# The Strange Magic of: The Scorpions



## Strange Magic (Sep 14, 2015)

This one's for you, bharbeke. The Scorpions are appreciated, by you and me anyway, and here's the proof. _Rock You Like a Hurricane_ was one of my great mind-clearers that I would put on the car stereo at ear-shattering volume for the ride home from work after a frustrating day. It would be the version from The Scorpions' great World Wide Live CD, though sometimes alternating it with the studio effort on Love at First Sting. When their Savage Amusements album was reviewed in, I think, People magazine, they wrote that the Scorpions' melodies were so broad that even your dog would love them too. I took that to be praise. The Scorpions, along with groups like Blue Öyster Cult, typify the genre I call Lite Metal--I am not the chosen audience for Heavy--which is rich with sing-along tunes that stick in the memory. Must one's music be subtle and highly-nuanced all the time?


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## elgar's ghost (Aug 8, 2010)

I was rather fond of the group from the time of their 1978 live album _Tokyo Tapes_ (the last to feature Ulrich Roth) until _World Wide Live_. I'd say _Blackout_ was by far their best post-Roth studio album. Didn't realise that the front of the _Blackout_ sleeve was a picture of the artist Gottfried Helnwein - I always thought it was supposed to be Rudolf Schenker.


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## bharbeke (Mar 4, 2013)

Thanks for posting this topic, Strange Magic. My first exposure to Scorpions was "Rock You Like a Hurricane" and "No One Like You" on the local classic rock station. That got me intrigued enough to try out the DVD Live at Wacken Open Air. The music was unfamiliar, but the choruses are so anthemic, and the guitar work so brilliant, that I still found myself very involved in the concert. What put them over the top was the appearance of the robotic scorpion before the final song of the encore. Live acts, take note: it is this type of extra touch that people can only get at a live show and make your concerts stand out from the rest (I still fondly remember the giant robotic snake dancing along to Brooks & Dunn's "Good Girls Go to Heaven" during their 2001 Neon Circus tour).

The band having a lineup change involving a member named Roth makes me think of Van Halen. Thankfully, there does not seem to be the same heated discussion of band eras with Scorpions as there is for Van Halen, Pink Floyd, and Genesis.

I will repeat in this thread my Scorpions album recommendations from the listening thread: Love at First Sting, Return to Forever, Lovedrive, and Humanity: Hour I. I am sure that at least one of the many compilation albums is also worth getting, but I still need to compare the track listings to my list of awesome Scorpions songs to confirm this.

When I think of what makes Scorpions appealing, it is mainly the voice and charisma of Klaus Meine and the awesome guitar work by all of the players. Their music is fun, and their image evokes a cool biker gang that will protect its turf but be extra kind to children and elderly people.

Here are a couple tracks beyond the mega-hits to check out: "Rhythm of Love" and "Maybe I Maybe You."


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## Iean (Nov 17, 2015)

The SCORPIONS? I am not just a big fan - all my friends are Scorpions devotees. I think The Scorpions are more popular than U2 and Coldplay in my country. Maybe because despite their cheesy lyrics and cliche-driven songs, they still stuck a chord in the collective Filipino hearts. All their CDs are platinum-sellers here and no karaoke night is complete without "Wind of Change", "Still Loving You", "Always Somewhere" - even their version of Tiffany's "Here In My Heart" topped radio playlists here. And one item in my bucket list is to watch them perform live - even if it means me going to Germany.:angel:


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## bharbeke (Mar 4, 2013)

Here are my compilation recommendations for the Scorpions:

20th Century Masters: The Millennium Collection (best single-disc collection with all of their smash hits)
Deadly Sting: Best of the Mercury Years (two discs, covers the major hits and a lot of other good ones)
Classic Bites (mostly the best songs from Face the Heat and Crazy World, which are not always well represented on other collections)
Icon (2-disc set that covers more recent material, rivals Deadly Sting if you do not want to get the whole Humanity: Hour I album)

For having the most Scorpions material worth hearing in a single package, Box of Scorpions is worth considering.

Coming out next month is the Return to Forever deluxe edition, which has the CD and 2 DVDs covering the latest tour. This is a great way to get Scorpions music both old and new and experience some of the concert thrills at home.


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## HaydnBearstheClock (Jul 6, 2013)

The Scorpions kick a**, basically . No, but in all seriousness, definitely talented musicans - wrote some excellent rock riffs, plus very good melodies, excellent guitar solos and solid song strucutres.


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## Strange Magic (Sep 14, 2015)

I am ecstatic over the response to The Scorpions! Our Excitable Arthropods leap about in playful frenzy, displaying amazing instrumental dexterity and singing broad, anthemic lite metal that only a stone (or Morimur's specimen Dead Person) would be unmoved by. No anhedonia here, as we examine _The Rhythm of Love_.


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## Kjetil Heggelund (Jan 4, 2016)

Love this song


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