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Twelve Shots on the Rocks
LIQUOR AND POKER MUSIC
By Bonnie Spanogle
Did you hear? “They’re getting
back together and touring!” Every time
I hear those words in reference to the legendary
Hanoi Rocks, my heart skips a beat. Thus far
I’ve been disappointed, as the rumor circulating
since at least the turn of the millennium has
never come to fruition. But I’m probably
not nearly as disappointed with the whole situation
as Andy McCoy and Michael Monroe have been.
A band known more for their tragic demise than
for their music, Hanoi Rocks has a very real
place among the legends of rock 'n’ roll.
Their influence on some of Hollywood’s
greatest sleaze kings was undeniable and well-publicized
(think Guns N’ Roses, Faster Pussycat,
Motley Crue) and thus Hanoi is often unfairly
dismissed as an 80s “hair metal band”
without even the benefit of a listen.
By 1980, when the then-unknown Finnish group
released its first single ("I Want You
/ Kill City Kills" 7-inch), the huge British
glam explosion of ’72 had ebbed, and punk
was starting to kill off the super-produced
arena-rock dinosaurs in the U.S. Metal was gaining
ground, but it certainly wasn’t very pretty
(think Motorhead or Venom).
Hanoi Rocks combined the bluesy swagger of the
Stones, the showgirl good looks and crunchy
guitars of British glam, and the punk-rock-in-heels
attitude of the New York Dolls. They released
six full-length albums over the next four years.
Then, in 1984, their skyrocketing career was
cut tragically short by an accident involving
Crue singer Vince Neil that killed drummer Razzle,
but you’ve probably heard that story.
What many people never did hear was the music,
and that’s a shame.
From the opening beat of “Tragedy”
(on '81’s Bangkok Shocks, Saigon Shakes,
Hanoi Rocks) to their first and last U.S. hit,
(a cover of Creedence Clearwater Revivial’s
“Up Around the Bend”), Hanoi Rocks
had a sound uniquely defined by McCoy’s
bent, Peter-Gunn-style riffing and lead singer
Monroe’s wicked harmonica, saxophone,
and gravelly drag-queen vocals. Their songs,
like Monroe and McCoy, were pure rock ’n'
roll – dressed up in hooks and harmonies,
but creatures of the gutter.
Though they never planned nor promised to re-form
the band, the two childhood friends (who invented
the name on a bus in Helsinki when they were
just fourteen) have reunited as Hanoi Rocks.
Surviving original members Sam Yaffa, Nasty
Suicide, and Gyp Casino were invited but did
not participate in the reunion, which makes
the resulting Twelve Shots on the Rocks even
more obviously a product of the Monroe/McCoy
pairing.
“Bad News” is one of the disc’s
finest tracks--a sharp, noirish tune that’s
both sexy and haunting in the best tradition
of the band, as Monroe whispers “It’s
born in my blood …Some live to undo, some
live to be undone…” The UK single
“A Day Late, A Dollar Short” is
a melodic, mid-tempo pop tune laden with all
of the trademark Hanoi elements: sax, harmonica,
and McCoy’s slippery guitar melodies.
Exuberant rockers like “Are You Lonely
Tonight” and “Delirious” are
upbeat on the surface while addressing the usual
rock 'n’ roll worries and hungers. A desperate
4 a.m. sparkle (and that charmingly bizarre
Finnish accent) drips over the vulnerable teenage
simplicity of ballads like “In My Darkest
Moment” with its Mott-the-Hoople piano
intro and “Designs on You.”
The new Hanoi Rocks also has a bitter streak
that makeup can’t hide. A few of the tracks
recount the trials of the "best kept secret
in rock 'n' roll” (opener “Obscured”)
or proclaim “radio and MTV, you need people
like me!” (“People Like Me”).
True as that may be, it seems like a futile
battle cry, since those outlets don’t
seem interested even in playing decent music,
let alone rock 'n’ roll. Monroe has always
worn his rock star’s tiara with gangly,
self-consciousness bluster, but it’s more
uncomfortable to watch now that he’s older,
and you know he’s not going to grow out
of it. Still, he knows it, and thank the Finnish
fjord gods that people like McCoy and Monroe
aren’t going to grow up.
Like Mick and Keith, or Joe and Steven, this
pair shows me that I can keep going as long
as I want and reminds me how far I’ve
come. Rumors say they’ll tour the U.S.,
and then say that they won’t. Then rumors
say that the record is delayed, and then that
it’s ready to go. Well, I’ve already
been waiting for 17 years to see them together
on the same stage, so I guess I can postpone
growing up for a little while longer. In the
meantime, tip your feathered hat to those who
continue to rock and aren’t afraid to
try again. Let’s hope the same for ourselves.
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