Kev Rowland
It doesn’t seem to matter who he has with him (although fellow ex-Hanoi Rocks bassist Sam Yaffa is a constant), Monroe will always continue to put out albums which sound just like Michael Monroe. I remember when Hanoi Rocks burst out of Finland and everyone was stunned by this band who looked and sounded as if they had just come off the Strip, and in many ways, he just has not changed. The title cut includes a guest appearance from none other than by Captain Sensible of The Damned. “It sometimes seems like everybody’s pissing on their own parade,” says Monroe,“whether that’s voting stupid people into power and then complaining about them or whatever, but I’m all about living with a P.M.A. – positive mental attitude – and I’ll never allow myself to be forced away from that.”
The only issue is that however he tries to push himself forward as an angry young man wearing make up and being glam to the max, he is now in his late Fifties and the anger and venom is no longer there. This is an album crying for an outside producer to maintain edge and lose the overarching smoothness which pervades every note. They may look fierce and menacing on the cover, but all of that is lost when one actually listens to the music. It is pleasant, and it is fun, but I must confess I would still much rather listen to ‘Bangkok Shocks, Saigon Shakes, Hanoi Rocks.’