Back to the Mystery City in Bloomington, MN

Having so obviously worshipped at the altar of
Mott the Hoople
for much of their career, it's little surprise that for their fourth album
Hanoi Rocks
went straight to the source, getting both
Dale Buffin Griffin
and
Pete "Overend" Watts
to produce
Back to Mystery City
. Whatever else they brought to the sessions, the duo makes
sound like a much more powerful band than before; compared to
Self Destruction Blues
, the riffs are more explosive, the drumming pounding, and
Michael Monroe
is in full swing. The aura of '50s rave-up, '70s
glam
party, and '80s
hard rock
chaos that the band made their own sounds even better than before, but the production duo also made even more room for intriguing experiments within the songs themselves. Thus, the full-on
stomp, mock-
Burundi
drums, and animal noises during the merry romp
"Tooting Bec Wreck"
(one of many
songs paying homage to home-away-from-home London), or the clearly obvious
"Mony Mony"
steal from the title track, with reverbed vocals working wonders. One thing's for sure: calling the first song
"Strange Boys Play Weird Openings,"
and having it be a mock
rustic folk
song -- with acoustic guitars, flutes, and chirping birds -- is a great way to have fun. More so, admittedly, when things suddenly kick into the brilliant rocker
"Malibu Beach Nightmare."
Other songs, like
"Beating Gets Faster"
"Ice Cream Summer"
(gratuitous misogyny aside), may be more
by-the-numbers, but it's a good enough pattern to follow. In their own way, they weren't so much pioneers as followers of a style that not many attempted at the time. They get extra points, as well, for having one of the more entertainingly crude song titles around:
"Lick Summer Love."
~ Ned Raggett