''Back to Mystery City'' is the fourth

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

by the Finnish

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

band

Hanoi Rocks Hanoi Rocks were a Finnish Rock music, rock band formed in 1979. They were the first Finnish band to chart in the UK and they were also popular in Japan. By 1984, the band was considered to be on the verge of an international breakthrough when ...

, released in 1983. It was produced by ex- Mott the Hoople members

Dale Griffin Terence Dale "Buffin" Griffin (24 October 1948 – 17 January 2016) was an English drummer and a founding member of 1970s rock band Mott the Hoople. Later, he worked as a producer, and produced many of the BBC Radio 1 John Peel sessions from ...

and Pete "Overend" Watts, and was the first with Razzle on drums. Besides Hanoi Rocks, the album also features keyboardist

Morgan Fisher Stephen Morgan Fisher (born 1 January 1950) is an English keyboard player and composer, and is most known as a member of Mott the Hoople in the early 1970s. However, his career has covered a wide range of musical activities, and he is still ac ...

, and

Miriam Stockley Miriam Arlene Stockley (born 15 April 1962) is a South African singer. She was born in Johannesburg, and her work is influenced by the Music of Africa, African music of her home country. Her distinctive ''vocal warm up#Vocalise, vocalise'' style ...

on backing vocals, who had also sung with

Pink Floyd Pink Floyd are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic music, psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experiments ...

Song information

;"Strange Boys Play Weird Openings" An acoustic intro that

Andy McCoy Antti Hulkko (born 11 October 1962), better known as Andy McCoy, is a Finnish musician. He is best known for his role as the lead guitarist and main songwriter of the rock music, rock band Hanoi Rocks, but has also played with Iggy Pop and a vari ...

came-up with in the studio. ;"Malibu Beach Nightmare" McCoy wrote song at home while smoking

hashish Hashish (; ), usually abbreviated as hash, is a Compression (physics), compressed form of resin (trichomes) derived from the cannabis flowers. European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction, Lisbon, As a Psychoactive drug, psychoactive ...

. The song was originally recorded in 1981 as a calypso version titled "Malibu Nightmare". This version was just made as a joke but it was re-recorded for this album, as a more serious rock song. The song was also released as a single. ;"Mental Beat" The song is about speed, and was inspired by

Michael Monroe Matti Antero Kristian Fagerholm (born 17 June 1962), better known by his stage name Michael Monroe, is a Finnish rock musician who rose to fame as the vocalist and saxophonist for the glam punk band Hanoi Rocks and has served as the frontman ...

's wild behavior as a child. This was also the only song that (according to Pete Watts) drummer Razzle had a hard time recording. ;"Tooting Bec Wreck" This song was inspired by a

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

apartment full of rats, in

Tooting Bec Tooting Bec is in the London Borough of Wandsworth, south London, England. History Tooting Bec appears in Domesday Book of 1086 as "Totinges". It was held partly by St Mary de Bec-Hellouin Abbey and partly by Westminster Abbey. Its domesday asse ...

, where Hanoi Rocks lived. ;"Until I Get You" Andy McCoy wrote this song at the band's manager Seppo Vesterinen's house in

Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...

. McCoy hated the song but Razzle loved it, and wanted it on their next record. Ultimately, McCoy also fell in love with the song. The song is also an example of Hanoi Rocks' melodic glam rock-style. The arrangement for the song was inspired by

Alice Cooper Vincent Damon Furnier (born February 4, 1948), known by his stage name Alice Cooper, is an American rock singer and songwriter whose career spans sixty years. With a raspy voice and a stage show that features numerous props and stage illusion ...

's "

I'm Eighteen "I'm Eighteen", or simply "Eighteen", is a song by American rock band Alice Cooper, first released as a single in November 1970 backed with "Is It My Body". It was the band's first top-forty success—peaking at number 21—and convinced Warne ...

L.A. Guns L.A. Guns are an American hard rock band from Los Angeles, formed in 1983. The lineup currently consists of Tracii Guns (lead guitar), Phil Lewis (musician), Phil Lewis (lead vocals), Ace Von Johnson (rhythm guitar, backing vocals), Johnny Mar ...

covered the song on their 2004 album ''

Rips the Covers Off ''Rips the Covers Off'', some copies of which are titled ''Rips Off the Covers'', is an album by Phil Lewis' version of L.A. Guns, their first with guitarist Stacey Blades. The studio portion of the album (songs 1-11) consists of cover songs ...

''. ;"Sailing Down the Tears" Written in 10 minutes, but the band still loved the song. The song was written as a mid-tempo, standard 70's rock-, pop-song. ;"Lick Summer Love" This song sparked some controversy when it was released. McCoy wrote the song when he was 17 years old. The song deals with making love and having

oral sex Oral sex, sometimes referred to as oral intercourse, is sexual activity involving the stimulation of the genitalia of a person by another person using the mouth (including the lips, tongue, or teeth). Cunnilingus is oral sex performed on the vu ...

with his girlfriend. Monroe has since said that he thinks the song is an "awful slime-ball", and that he hated the lyrics. ;"Beating Gets Faster" A love-song written by Monroe and McCoy. ;"Ice Cream Summer" A song dealing with a summer romance. ;"Back to Mystery City" At the time of its release, the song was very popular, but it has since been overshadowed by the many other Hanoi Rocks' hits. Andy McCoy wrote the song about Hanoi Rocks' adventures in the Far-East, the band's fans and the buzz that was also surrounding the band in 1983. The song is also composed in the same style as

Tommy James and the Shondells Tommy James and the Shondells is an American rock band formed in Niles, Michigan, in 1964. The band has had two No. 1 singles in the U.S.: " Hanky Panky" (1966), the band's only RIAA Certified Gold record, and "Crimson and Clover" (1969). The ...

' song "

Mony Mony "Mony Mony" is a song by American pop rock band Tommy James and the Shondells, released in 1968 as the second single from the album of the same name. It reached No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart and No. 3 in the U.S. Written by Bobby Bloom, Ritc ...

". The song's title was inspired by the

club Mystery City.

Critical reception

In a contemporary review for ''

The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture publication based in Greenwich Village, New York City, known for being the country's first Alternative newspaper, alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf (publisher), Dan Wolf, ...

'', music critic

Robert Christgau Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and later became a ...

said that Monroe and McCoy lack hooks, are backed by "cute if over-calculated" dual guitar playing, and "yowl English-language lyrics that must impress Finns more than native speakers like myself." In 2005, ''Back to Mystery City'' was ranked number 293 in ''

Rock Hard Rock Hard may refer to: * "Rock Hard" (song), a 1984 song by the Beastie Boys * ''Rock Hard'', a 1980 album by Suzi Quatro * ''Rock Hard'' (magazine), a German music magazine ** Rock Hard Festival, a heavy metal festival sponsored by the above maga ...

'' magazine's book ''The 500 Greatest Rock & Metal Albums of All Time''. ''Back to Mystery City'' is also featured in the book ''

1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die ''1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die'' is a musical reference book first published in 2005 by Universe Publishing. Part of the ''1001 Before You Die'' series, it compiles writings and information on albums chosen by a panel of music criti ...

''.

Track listing

Personnel

;Hanoi Rocks *

–

lead vocals The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of the ...

saxophone The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to p ...

harmonica The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, classical music, jazz, country, and rock. The many types of harmonica incl ...

–

lead guitar Lead guitar (also known as solo guitar) is a musical part for a guitar in which the guitarist plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs and chords within a song structure. The lead is the featur ...

Nasty Suicide Nasty Suicide (born Jan-Markus Stenfors on 27 February 1963) is a Finnish musician. He is most famous for being one of the founding members of Hanoi Rocks, the group's rhythm guitarist between 1979 and 1985. Hanoi Rocks was a Finnish rock band ...

–

rhythm guitar In music performances, rhythm guitar is a guitar technique and role that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse (music), pulse in conjunction with other instruments from the rhythm section (e.g., d ...

Sam Yaffa Sami Yaffa (born Sami Lauri Takamäki; 4 September 1963) is a Finnish bass guitarist best known for his work in New York Dolls, Joan Jett & the Blackhearts, Pelle Miljoona Oy, Michael Monroe's bands, and Hanoi Rocks. He is currently the bassis ...

–

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...

* Razzle –

drums The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...

;Additional personnel *

– keyboards *

–

backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are us ...

Production

Production personnel

* Producers: Dale Griffin and Pete "Overend" Watts * Engineer: Andy Lyden * Arrangers: Michael Monroe and Andy McCoy

Other personnel

* Cover photo: Fin Costello * Layout: Hilary Goodwright

Remastering personnel

* Digitally remastered: Mika Jussila * Reissue sleeve and booklet: Jari Mattila

Charts

References

{{Authority control Hanoi Rocks albums 1983 albums