief songwriter Andy McCoy does his best Johnny Thunders on "Teenangels Outsiders." Other tracks on the album show the band displaying a sound that would be emulated by many future pop-metal bands. Baby" and "Oriental Beat" find the band closely resembling English punk rockers the Damned. The band shows its punk and glam influences not only with its look on the cover of the album but also with the music performed on the album as well. Oriental Beat is full of big singalong choruses and catchy riffs that would have made the band heavy players either five years earlier or later. ![]() Oriental Beat is an album that finds itself slightly out of step with the music scene of the period - it was too late for the prime punk period of the late '70s and it was too early for the pop-metal explosion of the mid-to-late '80s. Oriental Beat finds Hanoi Rocks bringing the glam sound and look of the New York Dolls into the '80s. Hanoi Rocks may have been the best hard rock band Finland had to offer the world in 1982, but their sound and look was heavily influenced by the punk scenes of the late '70s in downtown New York and England.
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