Two Steps from the Move
Encyclopedia
Two Steps From The Move is the fourth studio album by the Finnish rock band
Hanoi Rocks
, released in 1984. The album was their last before disbanding after drummer Razzle's death in a car accident on December 8, 1984.
, but this was the band's first album on a major label, CBS
. Originally the album was supposed to be called Silver Missiles And Nightingales, but the name was changed at the last minute. Andy McCoy
and Nasty Suicide
later used the name as the name of their album
, when they worked under the moniker, "The Suicide Twins
".
The album's producer, Bob Ezrin
had previously worked with big-name artists like Pink Floyd
, Kiss
and Alice Cooper
, which was one of the main reasons Hanoi Rocks' wanted him to produce the album. Ezrin wanted the album to have a heavier atmosphere and darker guitar playing than the band's previous efforts, still keeping it melodic and punky, and he also worked on the writing of almost every song on the album. Ezrin knew that a more hard rock-style would sell more units in the US.
The album also features some of Hanoi Rocks' biggest hit's, like "Up Around The Bend
", "Underwater World", "Boulevard of Broken Dreams", "Million Miles Away" and "Don't You Ever Leave Me
". A music video was also made for "Up Around The Bend", which received much airplay on MTV
and it still remains one of the most expensive rock-music videos. A music video was also made for "Don't You Ever Leave Me", but the song differs from the album version as it's shorter, has a different guitar-solo and only features Razzle's spoken words in the middle. There was also supposed to be a title-track, but according to Razzle it was replaced with "Up Around the Bend". The song was later released on The Best of Hanoi Rocks
compilation, and appears as a bonus track on this albums reissue.
Two Steps from the Move was Hanoi Rocks' biggest hit when it was released, reaching number 28 on the UK Album Charts and the singles "Up Around The Bend" and "Don't You Ever Leave Me" also rose up the singles charts. The album also gave Hanoi Rocks their first gold record in Finland, but not until 1986 after the group had already disbanded. Still, Two Steps from the Move is often considered as a glam rock
/hard rock
classic. []http://r0ck0n.wordpress.com/2008/12/19/album-review-hanoi-rocks/
While touring to promote the album, Hanoi Rocks rose to fame in Japan
even more and had two sold-out concerts in New York City
. Following drummer Razzle
's death, the group canceled their concert dates and eventually broke up, while on the verge of an international breakthrough.
The line "Welcome to the Jungle
" featured in the song "Underwater World" arguably inspired the long time Hanoi Rocks-admirer Axl Rose
to write the eponymous song for Guns N' Roses
, due to its similar tone and similar use of fifths (power chords). http://www.heretodaygonetohell.com/news/shownews.php?newsid=964
The song "Futurama" was later covered by the band Bang Tango
.
) liked it. Then one time at rehearsal's we were jamming and i remembered it from Nasse's tape. We played it and it sounded fucking good. We figured, let's play it in the set. After a few gigs, we decided that we want it on an LP. The recordings for the album were already over, but I called Bob and he came over to London, where we recorded the song."
). Used to take 'em back in the day. It's about the illusions, with which it all starts, but eventually it leads to broken dreams, when you notice where using them has taken you."
pub-culture and "Boiler" is a pub-song like that. I wanted to capture that feeling that's in pubs. I like that song a fucking lot. The more I play it, the more it seems to fit."
Rock Band
Rock Band is a music video game developed by Harmonix Music Systems, published by MTV Games and Electronic Arts. It is the first title in the Rock Band series. The PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions were released in the United States on November 20, 2007, while the PlayStation 2 version was...
Hanoi Rocks
Hanoi Rocks
Hanoi Rocks was a Finnish rock band formed in 1979, whose most successful period came in the early 1980s. The band broke up in 1985 after the death of their drummer, Nicholas "Razzle" Dingley...
, released in 1984. The album was their last before disbanding after drummer Razzle's death in a car accident on December 8, 1984.
Album information
Before this album, all of Hanoi Rocks' albums were released on Lick Records and Johanna KustannusJohanna Kustannus
Johanna Kustannus Oy has been the name of two Finnish record labels. Atte Blom has been a founding member for both companies, and Pekka Aarnio has also been involved with both...
, but this was the band's first album on a major label, CBS
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
. Originally the album was supposed to be called Silver Missiles And Nightingales, but the name was changed at the last minute. Andy McCoy
Andy McCoy
Antti Hulkko , better known as Andy McCoy, is a Finnish musician. He is most famous for his role as the lead guitarist and main songwriter of Hanoi Rocks, but has also played with Iggy Pop....
and Nasty Suicide
Nasty Suicide
Nasty Suicide is the ex-rhythm and lead guitarist for Hanoi Rocks between 1979-1985. Hanoi Rocks was a Finnish rock band that combined elements of punk, glam rock, rock and roll, and blues. Before his tenure in Hanoi Rocks, Suicide played guitar in a Finnish punk band called Briard in the late...
later used the name as the name of their album
Silver Missiles and Nightingales
Silver Missiles And Nightingales is the first and only album by the collaboration between Andy McCoy and Nasty Suicide...
, when they worked under the moniker, "The Suicide Twins
The Suicide Twins
The Suicide Twins was a rock band, set up by Andy McCoy and Nasty Suicide after the break-up of Hanoi Rocks. The band managed to record only one album, Silver Missiles And Nightingales. This was done with acoustic guitars, with the two sharing vocal duties along with the late René Berg...
".
The album's producer, Bob Ezrin
Bob Ezrin
Robert Alan "Bob" Ezrin is a Canadian music producer and keyboardist, known for his work with artists including Alice Cooper, Kiss and Pink Floyd. He was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 2004.-Biography:...
had previously worked with big-name artists like Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd were an English rock band that achieved worldwide success with their progressive and psychedelic rock music. Their work is marked by the use of philosophical lyrics, sonic experimentation, innovative album art, and elaborate live shows. Pink Floyd are one of the most commercially...
, Kiss
KISS (band)
Kiss is an American rock band formed in New York City in January 1973. Well-known for its members' face paint and flamboyant stage outfits, the group rose to prominence in the mid to late 1970s on the basis of their elaborate live performances, which featured fire breathing, blood spitting,...
and Alice Cooper
Alice Cooper
Alice Cooper is an American rock singer, songwriter and musician whose career spans more than four decades...
, which was one of the main reasons Hanoi Rocks' wanted him to produce the album. Ezrin wanted the album to have a heavier atmosphere and darker guitar playing than the band's previous efforts, still keeping it melodic and punky, and he also worked on the writing of almost every song on the album. Ezrin knew that a more hard rock-style would sell more units in the US.
The album also features some of Hanoi Rocks' biggest hit's, like "Up Around The Bend
Up Around the Bend
"Up Around the Bend" is a song recorded by the American band, Creedence Clearwater Revival, and written by the band's lead singer, guitarist and songwriter, John Fogerty...
", "Underwater World", "Boulevard of Broken Dreams", "Million Miles Away" and "Don't You Ever Leave Me
Don't You Ever Leave Me
"Don't You Ever Leave Me" is a single by the Finnish rock and glam punk band Hanoi Rocks taken from their 1984 hit album Two Steps From The Move. The single was released by CBS....
". A music video was also made for "Up Around The Bend", which received much airplay on MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
and it still remains one of the most expensive rock-music videos. A music video was also made for "Don't You Ever Leave Me", but the song differs from the album version as it's shorter, has a different guitar-solo and only features Razzle's spoken words in the middle. There was also supposed to be a title-track, but according to Razzle it was replaced with "Up Around the Bend". The song was later released on The Best of Hanoi Rocks
The Best of Hanoi Rocks
The Best of Hanoi Rocks is the first compilation album by the Finnish rock band Hanoi Rocks. The record was released in 1985, the same year the original Hanoi Rocks broke-up...
compilation, and appears as a bonus track on this albums reissue.
Two Steps from the Move was Hanoi Rocks' biggest hit when it was released, reaching number 28 on the UK Album Charts and the singles "Up Around The Bend" and "Don't You Ever Leave Me" also rose up the singles charts. The album also gave Hanoi Rocks their first gold record in Finland, but not until 1986 after the group had already disbanded. Still, Two Steps from the Move is often considered as a glam rock
Glam rock
Glam rock is a style of rock and pop music that developed in the UK in the early 1970s, which was performed by singers and musicians who wore outrageous clothes, makeup and hairstyles, particularly platform-soled boots and glitter...
/hard rock
Hard rock
Hard rock is a loosely defined genre of rock music which has its earliest roots in mid-1960s garage rock, blues rock and psychedelic rock...
classic. []http://r0ck0n.wordpress.com/2008/12/19/album-review-hanoi-rocks/
While touring to promote the album, Hanoi Rocks rose to fame in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
even more and had two sold-out concerts in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. Following drummer Razzle
Razzle
Nicholas Dingley, alias Razzle , was the drummer of Hanoi Rocks from 1982 until his death.-Biography:...
's death, the group canceled their concert dates and eventually broke up, while on the verge of an international breakthrough.
The line "Welcome to the Jungle
Welcome to the Jungle
"Welcome to the Jungle" is a song by American rock band Guns N' Roses, featured on its 1987 debut studio album, Appetite for Destruction. It was released as the band's second single on October 3, 1987, and reached number #7 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and number #24 on the UK Singles Chart...
" featured in the song "Underwater World" arguably inspired the long time Hanoi Rocks-admirer Axl Rose
Axl Rose
W. Axl Rose is an American singer-songwriter and musician. He is the lead vocalist and only remaining original member of the hard rock band Guns N' Roses, with whom he enjoyed great success and recognition in the late 1980s and early 1990s, before disappearing from the public eye for several years...
to write the eponymous song for Guns N' Roses
Guns N' Roses
Guns N' Roses is an American hard rock band, formed in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, in 1985. The band has released six studio albums, three EPs, and one live album...
, due to its similar tone and similar use of fifths (power chords). http://www.heretodaygonetohell.com/news/shownews.php?newsid=964
The song "Futurama" was later covered by the band Bang Tango
Bang Tango
Bang Tango is an American funk-infused hard rock and glam metal band.-Biography:The band formed in 1987 in Los Angeles, California and were signed to MCA Records that same year. The band's line-up has fluctuated since its inception, with the one mainstay of the group being frontman Joe Lesté...
.
"Up Around the Bend"
"Nasse (Nasty SuicideNasty Suicide
Nasty Suicide is the ex-rhythm and lead guitarist for Hanoi Rocks between 1979-1985. Hanoi Rocks was a Finnish rock band that combined elements of punk, glam rock, rock and roll, and blues. Before his tenure in Hanoi Rocks, Suicide played guitar in a Finnish punk band called Briard in the late...
) liked it. Then one time at rehearsal's we were jamming and i remembered it from Nasse's tape. We played it and it sounded fucking good. We figured, let's play it in the set. After a few gigs, we decided that we want it on an LP. The recordings for the album were already over, but I called Bob and he came over to London, where we recorded the song."
"High School"
"Or like Quit High School, like it was originally called. We figured it was a little boring. What do you do? Quit high school just to queue in unemployment line. I didn't like it. It's about this dude, who thinks "why the hell should I sit in school and study, because the system is a piece of shit". There are some funny lines in that song. "I tell the little buggers what to wear, I show them how to sit and dye their hair. There will be no customes at our swimming pool. There will be no ugly girls in my high school". It's a fun song.""I Can't Get It"
"It had mine and Ian Hunter's lyrics originally. But in the end Bob looked through it and re-did the whole song. I put some stuff into the song that anybody can relate to. It has good ground, because it's one of the fact's of life. There's always things you can't have. But i figured it also has a kind of humorous side to it. Laughter trough tears. It's kinda bitter sweet.""Underwater World"
"What could I say about it? It's a cool song, it swings. I don't want to say anything about the lyrics. Everybody can have their own interpretation.""Don't You Ever Leave Me"
"Well yeah, we screwed up that song so bad back then, that we had to remake it now. As a song, I think it's fucking great and this version is what the original should have been. I think, that we might release it as a single later.""Million Miles Away"
"At first it was a love song to Anna (McCoy's then girlfriend), but it built stuff on top of it, - all of my love song have been made with Anna in mind - but like i said, it's grown from the original version. The song has gotten to flow in development, and doesn't feel so personal anymore.""Boulevard of Broken Dreams"
"The song is about junk (drugsDRUGS
Destroy Rebuild Until God Shows are an American post-hardcore band formed in 2010. They released their debut self-titled album on February 22, 2011.- Formation :...
). Used to take 'em back in the day. It's about the illusions, with which it all starts, but eventually it leads to broken dreams, when you notice where using them has taken you."
"Boiler"
"I really dig London's cockneyCockney
The term Cockney has both geographical and linguistic associations. Geographically and culturally, it often refers to working class Londoners, particularly those in the East End...
pub-culture and "Boiler" is a pub-song like that. I wanted to capture that feeling that's in pubs. I like that song a fucking lot. The more I play it, the more it seems to fit."
"Cutting Corners"
"Everyday life. We take shortcuts in everything. You get off easier, like in school when you cheat on a test by writing the answers on your hand. The same system continues through your life."Track listing
Personnel
- Michael MonroeMichael MonroeMatti Antero Kristian Fagerholm , best known by his stage name, Michael Monroe, is a Finnish rock musician, and multi-instrumentalist who rose to fame as the vocalist for the glam punk band Hanoi Rocks, and has served as the frontman for all-star side projects, such as Demolition 23...
– Lead Vocals & Saxophone - Andy McCoyAndy McCoyAntti Hulkko , better known as Andy McCoy, is a Finnish musician. He is most famous for his role as the lead guitarist and main songwriter of Hanoi Rocks, but has also played with Iggy Pop....
– Lead Guitar & Vocals - Nasty SuicideNasty SuicideNasty Suicide is the ex-rhythm and lead guitarist for Hanoi Rocks between 1979-1985. Hanoi Rocks was a Finnish rock band that combined elements of punk, glam rock, rock and roll, and blues. Before his tenure in Hanoi Rocks, Suicide played guitar in a Finnish punk band called Briard in the late...
– Guitars & Vocals - Sam Yaffa – Bass & Vocals
- Razzle – Drums & Vocals
Additional personnel
- Bob EzrinBob EzrinRobert Alan "Bob" Ezrin is a Canadian music producer and keyboardist, known for his work with artists including Alice Cooper, Kiss and Pink Floyd. He was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 2004.-Biography:...
- Keyboards, percussion & vocals - Jeni, Lisa, Juliet and Michelle - Cheerleaders (possibly backing vocals)
Production
- Producer: Bob EzrinBob EzrinRobert Alan "Bob" Ezrin is a Canadian music producer and keyboardist, known for his work with artists including Alice Cooper, Kiss and Pink Floyd. He was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 2004.-Biography:...
- Production co-ordinator: Jo Murray
- Equipment manager: Timo Kaltio
- Guitar technician: Kevin Bell
- Rhythm tracks recorded by: Jay Messina, Tom Swift & Ringo Hrycyna
- Vocals, guitars and rest recorded by: Rod O'Brien, Lenny DeRoseLenny DeRoseLenny DeRose is a veteran studio engineer and music producer who has been credited on several recordings dating back to the early 1980s.As an engineer, he has been credited for his work on several motion picture soundtracks, including Naked in New York, 9½ Weeks, among others...
and Ringo Hrycyna - Remixed by Bob Ezrin, Rod O'Brien, Lenny DeRose & Ringo Hrycyna
- "Up Around the Bend" recorded and remixed by David TickleDavid TickleDavid Tickle is a British record producer and engineer. As a producer, he is most noted for his work with Split Enz, and in Canada, for his mid-80s work with Red Rider, Platinum Blonde and Gowan...
Album
| Year | Chart | Peak |
|---|---|---|
| 1984 | UK Albums Chart UK Albums Chart The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart... |
28 |
| 1984 | Japanese Albums Chart | 49 |
Singles
| Year | Single | Chart | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | "Up Around The Bend" | ||
| UK Singles Chart UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
61 | ||
| 1984 | "Underwater World" | ||
| UK Singles Chart | 85 | ||
| 1984 | "Don't You Ever Leave Me" | ||
| UK Singles Chart | 92 | ||
| Polish Singles Chart | 6 |