I recently bought this scratched-up CD from a discogs dealer for 50 cents, together with some other stuff. He asked me if I noticed that he rated it "condition:poor" to which I replied "It's a CD, it'll either play perfectly or skip. It's worth the gamble". Well...it plays perfectly on my blu-ray at home but a few songs skip when played in my car stereo. I kinda wish it was the other way round, it's
that kind of record. I went to highscool during the 80's, and Scorpions were probably
the most popular rock band of the time; you could bang your head along to the likes of "Rock You Like A Hurricane" or make out with your girl listening to "Still Loving You" -
what more can you ask? Nevertheless, I wasn't a huge fan. To this day they remain one of the few famous bands I haven't seen live despite having many opportunities to do so. I
do have a live DVD and a few of their albums, from 1979's
Lovedrive and afterwards. This compilation provided a cheap way to close a gap in my collection, as it includes the bulk of the 3 albums they made between 1974-1976. It contains a few classics, as well as some relatively unknown deep album cuts. Let's take them chronologically:
1974 saw the release of
Fly To The Rainbow, The Scorpions' second LP after
Lonesome Crow. Boy-wonder Michael Schenker had just left for UFO and was replaced by another hot-shot guitarist, Uli Jon Roth. His guitarwork and vocal (non-) skills are up front on "Drifting Sun" a Hendrix pastiche that sounds nothing like the Scorpions I knew from the 80's. 2nd guitarist Rudolph Schenker takes over lead vocals on "
They Need A Million" consisting of an acoustic intro and prog/hard rock body. "Fly To The Rainbow" is another (excellent) proggy piece with a nice baroque intro and intricate solos, but at 10 minutes it overstays its welcome, especially during the slow interlude. Two other songs included here
do sound like The Scorpions, the proto-metal dynamite "
Speedy´s Coming" and mid-tempo "Far Away", both thankfully sung by Klaus Meine. The title song from
1975's
In Trance needs, I hope, no introduction as it is one of the classics of its era, from the emotive intro to its epic chorus. "Robot Man" is another metallic (literally!) rocker while "Dark Lady", sung by Uli Jon Roth, sounds like a cross between Hawkwind (vocals) and Hendrix (guitar). "Top Of The Bill' and "Longing For Fire" are typical Scorpions rockers while "Evening Wind" sports some
blues guitar for a change.
1976's
Virgin Killer is the last album represented here. I'll spare you the talk about the album cover
controversy and go straight to the music, which is by now recognizably The Scorpions. The K.Meine/R.Schenker songwriting team has hit its stride, offering the anthemic "
Pictured Life" and "Catch Your Train" as well as (their future specialty) power ballads "
In Your Park" and "Crying Days". Roth adds the screaming metal of "Virgin Killer"
and a different kind of ballad, the quiet and introspective "Yellow Raven" - not to mention some dazzling solos. It is a pity he left the band just before they hit the big time - or maybe not. Imagine if he'd insisted on doing more singing on their records. Not his strong suit. But you can hear some of his best guitar moments on this compilation: 17 early Scorpions songs in a single budget CD, not a bad deal!
No comments:
Post a Comment