Published on Jul 27, 1999
While the ’80s sent a lot of metal bands into the sphere of
superstardom, one band that sticks out in my mind is the German
group Scorpions. I vaguely remember them appearing on “American
Bandstand” playing “Blackout,” something that had to have had Dick
Clark writhing in convulsions. I remember the popularity of their
Love At First Sting album (as well as the flap over the
cover art, where you could see the side profile of a woman’s
breast), as well as the popularity of the ensuing concert album
World Wide Live.
Then, as quickly as their star rose, they seemed to drop off the
face of the earth, following the popularity of their song “Winds Of
Change”. They spent a few years label-hopping, while several
“best-of” packages were put out to satisfy the diehard fans that
remained. I’ll admit, I wasn’t one of them; while I’ve spent some
time acquiring the older albums lately, I hadn’t made an attempt to
complete my Scorpions collection in some time.
Now, Klaus Meine and crew are back with
Eye II Eye, an album that embraces a newer, electronic sound
as the backbone, instead of the dual guitar crunch of Rudolf
Schenker and Matthias Jabs. It takes some time to get used to, but
one listen to this album leaves no doubt that the Scorpions still
know how to kick ass.
Meine sounds as good today with his vocals as he did on albums
like
Lovedrive all those years ago, and while I do occasionally
long for the barre-chord crunch from Schenker and Jabs, they show
often that they still know how to pump electricity through their
guitar necks. Bassist Ralph Rieckermann and drummer James Kottak
round out the crew.
Enlisting the assistance of producer Peter Wolf (ex-Frank Zappa
keyboardist), the band sounds like they have new life breathed into
them. Tracks like “Mysterious,” the first single, is proof enough
of that. Granted, if it’s been a few years since you’ve really sat
down to listen to the band, you’re going to jump at first and yell,
“What the hell’s THAT?!?” Once you’ve reconciled the band’s past to
the present, though, the transition seems a lot more natural.
And, frankly, the Scorpions might understand something about
metal’s future by going to a more digital sound to the drums and
the music – namely, that this could be a wave of the future. Kids,
it’s not a bad wave to catch. Songs like “Skywriter,” “10 Light
Years Away” and “Priscilla” (the latter the love-hate story about a
man and the cockroach in his home) grab you with their catchiness
and refuse to let go until the last note has faded from the
speakers.
Eye II Eye still features some of the sexual braggadoccio
that made up the ’80s; as songs like “Freshly Squeezed” prove, some
habits die hard. Even when the band resorts to singing in German
(but for a few English raps) on “Du Bist So Schmutzig,” it doesn’t
matter that you might not understand what Meine is singing, but
that this song is incredibly catchy.
It took a lot of guts for a band whose metal roots were so
developed to record and release an album like
Eye II Eye – and for that, the fans of the Scorpions should
be eternally grateful. This album proves that the group still has a
lot of life in them musically, and I sincerely hope this is the
springboard for a return to greatness for the Scorpions.