Like many pioneers, Finland’s Hanoi Rocks got usurped by those who followed and streamlined their approach for mass consumption. Take a look at Guns N’ Roses, The Dogs D’Amour, Poison (or, indeed, any sleaze hard rock/metal band) and you’ll find this Helsinki quintet at their core. Much copied they were, but none partied harder, looked half as good, or had the same panache as Hanoi Rocks. Collecting five studio albums and a disc of oddities, The Complete Collection 1981-1984, captures the band at their peak, and perfectly illustrates why they were (and still are) so highly regarded.
Disc One: Bangkok Shocks, Saigon Shakes, Hanoi Rocks
Released at a time when heavy metal was defined by “serious”, solemn bands such as Iron Maiden and Judas Priest, Hanoi Rocks made for strange bedfellows. Perhaps it was because they were detached from those times that they still sound timeless, but whatever the reason, their 1981 debut album, Bangkok Shocks, Saigon Shakes, Hanoi Rocks, still sound good, and refreshingly so. Setting the template for what would become known as glam metal, it’s a hard album, but with a melodic sensibility that bestows instant earworm status on each of the ten tracks. With a riff that is nectar of the gods, ‘Tragedy’ was the first the world heard from Hanoi Rocks, it’s the type of song that magically turns the listener into a rock star, and would make the perfect soundtrack to all sorts of Saturday night tomfoolery. While much glam/sleaze can sound lightweight and vapid, there’s an emotional depth to cuts such as ‘Don’t Never Leave Me’ and ‘Cheyenne’ that set the band apart from their peers. But mostly this album smokes with the likes of ‘Village Girl’, the spiky and angular ‘Lost In The City’, and the staccato riff found on a live rendition of ‘11th Street Kids’. Debut albums rarely come as fully formed as this effort, and it did exactly what it said on the tin: Shocks, Shakes, and Rocks.
Disc Two: Oriental Beat (40th Anniversary The RE(AL) Mix, 2002)
Following their debut album by a calendar year, Oriental Beat didn’t miss a step, if anything Hanoi Rocks sound even more confident, and riding the back of their critically-acclaimed debut. That confidence immediately comes to the fore on the punchy opener ‘Motorvatin’’, a track that’s driven forwards by Sam Yaffa’s brilliantly buoyant bassline (this anniversary RE(AL) Mix making everything more pronounced). The experience taken from recording their debut has rendered Oriental Beat an album that ebbs and flows perfectly between raucous rockers and slower tracks. The songwriting has stepped up a notch, too (with vocalist Michael Monroe contributing words to a few tracks), and ‘No Law And Order’ could easily slot onto London Calling (if the Clash had been weaned on the New York Dolls, that is) and as with London Calling, Oriental Beat tries on lots of different clothes and revels in its own diversity. Hanoi Rocks would later express dissatisfaction with Pete Wooliscroft’s production, and while it did sound thin and reedy (rectified by this mix), such is the quality of the songs that it still holds up very well. Disowned by the band, but adored by fans, Oriental Beat has stood the test of time.
Disc Three: Self Destruction Blues
Collecting choice singles (and associated B-sides) from 1980-1982, Self Destruction Blues makes for an enjoyable (and educational) listen. Many of these tracks were only issued in Scandinavia, yet their influence spread globally. That influence can be best seen on Guns N’ Roses who adopted their look wholesale and were going to include a cover of ‘Beer And A Cigarette’ on their The Spaghetti Incident? covers album, while the title of the Gunners debut album shares a striking similarity to this (i.e. Appetite For Destruction). Listening to the dozen cuts that comprise this compilation, it’s so easy to hear why other bands pilloried their style. There was something very dangerous about Hanoi Rocks in their prime. They were like a car with two accelerators (and no brakes) that was on a collision course with a brick wall. While many bands cultivated such an image, Hanoi Rocks had the songs to back them up, and the heavy blues of the title track and the amphetamine buzz of ‘Problem Child’ make Self Destruction Blues a jewel in their crown.
Disc Four: Back To Mystery City
While Hanoi Rocks influenced countless bands, they also had their own inspirations too (New York Dolls and Alice Cooper immediately spring to mind) and those influences came bursting to the fore on Back To Mystery City. Bringing in Mott The Hoople’s Dale Buffin Griffin and Pete “Overend” Watts as producers was a wise move, and they rectify the wrongs found on (the original) Oriental Beat. The band sound far more muscular with ‘Malibu Beach Nightmare’ being delivered with the kind of British boot boy stomp previously only found on Slade and Sham 69 records. Part of the credit for the band’s newfound power comes from the addition of drummer Razzle, and he hits the skins particularly hard and his very presence has brought an aura of heaviness that’s caused the rest of the band to respond in kind. Razzle is the glue that holds songs like ‘Tooting Bec Wreck’ together, and when he died in that infamous car crash in 1984 it was no surprise that the band fell apart. Back To Mystery City offers a tantalising glimpse of what the future could have been.
Disc Five: Two Steps From The Move
Released on 7th August 1984, Two Steps From The Move found Hanoi Rocks at a creative peak (and produced by the famed Bob Ezrin), the band full of vim and vigour, unaware that disaster was lurking just around the corner. Opening with a cover of the Creedence Clearwater Revival classic ‘Up Around The Bend’, it found the band upping the sleaze factor whilst also showing off their growing musical proficiency. That songs such as ‘Underwater World’ sound so good is undoubtedly down to Mr. Ezrin, but we mustn’t take anything away from the band’s songwriting; the ten tracks comprising this album are at once cerebral and visceral, attacking your heart and head simultaneously. Undoubtedly an inspiration for Green Day, ‘Boulevard Of Broken Dreams’ is a scruffy street urchin, whilst ‘Cutting Corners’ was a strong closer that hinted at what could have been had the cards fallen differently. Following the death of drummer Razzle, Hanoi Rocks would disband in 1985, but Two Steps From The Move made for a fine swansong (until they reformed in 2001).
Disc Six: Motorvatin’!!!
I’m a big fan of collections such as Motorvatin’!!! which assemble their tracks from various sources; they can give a unique career overview in a way that regular compilation albums don’t. For hardcore fans (and even the fairweather variety), Motorvatin’!!! is a treasure trove of delights. ‘Two Steps From The Move’ gets things off with a cool swagger and is followed by two cuts from a BBC Session. Whilst the Beeb might have many faults, their radio sessions were all well produced, and they bring out the best in Hanoi Rocks here. Three demo tracks offer an intriguing look at the band’s inner workings and come highly recommended for those who like their Hanoi Rocks with plenty of dirt under their fingernails. They illustrate why the band were so hard to pigeonhole, not quite metal, nor quite punk, but existing in that sweet spot somewhere in between. A calypso version of ‘Malibu Beach’ has to be heard to be believed, it’s an out-take that wouldn’t sound at home anywhere else, but slots in perfectly here and is precisely what makes collections like this so special.
We can only speculate what could have been had Hanoi Rocks continued into the late 1980’s and beyond, but The Complete Collection 1981-1984 offers an intriguing glimpse at an alternative future.
- The Complete Collection 1981-1984 is released via BMG on 13th November 2026.
Track List (CD Version):
Disc One: Bangkok Shocks, Saigon Shakes, Hanoi Rocks
1 Tragedy
2 Village Girl
3 Stop Cryin’
4 Don’t Never Leave Me
5 Lost in the City
6 First Timer
7 Cheyenne
8 11th Street Kidzz
9 Walking with My Angel
10 Pretender
(Vinyl Split: Side A: as above tracks 1-5, Side B: tracks 10)
Disc Two: Oriental Beat (The RE(AL) Mix)
1 Motorvatin’
2 Don’t Follow Me
3 Visitor
4 Teenangels Outsiders
5 Sweet Home Suburbia
6 M.C. Baby
7 No Law Or Order
8 Oriental Beat
9 Devil Woman
10 Lightnin’ Bar Blues
11 Fallen Star
(Vinyl Split: Side A: as above tracks 1-5, Side B: tracks 6-11)
Disc Three: Self Destruction Blues
1 Love’s an Injection
2 I Want You
3 Cafe Avenue
4 Nothing New
5 Kill City
6 Self Destruction Blues
7 Beer and a Cigarette
8 Whispers In the Dark
9 Taxi Driver
10 Desperados
11 Problem Child
12 Dead By Xmas
(Vinyl Split: Side A: as above tracks 1-6, Side B: tracks 7-11)
Disc Four: Back to Mystery City
1 Strange Boys Play Weird Openings
2 Malibu Beach Nightmare
3 Mental Beat
4 Tooting Bec Wreck
5 Until I Get You
6 Sailing Down the Tears
7 Lick Summer Love
8 Beating Gets Faster
9 Ice Cream Summer
10 Back to Mystery City
(Vinyl Split: Side A: as above tracks 1-5, Side B: tracks 6-10)
Disc Five: Two Steps From the Move
1 Up Around the Bend
2 High School
3 I Can’t Get It
4 Underwater World
5 Don’t You Ever Leave Me
6 Million Miles Away
7 Boulevard of Broken Dreams
8 Boiler (Me Boiler ‘N’ Me)
9 Futurama
10 Cutting Corners
(Vinyl Split: Side A: as above tracks 1-5, Side B: tracks 6-10)
Disc Six: Motorvatin’!!!
1 Two Steps From The Move
2 Underwater World (BBC Session)
3 Boulevard of Broken Dreams (BBC Session)
4 Oil and Gasoline
5 Shakes
6 Magic Carpet Ride
7 The Beating Gets Faster (I Know You) (Demo)
8 Sailing Down the Tears (Demo)
9 Rebels on the Run (Demo)
10 Malibu Beach (Calypso Version)
(Vinyl Split: Side A: as above tracks 1-5, Side B: tracks 6-10)
