I can't seem to hear enough of this band lately. I gave up on them after Face The Heat because the lineup changed for the first time since 1979 and I'd read the following album (Pure Instinct) was pretty poor. It surprised me recently to find that it wasn't. They'd just caught a dose of the Aerosmiths and included a few too many ballads.
I've since caught up with some of their more recent albums and been very impressed, in particular with 2007's Humanity. The only album I have no real interest in hearing is Eye II Eye from 1999, which I'm led to believe has more in common with the pop music of the day than the Scorps I've known and loved for just over a quarter of a century.
The story began quite late for me when Wind Of Change was a hit down here in '91. This triggered an instant obsession and a trip to the flea market to pick up a tape of Animal Magnetism, the only Scorpions album I could find there. I'm still quite a fan of that one today. Make It Real is an absolute cracker, and Twentieth Century Man and Hold Me Tight are regulars on my playlists.
Next came Fly To The Rainbow. I took to this one right away and gravitated towards Uli Roth's Hendrix-esque flourishes before I even knew whose licks he was copping. It's true this is a transitional album and it took a while for Rudolf and Klaus's sound to meld successfully with the remaining members of Dawn Road, but you can't go wrong with songs like Drifting Sun and the title track.
Although they're harder to find on some albums than others (Savage Amusement, I'm looking at you) there are good moments on almost every Scorpions release and Klaus's voice has changed very little over the years as far as I can tell. One thing I have noticed, though, is how Who-like some of Rudolf's riffs are. Given their choice of cover tune on 1989's Best Of Rockers N' Ballads, this should have been obvious to me much sooner.
One more thing, is Michael Schenker always such a dick or has he been taking lessons? I read an interview with him last year in which he did nothing but trash his brother. Fallings out between band members are pretty common and Michael has had more than his share, but ripping on your own flesh and blood in print is very poor form if you ask me.
I've since caught up with some of their more recent albums and been very impressed, in particular with 2007's Humanity. The only album I have no real interest in hearing is Eye II Eye from 1999, which I'm led to believe has more in common with the pop music of the day than the Scorps I've known and loved for just over a quarter of a century.
The story began quite late for me when Wind Of Change was a hit down here in '91. This triggered an instant obsession and a trip to the flea market to pick up a tape of Animal Magnetism, the only Scorpions album I could find there. I'm still quite a fan of that one today. Make It Real is an absolute cracker, and Twentieth Century Man and Hold Me Tight are regulars on my playlists.
Next came Fly To The Rainbow. I took to this one right away and gravitated towards Uli Roth's Hendrix-esque flourishes before I even knew whose licks he was copping. It's true this is a transitional album and it took a while for Rudolf and Klaus's sound to meld successfully with the remaining members of Dawn Road, but you can't go wrong with songs like Drifting Sun and the title track.
Although they're harder to find on some albums than others (Savage Amusement, I'm looking at you) there are good moments on almost every Scorpions release and Klaus's voice has changed very little over the years as far as I can tell. One thing I have noticed, though, is how Who-like some of Rudolf's riffs are. Given their choice of cover tune on 1989's Best Of Rockers N' Ballads, this should have been obvious to me much sooner.
One more thing, is Michael Schenker always such a dick or has he been taking lessons? I read an interview with him last year in which he did nothing but trash his brother. Fallings out between band members are pretty common and Michael has had more than his share, but ripping on your own flesh and blood in print is very poor form if you ask me.
