Scorpions
Love At First Sting

THE REVIEW

In 1984, following the enormous success of their previous album "Blackout" (1982), the Scorpions created an absolute gem of Heavy Metal, the final album in an excellent series including: "Lovedrive," "Animal Magnetism," "Blackout," and, of course, this legendary "Love At First Sting" (I only mentioned the albums with Matthias Jabs on guitar, otherwise I would have started with "Fly To The Rainbow").

The album kicks off with the beautiful "Bad Boys Running Wild," opened by a guitar intro and featuring an excellent chorus, complete with a "bad" (if I may use the term) vocal performance by Klaus Meine. Truly a cracking start, followed by a symbol of absolute value in Heavy Metal, I think many of you already know what I'm talking about, namely the magnificent "Rock You Like An Hurricane." Opened by an immortal riff accompanied by a mini-solo from Jabs, it has one of the most famous and engaging choruses in music history, and while an inspired Klaus Meine energetically shouts: "ROCK YOU LIKE AN HURRICANE!" a superb solo by Jabs unfolds. Even after "Rock You Like An Hurricane" the quality level remains extremely high thanks to songs like "I'm Leaving You," which once again features the usual, legendary guitar solo, "Coming Home," opened by Meine's solitary voice accompanied by Jabs' gentle arpeggio before it explodes in all its power, and "The Same Thrill," slightly inferior to the others but still above average (the only flaw being the chorus). This leads to another classic of the German band, namely the beautiful "Big City Nights." Also opened by a mini-guitar solo, it turns out to be a very pleasant, catchy, melodic song with a simple yet effective chorus. After more than a good performance in the pair "As Soon As The Good Times Roll" - "Crossfire" the album reaches its best song, the famous ballad "Still Loving You." This moving ballad is one of the best Scorpions' pieces, if not the best. Opened by a melancholic arpeggio, it is in a word perfect: in the verses, Klaus Meine's sad and whispered voice creates a great effect, the chorus hits the listener in the heart (come on, who hasn't been moved by this ballad?), and I have absolutely no doubt in saying that the final solo (this time by Rudolf Schenker) is the best and most touching by the band.

Unfortunately, as often happens, the best album also marks the beginning of the decline, and this magnificent and valuable album is no exception. Indeed, from the next "Savage Amusement," the Scorpions would compose increasingly commercial music, until reaching absolute decline with "Pure Instinct" (1996) and "Eye To Eye" (1999), only to recover with the robust "Unbreakable" (2004).
Since expecting a new "Love At First Sting" in these years is practically impossible, let's forget about the previously mentioned albums and continue to dream and enjoy the notes of "Rock You Like An Hurricane", "Big City Nights" and "Still Loving You".

Line-up

Klaus Meine - Vocals
Rudolf Schenker - Guitars
Matthias Jabs - Guitars
Herman Rarebell - Drums
Francis Bucholz - Bass

Tracklist

01 "Bad Boys Running Wild"
02 "Rock You Like An Hurricane"
03 "I'm Leaving You"
04 "Coming Home"
05 "The Same Thrill"
06 "Big City Nights"
07 "As Soon As The Good Times Roll"
08 "Crossfire"
09 "Still Loving You"