Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)The 1979 album "Lovedrive" by Scorpions is a tremendous effort, seemingly fueled by conflict, chaos, desperation, and fraternity, that rises to a level just short of perfection.
In 1978 Scorpions were in a rebuilding year, having just issued a pink slip to lead guitarist Ulrich Roth. The decision to jettison Roth (and all the Hendrix-ian baggage that came with him) was the first of many smart moves made by the band. Before "Lovedrive" was completed, the band would hire, record with, fire, then rehire Matthias Jabs. The band would also briefly rejoin with Michael Schenker(another great move), in what many fans have called the dream line up for Scorpions. Sadly, this line up only lasted a few months. Michael collapsed onstage during a performance with Scorpions in Europe, and chose to step down and go on sabbatical, but not before positively influencing the group as shown here.
Given the tumultuous circumstances under which the album was recorded, its' a minor miracle the album is any good at all. "Lovedrive" however is a four star effort and I believe the best album ever made by Scorpions. Song writing, both musical and lyrical, are prime, and the group emotes all over this album without sounding ridiculous or tired.
The frantically paced classic "Another Piece of Meat"(boy meets girl, love goes wrong at Tokyo kick boxing match), the title song "Lovedrive"(girl-loves-guy/guy-loves-Porsche), and the fantastic "I Can't Get Enough" (or "How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Hard Rock") are the three stand out numbers that efficiently showcase the strengths of Scorpions, effectively translating their live vibe onto disc. Thankfully, Scorpions retained Michael's solos on two aforementioned songs ("Meat" and "Drive") and a third "Coast to Coast" despite his departure from the group. Michael's influence however is all over this album, and the style change between this album and the previous "Taken By Force" is like night versus day. Michael's playing on these three songs is simply perfect, and one of the reasons the album succeeds as it does. After twenty years, these solos still raise goose bumps and are stunning evidence of Michael Schenker's immense talent.
Matthias Jabs, despite the inevtibale comparisons, holds his ground. His leads are bright and responsive to the mood of each song with a slightly more soulful, tentative approach. Check out "Always Somewhere" for Jabs shining solo moment, on what would turn out to be Scorpions first ever Uber Ballad. The rhythm section of Herman Rarebell on drums and Francis Bucholz on bass perform ably throughout this album. Rudolph's playing brings the rhythm guitar new status on this album, bringing the instrument up front in the mix with an agressive style one would expect more in a blistering lead guitar. Then, there is Klaus Meine, whose incredibly high pitched German accented vocals became a band trademark that fit the overall sound perfectly. He does a great job here and switches gears effortlessly between the fast and slow numbers. His lyrical collaborations with Rarebell are smart, funny, and entertaining.
Reviewer opinion: A seamless hard rock album with some brilliant moments; arguably one of the top ten heavy metal/hard rock albums of all time and best recording by group; Strong Buy.
Click Here to see more reviews about: Lovedrive
Japanese edition of the German metal quintet's 1979 album,featuring the original cover art that was banned in the U.S.of the topless woman seated next to the man in a businesssuit, both in the back seat of a cab or a limo. Eighttracks, including 'Lovedrive' and 'Holiday'. A PolygramRecords release.--This text refers to an alternate Audio CD edition.
0 comments:
Post a Comment