Hanoi Rocks: Oriental Beat (40th Anniversary 21st Century The Re(al)mix Edition) (Svart) - review | Under the Radar Magazine Under the Radar | Music Blog for the Indie Music Magazine
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Hanoi Rocks

Oriental Beat (40th Anniversary 21st Century The Re(al)mix Edition)

Svart

Jun 07, 2023 Web Exclusive By Ian Rushbury Bookmark and Share


When one thinks of sleazy rock and roll, one tends not to think of Finland. Well, maybe that needs to change as Hanoi Rocks are both prime exponents of trashy yet melodic proto-glam rock and Finnish. Who’d have thought it?

It seems that the band was not fond of producer Peter Wooliscroft’s original mix of their second album, 1982’s Oriental Beat. So, 41 years later here it is again, spiffed up and approved (finally) by Hanoi Rocks. The good news is that it’s a significant improvement on the ’82 version and restates a valid claim that Hanoi Rocks were the band that Guns N’ Roses could have been.

Punk rock energy and old school pretty boy arrogance is a good base to build a certain type of rock and roll on. Throw a hatful of decent melodic and catchy tunes on top and you’ve got a classic case of “they should have been massive.” “MC Baby,” “Oriental Beat,” and “Lightning Bar Blues” are great examples of concise, well played, memorable rock and roll.

In an alternate universe, Hanoi Rocks is selling out stadiums all over the world and Axl Rose is moaning about the production of Use Your Illusion II. (www.svartrecords.com)

Author rating: 8/10

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Average reader rating: 6/10



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