MICHAEL MONROE – The Best +4 [digitally remastered] (2017)

In the leather-bound history of heartfelt rock ‘n’ roll, not only will MICHAEL MONROE have at least one chapter all to himself but his name will be colorfully threaded throughout, such has been his impact, his appeal, and his ongoing never-surrender story; a powerful, inspirational tale told in detail on “The Best” — the first official collection of his (ongoing) solo musical exploits, featuring prime tracks from 1987 right up to 2017.

Icon, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, media personality, flamboyant force of nature, and one of rock’s most celebrated and uber-kinetic frontmen, Monroe has been a name and a (much-photographed) face on the scene since 1979, when he played a central role in the formation of Hanoi Rocks — the legendary Finnish glam heroes who came within a rolling paper’s width of taking the world by glitter-storm.

Were it not for cruel and fickle fate, Hanoi Rocks — who disbanded for the first time in 1985, then finally in 2009 — might have ended up as an arena act.
But whatever obstacles were thrust in their path, they were never less than the real deal, and major names like Guns N’ Roses were ready to acknowledge their influence and their worth.
GN’R would go on to issue the European Hanoi Rocks catalogue in the U.S. via their Uzi Suicide imprint.

Over his three-decades-plus in the spotlight, Monroe has befriended and performed with a whole host of artists and acts, including the aforementioned Guns N’ Roses and Slash; Lemmy, Alice Cooper, Aerosmith, etc.
The frontman has shared stages and studios with them all, but since that first break-up of Hanoi Rocks in the mid-’80s, he’s essentially been pursuing his own path, and it’s this solo activity that forms the basis of “The Best”.

As well as key, high-profile numbers such as ‘Dead, Jail Or Rock ‘N’ Roll’ (from second solo album, 1989’s Not Fakin’ It, the promo clip for which features an onstage cameo from Axl Rose) and ’78’ (from 2011’s Sensory Overdrive, voted “Album of the Year” by Classic Rock magazine), this two-CD set also showcases some “from the vaults” moments for collectors and completists, with bonus tracks and previously unreleased songs strategically placed to make the journey both scenic and surprising.

There’s a couple of extra special tracks like ‘It’s A Lie’, sung as a duet with Stiv Bators (Lords Of The New Church) back in 1985, and a never-before-released second version of the Steppenwolf cover ‘Magic Carpet Ride’, featuring Slash, left over from the ‘Coneheads’ soundtrack project that Slash did with me in 1993.

Two other previously unreleased songs are ‘Fist Fulla Dynamite’ and ‘Simpletown’, recorded during the Blackout States album sessions; plus there’s the new single ‘One Foot Outta The Grave’ — an anthem of pure defiance — to bring things nicely up to date, showing the artist’s continued commitment to a genre.

Michael Monroe’s “The Best” is almost two hours’ worth of career-spanning music, remastered by Svante Forsbäck (Wig Wam) and sequenced by the great man himself.
Highly Recommended

CD 1:
01. Dead Jail Or Rock N Roll
02. Man With No Eyes
03. It’s A Lie (feat. Stiv Bators)
04. Nights Are So Long
05. Can’t Go Home Again
06. Nothin’s Alright
07. Hammersmith Palais
08. You Crucified Me
09. Deadtime Stories
10. Where’s The Fire John?
11. Make It Go Away
12. Life Gets You Dirty
13. Self Destruction Blues
14. Stranded
15. Telephone Bill’s All Mine

CD 2:
01. Trick Of The Wrist
02. ’78
03. All You Need
04. Ballad Of The Lower East Side
05. Eighteen Angels
06. Stained Glass Heart
07. Old King’s Road
08. Goin’ Down With The Ship
09. Keep Your Eye On You
10. One Foot Outta The Grave [new track 2017] *
11. Fist Fulla Dynamite *
12. Simpletown *
13. Get On
14. Magic Carpet Ride (feat. Slash) *

* previously unreleased

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