Believe it or not, the Scorpions have been around since 1965. It was not until ’79 that they started become popular as a world wide mega group. This is the second album to feature Matthias Jabs on guitar – after the departure of Uli Roth. There were hints at a more commercial approach with the last album, Lovedrive, but this album was the one when they realized they could make money from a formulaic song.
There are moments on here where the band rock out, especially with Don’t Make No Promises, which follows the same path as Another Piece Of Meat. It was the singles, Lady Starlight and Make It Real, that made the biggest impression – especially in North America. There are still elements of euro rock, especially on Hold Me Tight and Twentieth Century Man. Hands down the best track on the album is the simple but very effective, The Zoo. This is what this version of the band did best – making sure that the most people possible could get into their music.
The three albums that came after would make the band bigger than the biggest thing you can think of: Blackout, Love At First Sting, and Savage Amusement. To think that this band played at The Outlook club in my hometown is mind blowing. Not a bad album but definitely not their best.
8/10 from The Grooveman.
