Back to the Mystery City

Back to the Mystery City

Track Listings

1. Strange Boys Play Weird Openings

2. Malibu Beach Nightmare

3. Mental Beat

4. Tooting Bec Wreck

5. Until I Get You

6. Sailing Down the Tears

7. Lick Summer Love

8. Beating Gets Faster

9. Ice Cream Summer

10. Back to Mystery City

Tracks:

Ciribiribin
The Firefly: Giannina mia
The Firefly: The Donkey Serenade
Naughty Marietta: Ah! Sweet Mystery Of Life
Naughty Marietta: Italian Street Song
New Moon: Lover Come Back To Me
New Moon: One Kiss
Smilin' Through: Land Of Hope And Glory
Rose Marie: Indian Love Call
San Francisco
The Holy City
Love Parade: March Of The Grenadiers
Monte Carlo: Beyond The Blue Horizon
The Fortune Teller: Romany Life
The Vagabond King: Only A Rose
Les filles de Cadiz
Ave Maria
Songs My Mother Taught Me
Romeo et Juliette: Je veux vivre dans ce reve
Faust: Il etait un roi de Thule
Faust: Air des bijoux
Louise: Depuis le jour

Customer Reviews:

Queen of Songs.......2007-07-29

I received this CD 'San Fracisco and other Jeanette MacDonald Favorites' a few days ago and have listened to it carefully several times. She is about a generation before my time; so far I have seen only two pictures of her: 'San Francisco' and 'The Merry Widow'. In San Francisco, I discovered she can also sing opera successfully to some degree As for The Merry Widow, I much prefer the later version performed by Lana Turner and Fernando Lamas although Turner didn't sing by herself in the film and Lamas is a lot more convincing than Maurice Chevalier as a Casanova type beau; to be truthful, I can't stand grandpa Chevalier. I beleive I also saw another of her movie which she played quite late in her career because she played mother to Jane Powell, this one I saw in the theater in my teenage days, for your information, I saw almost every MGM musicals in those heyday years. Unfortunately though, I don't quite remember the story of it, but I do remember vaguely that MacDonald sang Un bel di from Puccini's Madama Butterfly and when she sang she formed her mouth so beautifully that one could forget it if she didn't sing well.

One thing I can assert with confidence is that MacDonald is a very beautiful lady oozes with glamour, and is very classy. Classiness was a very prominent and widespread quality of female stars in that era, Lana Turner who played the wealthy merry widow was just one case. If I were to make a list it would occupy a full page, nowadays, it would be impossible to name just three or four female stars with class, no offense, please. Now let me come back to the main subject that is MacDonald's art of singing. Well, she certainly has good vocal technigue, her high note is firm to the very top and she is able to sustain it for a considerable duration as she has displayed quite often in this disc. The voice itself is delicate and sweet, just like her person. However, she tends to sing with monotone which make her singing sounds bland, like no. 4, Ah! Sweet Mystery of Life, may be if she move a notch down the scale it would sound more pleasant. Songs My Mother Taught Me is just about the only song she successfully sings with feelings. Here, I would like to point out that a few songs are worth repeated listenings: Ciribiribin, The Donkey Serenade, Italian Street Song, and of course, Songs My Mother Taught Me.
Songs no. 16 to 22, I'm sorry to say that they are not up to my standard, I have been listening to opera singing for over thirty years you know. I must mention here that MacDonald's French seems very good, I don't know French though, nevertheless, I can tell just by listening

Queen of Songs is a title crowned her by the Chinese people in that time, she was indeed highly esteemed.

Jeanette MacDonald Favorites.......2007-05-13

This CD is an incredible testimony and celebration of an American Master Singer.
A must have for all. An introduction to quality and good taste for a new generation of music lovers.

A MUST for any Jeanette fan!.......2006-04-25

This CD is a gem! The songs included on it are beautiful and show off MacDonald's incredible voice. The best part of this CD, however, is the sound quality. Unlike many of her other recordings, and those featuring her with frequent costar Nelson Eddy, the sound on this CD is pristine, and you can barely tell the recordings are 50+ years old!

Jeanette MacDonald Was Unique.......2001-03-12

It really doesn't matter whether or not she could sing; Jeanette MacDonald was unique. On these old recordings, her voice sounds thin and watery, and contemporary tastes do not respond so readily to the sentimentality and predictability of her movies. But she was a gracious lady and glittering presence on the silver screen. These film songs do suggest the excitement she generated when her movies first appeared. And how many truly major singers she inspired! Joan Sutherland recalled meeting MacDonald a few years before her death. Said Sutherland: "I still had stars in my eyes."

An excellent demonstration of Jeanette MacDonald's artistry.......1998-12-18

The highlights of this Jeanette MacDonald CD include her excellent singing of Delibes' "Les Filles de Cadiz," the Bach-Gounod "Ave Maria," and the "Jewel Song" from "Faust." A much-underrated artist, MacDonald proves here that she can handle a wide range of music, from concert songs and opera arias to familiar tunes from her operetta films. Particularly fine are her renditions of "Only a Rose," and Herbert's "Romany Life" (in spite of an amateurish male chorus). Highly recommended not only as a tribute to filmdom's first lady of song, but also to listeners who enjoy both opera and musical comedy.

Average customer rating:

Spectacular
Back To Mystery City: strange boys
Inept and stupid
We Can Only Wonder
GUNS N WHO?

Back to the Mystery City
Hanoi Rocks
Manufacturer: Castle
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

General | Rock | Styles | Music

General | Hard Rock & Metal | Styles | Music

Pop Metal | Hard Rock & Metal | Styles | Music

Hard Rock | Hard Rock & Metal | Styles | Music

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music

Bangkok Shocks, Saigon Shakes, Hanoi Rocks
Oriental Beat
Two Steps from the Move
Self Destruction Blues
All Those Wasted Years

ASIN: B000057DY0
Release Date: 2001-05-08

Tracks:

Strange Boys Play Weird Openings
Malibu Beach Nightmare
Mental Beat
Tooting Bec Wreck
Until I Get You
Sailing Down the Tears
Lick Summer Love
Beating Gets Faster
Ice Cream Summer
Back to Mystery City

Album Description

UK reissue of the glam inspired rock act's 1983 album, fully remastered from original tapes. Includes new sleeve notes and fully annotated track listings. Currently out-of-print in the U.S.. Tracks include 'Malibu Beach Nightmare' & 'Mental Beat'. Standard jewel case. 2001 release.

Customer Reviews:

Spectacular.......2006-04-30

A mixture of blues, punk, and old school rock n roll come together in this great album. Songs that stand out are the classics: malibu beach nightmare, mental beat, tooting bec wreck, and until i get you. Altough every song is catchy, upbeat and memorable just like all of Hanoi Rock's music. In my opinion, this band is highly underrated and to the major population, unknown. It's suprising that bands like the New York Dolls and Guns N Roses are more recognized even though Hanoi Rocks is far superior to both. Don't let this album pass you by.

Back To Mystery City: strange boys.......2005-10-21

boiled down to it's bare form, Hanoi Rocks is a hard rock band...pure and simple. from their blues-based song structures to their street tough attitude, this is rock and roll in it's most primitive form. the refining touch is added in liberal doses, as these Finnish boys digested the influence of glam rock, punk, and reggae and redirected it within their music to create some of best written and classic songs ever! how can anyone listen to cuts like the title track to this album and not recognize the genius at work here? these tunes are packed and overflowing with brilliant melodies, ultra catchy hooks, and riffs galore. just in case you might have not known, Hanoi Rocks was a direct influence on many (if not all) of the Los Angeles hair rockers from the 80's and 90's...Poison, Motley Crue, Guns N' Roses. but please don't hold those band names as reference points to the mighty Hanoi Rocks. because the Rocks had more class and firepower (not too mention a streak of weirdness and an embraceable sense of freakishness that their Los Angeles counterparts, due to unbreakable egos, would never be able to charm out of themselves) than all of those bands combined. this album contains classics such as the drugged and dazed "Tooting Bec Wreck" which stumbles and crawls along with it's howling melody and was a big live favorite back in the day. and the shimmering pop rock of "Until I Get You" is a definite standout on this record. the weirdness creeps in right from the beginning with the gentle folk strum of "Strange Boys Play Weird Openings." when is the last time you heard nature sounds of birds chirping and flowing streams when you pushed play on one of your other rock records? haha...like i said before, pure genius at work. a recommended album. a recommended band!

Inept and stupid.......2005-08-02

One of the worst albums I've ever heard. These guys start not one but two songs with the drumbeat from the song Saturday Night by the awful, awful band Bay City Rollers. S-A, T-U-R, D-A-Y, Night! The playing is junior high school inept, the singing just passable. The songwriting might be impressive if it had been done by retards or monkeys, otherwise it just doesn't cut it. I can't imagine what powerfully halucinogenic drug the other reviewers were smoking, but if it can make someone find any value in this amateurish mess of an album then I want some too. All the talent is in the singers hair. Seriously, these guys make the New York Dolls look like Berklee grads. Get any of their other albums before this one. Laughable.

We Can Only Wonder.......2002-09-26

In light of the fact that it's become de rigueur over the past several years to routinely dismiss hair spray metal as a minor footnote in the history of popular music, and despite the fact that many friends are probably going to turn up their noses at me like a soiled diaper, I have to cop to actually liking some of the stuff. If you drill down through groups of goofballs like Tora Tora Tora, Britny Fox, and Pretty Boy Floyd, there are some real treasures out there lurking beneath the hookeresque garb and ozone layer-depleting styling aids (see Faster Pussycat, Dogs D'Amour, London Quireboys). From the git go, there's more to Finland's Hanoi Rocks, and its proto-glam magnum opus "Back To Mystery City," than meets the eyeliner. Visually, the band took its cues from the New York Dolls but musically they eschewed flashy guitar licks, macho posturing, and dissing the competition in favor of saxophones, a revved-up, punky, twin-guitar attack, and hook-driven songwriting. If you're looking for a touchstone, think of them as the link between the Dolls and later pretenders like Motley Crue, Guns N'Roses, and Poison. In between the sound collage of bells, whistles, and blips that is "Strange Boys Play Weird Openings" and the album-ending title track, what the listener bears witness to is an infectious mix of lewd blues, punky pop attitude, and - always a big plus at Casa El Paull - big, soaring, sing-along choruses. "Back To Mystery City" documents a group of scruffy, street urchins on the brink of greatness, but our story has no happy ending, thanks to the drunken shenanigans of Vince Neil. Go figure...

GUNS N WHO?.......2002-04-10

ah, Hanoi Rocks... a classic band who will probably never get the credit they deserve. these guys were around before all the Sunset Strip glam bands and got only a fraction of the attention. this album is a classic from them with one great song after another. i wont even bother highlighting any because not one is a dud! the only problem i have with this cd is that the production could've used a bit more punch to it, but that aside, the songwriting is top notch rocknroll and this is a top notch album! highly recommended!

Average customer rating:

Much Better Production
GLAM AT ITS BEST
The best Rock n roll Band I ve ever heard
The only hair band worth listening to
pure and simple rock 'n' roll

Back to the Mystery City
Hanoi Rocks
Manufacturer: Geffen Gold Line Sp.
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Rock | Styles | Music

General | Hard Rock & Metal | Styles | Music

Pop Metal | Hard Rock & Metal | Styles | Music

Hard Rock | Hard Rock & Metal | Styles | Music

Oriental Beat
Bangkok Shocks, Saigon Shakes, Hanoi Rocks
Self Destruction Blues
All Those Wasted Years
The House of Dolls

ASIN: B000000OZF
Release Date: 1996-03-19

Tracks:

Strange Boys Play Weird Openings
Malibu Beach Nightmare
Mental Beat
Tooting Bec Wreck
Until I Get You
Sailing Down The Tears
Lick Summer Love
Beating Gets Faster
Ice Cream Summer
Back To Mystery City

Customer Reviews:

Much Better Production.......2005-02-25

More dynamic, better structured, better produced, better everything...well, except for the masterpiece that followed, which was Two Steps. Mott The Hoople (kinda) produced this. I love Tooting Bec Wreck on this...and why they don't do this song is beyong me, well Michael did in Demolition 23.

Flawless really.

GLAM AT ITS BEST.......2005-02-22

I HAVE LOVED HANOI ROCKS FOR 20 YEARS. THIS IS ONE OF THEIR BEST ALBUMS. MIKE MONROE HAS THE VOICE OF A GOD, AND ANDY IS A GENIUS. THE ONLY ALBUM THAT EXCEEDS THIS ONE IS:SELF DESTRUCTION BLUES!!!!

The best Rock n roll Band I ve ever heard.......1999-11-08

this album is a great from begining to end. Its also one of their best sounding albums, the production is alot better than their other albums. This should be the Rock guide line for bands today. Powerful stuff for true ears

The only hair band worth listening to.......1999-11-03

There was a period comprising a big chunk of the 80's during which you had to have a perm and pout to be in a popular rock band, and almost all of those bands were the worst kind of junk - Ratt, Motley Crue, Bon Jovi, Poison, Guns N Roses. Los Angeles and Hollywood spewed them out by the dozen. Kind of funny to look back on.

But then there's Hanoi Rocks amidst all of that. A hairdo band from Finland! What's up with that? The reality is that they were a huge influence on many of those LA bands, but they couldn't have been more different in their own influences, attitude, and talent.

Hanoi Rocks sprang from the same vein that gave us The Stooges, The New York Dolls, and much of the early glam, but they came along about ten years too late. LA knew exactly what to do with their look, but never could quite make out their sound which is essentially bouncy, fun, intelligent, noisy power pop.

Back To Mystery City is definitely one of the better albums, but I think Self-Destruction Blues and Bangkok Shocks, Saigon Shakes, Hanoi Rocks are better. Those seem to be out of print. Avoid Two Steps from the Move. That was an ill fated attempt to fit into the current American hard rock mold.

pure and simple rock 'n' roll.......1999-07-21

Probably the best band in Rock 'n' Roll, get it and start dancing..

Average customer rating:

The World's Greatest Tenors

Manufacturer: Eagle
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Waltzes | Ballets & Dances | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

Baroque (c.1600-1750) | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Romantic (c.1820-1910) | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

French | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

German | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Italian | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Masses | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Requiems | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

General | Soundtracks | Styles | Music

Classical | Box Sets | Stores | Music
ASIN: B000001YBQ
Release Date: 1996-04-23

Average customer rating:

Much Better Production
GLAM AT ITS BEST
The best Rock n roll Band I ve ever heard
The only hair band worth listening to
pure and simple rock 'n' roll

Back to the Mystery City
Hanoi Rocks
Manufacturer: Castle Music UK
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Rock | Styles | Music

General | Hard Rock & Metal | Styles | Music

Pop Metal | Hard Rock & Metal | Styles | Music

Hard Rock | Hard Rock & Metal | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Oriental Beat
Bangkok Shocks, Saigon Shakes, Hanoi Rocks
Self Destruction Blues
All Those Wasted Years
The House of Dolls

ASIN: B000024HC5
Release Date: 1996-03-10

Tracks:

Strange Boys Play Weird Openings
Malibu Beach Nightmare
Mental Beat
Tooting Bec Wreck
Until I Get You
Sailing Down the Tears
Lick Summer Love
Beating Gets Faster
Ice Cream Summer
Back to Mystery City

Customer Reviews:

Much Better Production.......2005-02-25

Flawless really.

GLAM AT ITS BEST.......2005-02-22

I HAVE LOVED HANOI ROCKS FOR 20 YEARS. THIS IS ONE OF THEIR BEST ALBUMS. MIKE MONROE HAS THE VOICE OF A GOD, AND ANDY IS A GENIUS. THE ONLY ALBUM THAT EXCEEDS THIS ONE IS:SELF DESTRUCTION BLUES!!!!

The best Rock n roll Band I ve ever heard.......1999-11-08

The only hair band worth listening to.......1999-11-03

pure and simple rock 'n' roll.......1999-07-21

Probably the best band in Rock 'n' Roll, get it and start dancing..

Average customer rating:

Back to the Mystery City
Hanoi Rocks
Manufacturer: Jvc Japan
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Rock | Styles | Music

General | Hard Rock & Metal | Styles | Music

Pop Metal | Hard Rock & Metal | Styles | Music

Hard Rock | Hard Rock & Metal | Styles | Music

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music

Rock | Imports | Stores | Music
ASIN: B000E1KO1A
Release Date: 2006-03-24

Tracks:

Strange Boys Play Weird Openings
Malibu Beach Nightmare
Mental Beat
Tooting Bec Wreck
Until I Get You
Sailing Down the Tears
Lick Summer Love
Beating Gets Faster
Ice Cream Summer
Back to Mystery City

Album Description

Limited edition Japanese pressing is part of a cardboard miniature LP sleeve replica series campaign from Hanoi Rocks. Victor. 2006.

Album Details

Japanese Limited Edition Issue of the Album Classic in a Deluxe, Miniaturized LP Sleeve Replica of the Original Vinyl Album Artwork.

Average customer rating:

Back to Mystery City
Hanoi Rocks
Manufacturer: Love
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Rock | Styles | Music
ASIN: B0009HL8IC
Release Date: 2007-07-27

Average customer rating:

Back to Mystery City
Hanoi Rocks
Manufacturer: Wea Corp
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD
ASIN: B00000DT3G
Release Date: 1989-10-24

Average customer rating:

Back To Mystery City
Hanoi Rocks
Manufacturer: Castle
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Hard Rock & Metal | Styles | Music

Pop Metal | Hard Rock & Metal | Styles | Music

Hard Rock | Hard Rock & Metal | Styles | Music
ASIN: B000LWNB26

Average customer rating:

Back to Mystery City
Hanoi Rocks
Manufacturer: Castle Music (windsong)
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Hard Rock & Metal | Styles | Music

Pop Metal | Hard Rock & Metal | Styles | Music

Hard Rock | Hard Rock & Metal | Styles | Music
ASIN: B0002B6MAY
Release Date: 2001-05-08

Music Info: