Street Poetry

Album Review

There may only be two members from Hanoi Rocks' classic days left in attendance — singer Michael Monroe and guitarist Andy McCoy — but the early 21st century version of the group has no problem replicating its trademark glam-punk. Case in point, 2007's Street Poetry. With countless modern-day rock bands smoothing out all the rough edges, it's good to know that you can count on Hanoi Rocks to leave it all rough and raw. And while there may be a sudden uprising of bands that attempt to ape Hanoi Rocks' gutter-punk style, there's nothing like the originators, as evidenced by such rocking standouts as "Hypermobile," "Highwired," "Teenage Revolution," and the melodic title track. With only two of the original Hanoi Rockers creating this enjoyable of a racket, it's safe to say that if the definitive 1984 line-up had stayed together, they could have become a household name like Mötley Crüe and Guns N' Roses.