Takin' A Ride

So it’s time for another Michael Monroe solo album. This one is called “Outerstellar”. He’s been on such a tear the past 15 years. It’s really hard for me to rank his solo albums, as I think they’re all excellent. However, some are better than others, and this is one of the better ones. Michael sings with an urgency that a lot of singers just don’t have. And the songs are pretty spectacular. Catchy, well-crafted and yeah, if radio airplay was still a thing, you could say that a lot of them should be on the radio. However, he’s not afraid to swear in them, thus sabotaging any airplay they could get (again, if that actually was a thing anymore). I said the exact same thing in Flipside when I reviewed Green Day’s “Dookie” album, and I was wrong about that. They totally exploded. And in a just world, Michael Monroe would be just as big and successful.

Although Hanoi Rocks was a great band, I’m of the radical opinion that Michael Monroe’s solo albums are even better. Of course Michael will always have to live in the shadow of that legendary band, and if Hanoi didn’t exist, neither would this band exist, as all of the members were also inspired by Hanoi Rocks. But Michael Monroe is one of those artists who just get better and better. And he has some great help, mainly Steve Conte from the new New York Dolls and Rich Jones formerly from the Black Halos, who wrote most of the songs.

The first half of the album is pretty solid. It starts off with “Rocking Horse” and then goes into “Shinola”, which is easily a song that could be a “hit”. Following that, you got some hard hitting fast rockers and some slower catchy numbers. Again, just as good as classic Hanoi Rocks. Or better.

Then the second half. As good as the first half is, they go into overdrive with the 2nd half. Every song could be a “hit”. The anthemic “Disconnected” and the same goes for “Precious”. There’s a “me against the world” anthem with “Pushing Me Back”. There is a little power ballad type of song called “Glitter & Dust”, but it has such a catchy chorus, this can be forgiven. “Road To Ruin” kicks things up a notch. Again, the chorus is the king of the song here and this is just fantastic, with some “oh ohhhhs” thrown in for good measure. “One More Sunrise” closes the album with an extremely strong song. Think Hanoi Rocks mixed with classic Who.

No one’s holding back on this album (not that they ever have). Everyone’s firing on all cylinders and doing some of their best work ever. Even Monroe’s sax playing is next level. This is a fantastic album full of catchy choruses, great melodies, and excellent songs. There’s nothing wasted on this album. It’s not like anyone is holding back songs for their other bands or other releases. Most bands would probably just save some of the “better” songs for future albums and write a bunch of filler to spread things out a bit. Not Michael Monroe and his band. This is IT and what a fine job everyone has done! This is an album that superstars make.

👁️👁️👁️👁️👁️