Michael Monroe

To a select few, the greatest frontman of the '80s glam era was not Axl Rose or Vince Neil, but rather Michael Monroe. Fronting Finnish glam rockers Hanoi Rocks during the early part of the aforementioned decade, Monroe managed to channel both David Johansen and Iggy Pop, while also putting his own unique spin on things. But tragedy prevented Hanoi Rocks from reaping their rewards, and eventually, Monroe focused on launching a solo career. Although his initial albums showed promise, Monroe completely turned his back on his solo career after a pair of releases -- not issuing another album that solely bore his name throughout the entire '90s. But the early 21st century was a different story entirely, as Monroe issued an EP and three full-length solo outings between 2000 and 2003 -- including Whatcha Want. While some of the tracks from this 2003 release hark back to the his gritty Hanoi days (especially such tracks as "Stranded" and "Shattered Smile"), several of the tracks possess a surprisingly glossy production, especially the album-opening "Do Anything You Wanna Do," which brings to mind pop-punk à la Sum 41. And as with many of Monroe's solo outings, you get a Stiv Bators-related cover, this time a rendition of the Dead Boys' classic "What Love Is." Not the worst listeners have heard from Monroe over the years, but certainly not the best. ~ Greg Prato, Rovi