Time to educate myself

Up until this morning, I'd never owned any Hanoi material, oh the shame of it! [img]redface.gif[/img]
I only had Michael Monroe's Not Fakin' It album.

So yesterday, I ordered the Lightnin' Bar Blues boxset from Amazon for the measly sum of ?15.99, could've got it even cheaper if I'd bought from a 3rd party.

Anyway, it turned up this morning (super-fast delivery!) so now I've got the six albums to listen to. Time to see what all the fuss was about. Hope I'm not disappointed!


Amazon.co.uk link

<font color="#FF0000" size="1">[ April 13, 2005 09:47 AM: Message edited by: Stacey. ]</font>

Wow...a Glam fan in the UK unfamiliar with Hanoi??? What a rare beast you are man, what a rare beast indeed!!!

DON'T BE EXPECTING HAIR BAND STYLE STUFF!!! EXPECT THE ROLLING STONES!!!

Didja know that Mick Jagger once introduced Keef as "Englands answer to Andy McCoy"???

Enjoy

Nah, I wasn't expecting hair band style, hehe.
Just finished Bangkok Shocks, and it's going ok so far. Nothing amazing, but it's pleasant enough. [img]graemlins/thumbs_up.gif[/img]

disc 4 disc 4 ... with disc 3 a very close second.

Well, he should know things as they happened. Only thing I know is that line-ups aren?t right, and of course, when spotting a mistake in simple facts like that, one begins to wonder about the other facts.

But the line-up stuff was probably done by the label, and the liner notes by Dome. You know, he wrote the story, but he sure isn't the guy telling you who the producer and engineer were, that is done by some faceless cog at the factory. Malcome I am sure would know the right details, as he was there and has probably written more on Hanoi than they themselves have.

Yeah, Carl is probably right. But wasn?t it Dave Dickson who always wrote about Hanoi to Kerrang? Although I seem to remeber that Malcolm Dome wrote about them to Classic Rock.

I?m answering to my own question:
Yes, it was Dave Dickson. Here?s a link to an AMAZING interview, huge Hanoi-fan/ writer Jon Reed interviews Mr. Dickson few years ago about his relationship to Hanoi. VERY interesting stuff, take time as it?s LOOOONG.

http://www.jonreed.net/sys-tmpl/tableofcontents/

There?s also other stuff about HR in his site.

<font color="#FF0000" size="1">[ April 13, 2005 02:50 PM: Message edited by: fading ways finland ]</font>

Hey even Marilyn Manson wrote a review of Bangkok Shocks when he was a journalist.

Better late than never Stacey lol

Quote:

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Originally posted by fading ways finland:
I?m answering to my own question:
Yes, it was Dave Dickson. Here?s a link to an AMAZING interview, huge Hanoi-fan/ writer Jon Reed interviews Mr. Dickson few years ago about his relationship to Hanoi. VERY interesting stuff, take time as it?s LOOOONG.

http://www.jonreed.net/sys-tmpl/tableofcontents/

There?s also other stuff about HR in his site.

<font color="#FF0000"><font size="1">[ April 13, 2005 02:50 PM: Message edited by: fading ways finland ]</font></font>

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<font size="4" face="Arial">I believe that Howard Johnson also did quite a bit of the Kerrang! Hanoi stuff though. I think whoever got in there with them did it. But there is no doubt that Dome was around then and probably has first hand account.

True, of course he wasn?t ALWAYS writing about them, but he was the one who wrote the most, and was actually the first (or one of the firsts) who got into them from UK press, and editor who Hanoi thought was "their guy" in the press. Of course there were others, too, but Dickson maybe the most.

Really, everybody who?s at all interested about Hanoi/ 80?s scene should check that Jon Reed?s interview about Dickson, must be one of the best/ most deep interview that I?ve ever read.

Would it be a cop-out if I said "All Those Wasted Years" was my favourite, on first listen? [img]biggrin.gif[/img]

So to reflect on Hanoi Day here, it's been an interesting experience. I think it will require further research to determine a winner from the studio albums though.

Two Steps From The Move has the songs that I knew as 'Hanoi tracks', and the production is slick, but I agree a little sterile at times.

I do like the upbeat stuff from Oriental Beat and Back To Mystery City too.

I wouldn't consider any of the albums duff, they all have something to offer me. So on the whole, I'm pleased with my purchase. [img]graemlins/thumbs_up.gif[/img]

Many, many, many people consider "All Those Wasted Years" to being the best. Nothing wrong with that. It gets the least play from me though. But I just am not a live album fan.

I see where there's a little conflict on the liner notes. It says that it became apparent to the band after Oriental Beat, that Gyp Casino wasn't working out, and Razzle joined after a conversation at the Marquee, and went on a Far East tour.

Self Destruction Blues was put out as a collection of B-sides and outtakes to tide the fans over, until they got back in the studio. Razzle was on the artwork, but didn't play on any of the tracks.

After the tour, they recorded Back To Mystery City. But the back cover of the album in the boxset says Gyp was on drums for this one, so someone's made a balls-up here, have they?

I see on that interview linked up above, that Mystery City was Razzle's first studio album with the band, so Castle/Sanctuary have made a mistake on the sleeve of disc 4.

I'm on disc 4 at the moment.

As the booklet says, the influence they had on other bands is as much part of the Hanoi legacy, as their own controversies, personal battles and music.

I'm sure it was amazing at the time, but there's no disguising it's over 20 years old now. But then so is early Crue/Bon Jovi/etc.

On first listen, the quality appears to get better, the further into the compilation I get. Guess I'm a sucker for a more professional sound, as opposed to the raw-ness of the earlier stuff.

I did always enjoy Hanoi's ability to forget what they did. They attack so many bands for ripping them off, but I dare you to listen to the song "Mystery City" back to back with The Dead Boys "3rd Generation Nation" and tell me Hanoi was being original and NOT ripping somebody off. Or even The Dictators song (if I remember which one it is) "Two Tub Man" (or it is "Science Fiction Gone Too Far") and then give Hanoi's "Mental Beat" a listen. Hanoi ripped many, many, many people off, but they supposedly did it as a "tribute" type of thing. [img]graemlins/sure.gif[/img]

Actually, that's my least favorite one. "Tragedy" is awesome, but there are only a couple other decent songs on that one. It gets better, trust me, starting with Disc 2 (my favorite Hanoi album) I don't have this box set, but it looks like I might have to get it, since I have all this stuff, but only on cassette.
Keep letting us know what you think.

On disc 2, I like tracks 1,2, and 6-11.

Is this the one you have?

http://www.play.com/play247.asp?pa=p...D&title=602276

The 6 cd box set?
It looks like there is also a 4 cd box set, with the same name, that leaves off some gems like "Ice Cream Summer".

Sad thing is, I keep imagining Billy Idol is singing, lol

Yes, the 6 disc set is what I have.

Ok, disc 4 is best so far, but I'm gonna jump the live cd and go straight to disc 6 now, cos there's some tracks I recognise, and time's running out for me here, lol.

My favourite is the Bangkok shocks and Back to Mystery City, Oriental Beat would be great if somebody with ears/brains had produced it (the producers idea of records without any bassdrum is pretty bad).
And I still can?t listen to Two steps from the move. I just bought a remastered version of it, but it was just as boring as i remembered...I guess it has something to do with that it was almost only record that I listened for couple of years in late 80?s. And the fact that it?s too slick, too radiofriendly.

I haven?t got the boxset (as I have all those rec?s on lp/cd), but I?ve heard that the liner notes aren?t too good, at least they?ve listed wrong line-ups for certain records (few times) etc.

But still, 6 cd?s for 20 euros is a bargain.

The booklet was written by Classic Rock's Malcolm Dome, but I couldn't comment on the accuracy.