Retro Album Spotlight: Hanoi Rocks: Two Steps From the Move

I'll be honest, I had never heard of Hanoi Rocks until Motley Crue was involved. In a negative way.
Nicholas "Razzle" Dingley, Hanoi Rocks' drummer was killed in a car accident in which Motley Crue singer Vince Neil was the driver.

1984. That's when Two Steps From The Move was released. And that may have been the genesis of my love for albums and not songs.

Two Steps From The Move starts off with a pretty killer cover of Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Up Around The Bend".




And you know I like records you can listen to with little or no skips.  This is one of those albums. If Steel Panther does not cite Hanoi Rocks as an influence, I would be disappointed as "High School" is right up their alley.

"I Cant' Get It" is a knock on excess, even though 80s rock is  a case study in excess.




That is followed by "Underwater World". If Guns 'n Roses claims not to be influenced by this, they are lying.




Before power ballads were a thing, Hanoi Rocks was already doing them. "Don't You Ever Leave Me" is a perfect example.




And probably my favorite Hanoi Rocks song: " Million Miles Away".



Last video. "Boulevard of Broken Dreams".  There are three more songs on the record. If you've made it this far, then I don't need to go on.

New Video: Michael Monroe

Michael Monroe has released a new video from his latest album Blackout States for the song "Goin' Down With The Ship".

For anyone unfamiliar with Monroe, he was the vocalist/frontman for the Finnish glam band Hanoi Rocks form the early 80s. They were the predecessors to and influencers of many of the 80s glam bands like Motley Crue, RATT, etc.

The career of the band Hanoi Rocks was cut short due the death of drummer Nicholas "Razzle" Dingley in 1985.

Monroe never stopped making music though. Blackout States was released in October of last year.





And here is last video from Hanoi Rocks' album Two Steps From the Move for the song "Boulevard of Broken Dreams".