Michael Monroe
Whatcha Want

The broken fairy tale of Hanoi Rocks is well-known, both the cursed accident caused by Mötley Crüe singer Vince Neil that led to the death of drummer Razzle, and the subsequent breakup in 1985, with various band members taking different, more or less tortuous paths.

Michael Monroe, for many, including myself, has embodied and still embodies the quintessential '80s rock frontman. A charismatic loser, brimming with just the right amount of attitude.

Each of his albums always has something to say, whether in his solo records or in various ad-hoc projects (see Demolition 23), or when, at the start of the century, he came back to release three works with the revived Hanoi Rocks.

"Whatcha Want" is his fifth album, the third in just three years following a discographic silence that spanned the entire '90s.

Here the vast majority of the songs are covers, usually less famous, which the singer wears perfectly, often imbuing them with a shiny patina thanks to his voice with its thousand shades and tones.

In the few original tracks, the singer manages, albeit not always, to hit the mark, perhaps playing it safe as in "Stranded" or "Shattered Smile", which could have belonged to the Hanoi Rocks repertoire.

In the covers, he takes more risks, for example when he pulls "Telephone Bill's All Mine" out of the hat, a track by Finnish artist Dave Lindholm, presented in the style of '80s rock ballads.

Among them all, the two most globally known stand out: "What Love Is" by the Dead Boys, by his late friend Stiv Bators, often honored in the Finnish singer's records and here ready to spew all of Monroe and company's punk attitude; and "Hey, That's No Way To Say Goodbye" by Leonard Cohen, with Michael Monroe's heartfelt interpretation (at the time recently widowed by his wife Jude Wilder) guiding the listener to the close of the album.