Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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31 of 37 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Scorpions best album ever. . ., June 29, 2000
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.
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9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Chaos spawns best album. . ., June 25, 2000
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 in an effort to retool their sound. 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. Another was giving Rudolph Schenker more direct control over their music. Before "Lovedrive" was completed, the band would hire, record with, fire, then rehire Matthias Jabs, as well as briefly rejoin with Michael Schenker (Rudolph's brother, who had just fled UFO) in what many fans have called the dream line up for Scorpions. Given the tumultuous circumstances under which the album was recorded, it's 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 misogynistic title tune "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 on a third "Coast to Coast" despite his departure, making this a very interesting album. Michael's playing on these three songs is simply perfect, and one of the reasons the album succeeds as it does. The best way to describe what Scorpions achieve here with Michael is white hot chemistry. The solos are unbelievable, and representative of his best lead guitar work. Matthias Jabs is no slouch either. His leads are bright and responsive to the mood of each song with a slightly more soulful approach. Check out "Always Somewhere" for Jabs shining solo moment, on what would turn out to be Scorpions first ever Uber Ballad, the likes of which that would later win them broad acclaim worldwide. The rhythm section of Herman Rarebell on drums and Francis Bucholz on bass, and of course Rudi Schenker perform ably throughout this album. Then there is Klaus Meine, whose incredibly high German accented vocals became a band trademark. 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 (as long as you're not a card carrying member of the National Organization of Women). 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.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Maybe the most consistent Scorpions CD ever. Can't go wrong., July 27, 2004
This album really began the trend the Scorps would take for the 80s--polished melodic songs with strong guitar riffs and harmony up front. Arguably this was done just for MTV, but the Scorps made their best music during this period, anyway. Many people get hung up on Uli or Schenker, but the rotating guitarists they've had just aren't as important as their songwriting ability. Here is where the songs start to really shine. If you are really into metal history, then their old CDs are worth hunting for, I guess.
Lovedrive, though, really should be lumped in with Blackout, Love at First Sting, et al. That's a compliment. Every song on this disc could've been a hit off either of those albums. "Lovedrive" is probably the highlight here. Buy this one & ignore the other brainless cover.
BTW, this album can commonly be found at Best Buy & other stores, so shop around before you spend more than $12 for it.
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