Not Fakin' It
1989 studio album by Michael Monroe
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Not Fakin' It is the second studio album by Hanoi Rocks singer Michael Monroe, released in September 1989 through PolyGram;[5] a remastered edition was reissued through Lemon Recordings in 2003. The album is Monroe's most commercially successful solo release to date, reaching No. 14 on the Finnish albums chart,[7] No. 161 on the U.S. Billboard 200,[8] and being certified gold in Japan.[7] The single "Man with No Eyes" reached No. 90 on the UK singles chart.[9]
| Not Fakin' It | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | September 1989 | |||
| Studios | Atlantic Studios, New York City | |||
| Genres | ||||
| Length | 39:07 | |||
| Label | PolyGram | |||
| Producers | Michael Monroe, Michael Frondelli | |||
| Michael Monroe chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Not Fakin' It | ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [5] |
| Hi-Fi News & Record Review | A:1*[6] |
The music video for "Dead, Jail or Rock 'n' Roll" featured Guns N' Roses singer Axl Rose and received substantial rotation on MTV; it was later covered by the band Warrant for their 2002 album Under the Influence. The track "Angel" is a re-recording of the song "She's No Angel" which had appeared on Monroe's previous album, Nights Are So Long (1987).
Musical style
The albums consists of "Michael Monroe [adding] hair band rock to his usual mix of punk, glam, and '70s heavy metal".[5] Ultimate Classic Rock placed the album No. 26 on their list of the Top 30 Glam Metal Albums, and described it as a "glam-punk-'n'-roll hybrid".[10]
Track listing
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Dead, Jail or Rock 'n' Roll" | Michael Monroe, Little Steven, Nasty Suicide | 4:31 |
| 2. | "While You Were Looking at Me" | Steven | 4:03 |
| 3. | "She's No Angel" (Heavy Metal Kids cover) | Gary Holton, Monroe, Stiv Bators | 3:52 |
| 4. | "All Night with the Lights On" | Monroe, Phil Grande, Danny Lewis | 3:52 |
| 5. | "Not Fakin' It" (Nazareth cover) | Dan McCafferty, Manny Charlton, Pete Agnew, Darrell Sweet | 3:52 |
| 6. | "Shakedown" | Monroe, Grande | 3:13 |
| 7. | "Man with No Eyes" | Monroe, Grande | 3:58 |
| 8. | "Love Is Thicker than Blood" | Monroe, Martin Briley | 4:14 |
| 9. | "Smoke Screen" | Monroe, Steven, Suicide | 4:05 |
| 10. | "Thrill Me" | Monroe, Grande | 3:27 |
| Total length: | 39:07 | ||
Personnel
- Michael Monroe – lead vocals, harmonica, shaker, arrangement (tracks 1, 3–10), producer (tracks 1–3, 9)
- Axl Rose – backing vocals (tracks 1, 5)
- Phil Grande – lead and rhythm guitar (all tracks), arrangement (tracks 4, 6, 7, 10)
- Nasty Suicide – guitar (tracks 1–3)
- Jimmy Ripp – guitar (tracks 1–3, 9), slide guitar (track 1)
- Ed Roynesdal – keyboard, piano (tracks 5, 6)
- Ian Hunter – piano (track 3)
- Anton Fig – drums (tracks 1–3, 9)
- Thommy Price – drums (tracks 4–8, 10)
- Sue Hadjopoulos – percussion (tracks 1, 4, 6–10), tambourine (track 2)
- John Regan – bass (tracks 1–3)
- Kenny Aaronson – bass (tracks 4–10)
- Mark Rivera – saxophone
- Little Steven – backing vocals (tracks 1–3, 5), arrangement (tracks 2, 5, 6, 9)
- Suha Gur – background vocals (track 1)
- Dave Hansen – background vocals (track 1)
- Stephen Innocenzi – background vocals (track 1)
- Brian Sperber – background vocals (track 1), engineering assistance
- Holly Beth Vincent – background vocals (track 2)
- Kim Lesley – background vocals (tracks 4, 6, 9, 10)
- Nicole Hart – background vocals (tracks 4, 6, 9, 10)
- Gennaro – background vocals (tracks 4, 6, 9, 10)
- The Monroettes – background vocals (tracks 7, 8)
- Brian James – arrangement (track 3)
- Martin Briley – arrangement (track 8)
Technical
- Michael Frondelli – engineering, mixing, production
- Will Garrett – engineering
- Rod O'Brien – engineering (tracks 1–3, 9)
- Ellen Fitton – engineering assistance
- Billy Miranda – engineering assistance (tracks 1–3, 9)
- George Marino – mastering
- Frankie "Teardrop" Miles – production assistance
- John Scarpati - cover photography
Charts
| Chart (1989) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Finnish albums chart[7] | 14 |
| Japan Oricon Albums Chart[11] | 21 |
| US Billboard 200[8] | 161 |