Customer Reviews
Continental Europe's very best!
That's on Disc Two - Disc One is loaded from start to finish with what I consider to be their best. I didn't much hear Scorpions on the radio until the '83 Us Festival and "Rock You Like A Hurricane". One of a handful of the many 2-disc collections I have that truly requires two discs. Why more of this material never got radio airplay I'll never know - it's much better than nearly all of what got played.
Excellent Scorpions mix of songs in all their remastered glory
THE BAND: Klaus Meine (vocals, guitar), Matthias Jabs (guitars), Rudolf Schenker (guitars) have appeared on all albums. . past and present band members include Ulrich Roth (guitars), Michael Schenker (guitars), Francis Buchholz (bass), Ralph Rieckermann (bass), Jurgen Rosenthal (drums), Herman Rarebell (drums), and James Kottak (drums). Hailing from Hannover, Germany.
THE DISCS: (2006) 34 tracks on 2 discs clocking in at approximately 156 total minutes (Disc-1 at 77 minutes, Disc-2 at 79). Included with the discs is an 18-page booklet containing song titles/ credits, 10-pages of history and photos through the years, what songs came from which albums and the year released. This compilation follows the band from 1972-2002. 24-bit digitally remastered sound. Label - Universal Music / Mercury.
ALBUM REPRESENTATION: Lonesome Crow (1 song), Fly To The Rainbow (1), In Trance (1), Virgin Killer (3), Taken By Force (3), Tokyo Tapes (1), Lovedrive (3), Animal Magnetism (1), Blackout (4), Love At First Sting (3), Savage Amusement (2), Crazy World (5), Face The Heat (3), unreleased studio tracks featured on other "greatest hits" releases only (3).
COMMENTS: There are many Scorpions compilations out there. . . to date - "Rockers & Ballads", "Best of Vol. 1", "Deadly Sting - The Mercury Years", "Best of Vol. 2", "Classic Bites", "20th Century Masters", "Number 1's", "Bad For Good", the 3-disc set "Box of Scorpions" and "Platinum", and this 2-disc set "Gold". Since I had all the Scorpions albums on disc, I held off on any compilation. . . until now. I looked at them all and decided on "Gold" (outside of the pricey "Box Of Scorpions", I feel "Gold" is the most comprehensive collection). THE GOOD: Lots of music in one spot here. . . all in their remastered glory covering so many (but not all) of their albums over the last 4 decades. The staples are here - "No One Like You", "Rock You Like A Hurricane", "Still Loving You", "Wind Of Change", "The Zoo", "Blackout", "Holiday", "Loving You Sunday Morning", "In Trance", "Virgin Killer", "Rhythm Of Love", "Big City Nights", "Dynamite", "Alien Nation", etc. The booklet is informative and has some great pictures dating back to the early 70's. Glad to see the underrated "Face The Heat" get 3 songs here. The early 70's material on disc-1 sounds dated, but still comes across crisp. Chronological order is a plus - you can hear the band grow and change over the years. THE NOT SO GOOD: Only a few minor things wrong here that's worthy of mention. "Can't Live Without You" needs desperately to follow the song "Blackout". Here, it's presented two tracks prior. . . for me, it's like Van Halen's "Eruption" not being followed by "You Really Got Me". A few important, but perhaps not essential tracks, are missing - "Bad Boys Running Wild", "Arizona", "Another Piece Of Meat", "Passion Rules The Game", "Make It Real", "New Genration", "Love 'Em Or Leave 'Em", "I'm Leaving You", "Now" and "Don't Make No Promises (Your Body Can't Keep)". While the songs drawn from various albums is extensive on "Gold", it's not all inclusive - No representation from the following Scorpions albums - "World Wide Live", "Live Bites", "Pure Instinct", "Eye II Eye" (I understand this one completely being omitted), "Moments Of Glory" (with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra), "Acoustica", and sadly nothing from the heavy "Unbreakable". Only one track from "Animal Magnetism" is a crime. And, perhaps five tracks from "Crazy World" is excessive. OVERALL: A great collection of music at a great price (mucho bang for the buck); crisp sound; top notch track selection. Looking for a Scorpions compilation - start with "Gold" (4. 5 stars). .
The new definitive Scorpions retrospective
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INTRODUCTION:
The Scorpions need no introduction. Scorpions Gold (2006. The German metal band has been rocking hard for decades, and still manages to maintain a huge worldwide following that shows no signs of letting down. Despite lineup changes, hardships, and the occasional musical flop, the band never gave up, and as such, and served up some of the greatest hard rock ever created. The Gold compilation series recently released a retrospective covering the career of Germany's greatest band ever. How does Scorpions Gold measure up? Read on and find out!
OVERVIEW:
Scorpions Gold was released on April 25, 2006. The set consists of thirty-four tracks spanning two discs. The tracks featured here cover the band's career from roughly 1972 to 2002 - thirty years worth of tracks. Pretty much every record label and studio album is covered, as well as a few other sources.
REVIEW:
This is what the Scorpions have needed for years - A two-disc set that covers their ENTIRE career, including the pre-Mercury era. Finally, we have a set that covers almost every album, including the ones with Michael Schenker and Ulrich Jon Roth! Pretty much every other set only covers the Mercury era, sadly enough. So what comes of this? The greatest Scorpions compilation ever conceived? Does it have some problems? Yes, but nothing serious. Read on for my track-by-track analysis of the compilation.
LONESOME CROW (1972)
TRACKS INCLUDED: It All Depends
COMMENTS: The band's debut album. All of the cuts on here were great in a way that no other Scorpions songs were. Only one cut from the record is represented here, but the record company made a great choice. The title track would have been a fine choice too, but since it exceeds ten minutes, I can understand the record company choosing this one instead. I'm just glad the record got SOME emphasis!
FLY TO THE RAINBOW (1974)
TRACKS INCLUDED: Speedy's Coming
COMMENTS: The introduction of guitarist Ulrich Jon Roth came with this record. And from the record we get the opening cut, a straight-up hard rocker that epitomizes the band's early, still-in-development sound perfectly. Great choice, almost certainly the album's best song.
IN TRANCE (1975)
TRACKS INCLUDED: In Trance
COMMENTS: From the band's third album we get the classic title cut. The whole album was good and I'm a little disappointed to see only one track from it make the cut, but no complaints. They made a damn good choice.
VIRGIN KILLER (1976)
TRACKS INCLUDED: Pictured Life, Catch Your Train, Virgin Killer
COMMENTS: My personal favorite Scorpions album. And guess what? The song choices could not have been better! Pictured Life is arguably the greatest rocker the band ever created, and the other two tunes here are no slouches either. I kind of miss In Your Park and Yellow Raven, but overall these were good choices.
TAKEN BY FORCE (1978)
TRACKS INCLUDED: Steamrock Fever, We'll Burn The Sky, Sails Of Charon
COMMENTS: Roth's finale. And from this amazing record, we have three awesome songs. My complaint here is that they didn't include the classic He's A Woman She's A Man. No big deal, though, considering you've got the masterpiece Sails Of Charon on here!
LOVEDRIVE (1979)
TRACKS INCLUDED: Loving You Sunday Morning, Holiday, Lovedrive
COMMENTS: The band joins the Mercury record label and recruits guitarist Matthias Jabs. From this record we get Loving You Sunday Morning, the band's first major label hit, the underrated minor hit title track, and the underrated gem Holiday. I miss Another Piece Of Meat and Can't Get Enough though - they were two of my favorite cuts from this album. Still, these are good choices.
ANIMAL MAGNETISM (1980)
TRACKS INCLUDED: Zoo
COMMENTS: Great album, great song and a big hit for the band. BUT WHY STOP HERE!? ONE song from this great album just isn't enough. I was disappointed to see the classic Lady Starlight didn't make the cut. Why not? It could easily have been fit on here in the place of something else.
BLACKOUT (1982)
TRACKS INCLUDED: Blackout, Can't Live Without You, Dynamite, No One Like You
COMMENTS: This classic record gets solid emphasis. You've got the big hits and a ton of underrated masterpieces, too! This is one of the few albums on which I think the emphasis is just about perfect. Great song choices, all of which belong here.
LOVE AT FIRST STING (1984)
TRACKS INCLUDED: Rock You Like A Hurricane, Big City Nights, Still Loving You
COMMENTS: Every one of these songs was a huge hit for the band. Rock You Like A Hurricane is the song that introduces most people to the band, so it's only natural to see it on here. The other two songs were big hits, too, and are more than worthy of their positions on this compilation. My only complaint? The underrated masterpiece Bad Boys Running Wild isn't on here.
SAVAGE AMUSEMENT (1988)
TRACKS INCLUDED: Rhythm Of Love, Believe In Love
COMMENTS: What's the deal with making Scorpions hits compilations and always failing to include Don't Stop At The Top!? The two songs featured here were good songs and big hits, but I'd swap the for Don't Stop At The Top in a heartbeat. Why can't the band's compilations just include that song!?
CRAZY WORLD (1991)
TRACKS INCLUDED: Tease Me, Please Me, Don't Believe Her, Wind Of Change, Send Me An Angel, Hit Between The Eyes
COMMENTS: Whoa, too many songs form one album! Good songs, and many of them are hits, but we didn't need this many songs from a single record. Some of these songs should have been omitted in favor of higher quality earlier tunes. Still, I agree with most of these tunes being here.
FACE THE HEAT (1993)
TRACKS INCLUDED: Alien Nation, Under The Same Sun, Woman
COMMENTS: The underrated nineties record wasn't forgotten! Not a whole lot I can say here, I'm just glad some of these songs made it onto the compilation, since too many compilations fail to include anything!
PURE INSTINCT (1995)
TRACKS INCLUDED: None
COMMENTS: Good underrated album, but no tracks are featured here. No big deal, though, as all of the really great stuff came prior anyway.
EYE II EYE (1999)
TRACKS INCLUDED: None
COMMENTS: This album SUCKED. Soft, melodic pop was all it had. I'm glad there's nothing from it on here.
MOMENT OF GLORY (2000)
TRACKS INCLUDED: None
COMMENTS: This album was one of the band's more interesting experiments, and I'm disappointed to see it was forgotten here. Why couldn't we get Hurricane 2000 on here? Honestly, what's the deal with compilations not including that song!?
UNBREAKABLE (2004)
TRACKS INCLUDED: None
COMMENTS: The band's latest studio effort prior to the release of this compilation (and their return to their hard rock roots) is neglected here. Love `Em Or Leave `Em was the band's biggest radio hit in many years, and I am disappointed by its omission here.
MISCELLANEOUS
TRACKS INCLUDED: Top Of The Bill, I Can't Explain, Over The Top, Cause I Love You
COMMENTS: Miscellaneous tracks that weren't featured on a studio album for whatever reason. They're all good songs, and definitely fit in nicely on this compilation.
OVERALL:
Overall, this is a great compilation. All other compilations can step aside, because this is the new definitive Scorpions retrospective. Pretty much everything you could want from one of the band's retrospectives, you can find it on here. If you don't want to get every Scorpions album, and just want to get a greatest hits/best of CD, this is the new obvious choice. I personally recommend getting all the albums, but if you can't afford them or don't want to hunt them all down, this will do nicely. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
EDITION NOTES:
This is a new compilation readily available in America. Your local CD retailer should have no shortage of copies available.
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. You can see a complete list of all Scorpions discography, or go back to the Scorpions tabs
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