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Rating: Scorpions, Lovedrive, 1979: 4 stars; actually no, 4.5. Let’s make it 5, let's cut to the chase.
The Scorpions played great hard rock in the '70s, solid and compact, very angry, so much so that sometimes they are associated with the Heavy Metal genre; but now, genres aside, we are here to talk about the album they decided to release in '79. Quickly consulting Wikipedia, I notice that the 1979 lineup is different from the mid-'70s (Virgin Killer?): the great Ulrich Roth on guitar is out, and Matthias Jabs is in to flank the legendary Rudolph Schenker: a steel duo. On the drums, we find another drummer as well as another bassist on bass, but I won’t put the names because they would weigh down the reading. The presence of Rudolph’s brother, Michael Schenker (from UFO), is not to be underestimated; he was once a member of the group and scatters solos here and there on the album as if they were corn seeds for pigeons.
The album: it is canonical hard rock, nothing revolutionary, simply beautiful and captivating, like the opening "Loving You Sunday Morning,” which takes shape in Klaus Meine's powerful vocals from an initial AC/DC-like riff; a great singer, perhaps a bit penalized by the heavy German accent that even today he hasn't managed to shake off: the solo is gritty, and the song flows smoothly, it's just pure hard rock.
But the other tracks on the album are just as kick-ass, always teetering between hard rock and what was becoming metal at the time. And so the moments of calm are few, and songs like "Another Piece Of Meat,” vaguely Deep Purple in the first few seconds of singing, or the brief and minor "Can't Get Enough,” testify to their spirit: music that breaks everything, utterly irrelevant lyrics, singing always on the edge, etc. But among the dual-guitar onslaughts, there's also room for ballads like "Always Somewhere,” completely canonical, a song that sets a template for many future Scorpions ballads (Guns 'n Roses know something about it with their "Don't Cry"): the majestic and almost epic chorus is a must for '80s hard rock (yeah, the '70s were ending, darn it…).
An instrumental appears at track number 4, it's "Coast To Coast,” with a heavy and dark pace, surely a launching pad for the new heavily metallic music genre that was emerging: the two guitars, plus the rhythm handled by Meine’s "shoe" (speaking guitar-wise), definitely dictate new six-string rules.
After "Can't Get Enough” which I already talked about, comes a reggae-rock (but very rock) track, all in all successful, "Is There Anybody There?,” with a nice chorus and a drum machine in the background accompanying the acoustic drum equipped with roto-toms for typical reggae rolls. Following that, the title track "Lovedrive,” which begins a bit like Zeppelin's "Achilles Last Stand” but then takes on more modest connotations than the aforementioned masterpiece, still remains a notable track on the album: here too, the chorus follows a line that would be overused in the years to come (Stormwind by Europe comes to mind).
The album closes with a piece absolutely noteworthy, "Holiday,” much more than a typical end-of-album ballad, with a vaaaaaaaguely progressive structure: delicate acoustic arpeggios introduce Meine’s singing, absolutely impeccable; the atmosphere between vocals and arpeggios is quite dark, and around 3 minutes, the song awakens with a harder part, which slowly reconnects to the main arpeggio, which fades into silence around 6 minutes and 30 seconds, in a very delicate way, as if not wanting to disturb.
For late '70s hard rock, an absolutely memorable album, if only for the cover that was censored in various parts of the globe and earthly hollow. Scorpions are not a great band, but little by little, they have solidly reached the present day through hateful sugary ballads and powerful dual-guitar onslaughts. It must be said that throughout the '70s, they produced interesting albums (In Trance, Virgin Killer) in a land, Germany, where cerebral experimentation and electronics were the order of the day: that’s what the Scorpions WERE, black sheep (possibly) in a world of synthesizers.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
02 Another Piece of Meat (03:31)
Met her down at that Tokyo place
Loved her pretty face
I said: "Hey, you're alright, so alright!"
I was sitting in her car
She told me: "You're a star and I know you"
She said: "Take me home
I need love so strong
Come on and knock me out, oh!
I've been too long alone
I want hot love, you know, and I need it now!"
She said: "Hey, let's go, don't put on a show
You're just another piece, another piece of meat"
She said: "Hey, let's go, don't put on a show
You're just another piece -
Another piece of meat"
Next day she took me out
To a rough kick boxing show
Violence really turned her on, oh no
She was screaming for more blood
Loved it more than any drug I couldn't stand it
I said: "Hey, let's go, don't put on a show
You're just another piece, another piece of meat"
Said: "Hey, let's go, don't put on a show
You're just another piece -
Another piece of meat"
03 Always Somewhere (04:57)
Arrive at seven the place feels good
No time to call you today
Encores till eleven then Chinese food
Back to the hotel again
I call your number the line ain't free
I like to tell you come to me
A night without you seems like a lost dream
Love I can't tell you how I feel
Always somewhere
Miss you where I've been
I'll be back to love you again
Another morning another place
The only day off is far away
But every city has seen me in the end
And brings me to you again
Always somewhere
Miss you where I've been
I'll be back to love you again
05 Can't Get Enough (02:37)
Music: Rudolf Schenker
Lyrics: Klaus Meine
That's the stuff that turns me on
More than gold and money
I need sounds loud and rough
Like the bee the honey my love
I can't get enough
Move you legs stamp your feet
The language of your body
Is right now all need
To understand you're ready for love
I can't get enough
Burning lips the taste of life
High energy hot feelings
Heavy sounds to feel alright
And Rock 'n' Roll for Speed Kings my love
I can't get enough
We can't get enough
06 Is There Anybody There? (03:58)
Open my mind let me find new vibrations
Tell me the way I must take to reach my destination
And a place where I can stay
Where is the love of my life couldn't find her
Show me the way to come back to myself
'Cause I'm nowhere in the darkness of these days
Is there anybody there who feels that vibration
Who shows me the way to my love
Is there anybody there with that inclination
To bring back to sun to my heart
I find myself in a state of confusion
Life's like a pantomime trick or a laser illusion
Where's a place that I can stay
Save me don't let me get lost in the ocean
I need your help everyday to control my emotions
In the darkness of these days
Is there anybody there who feels that vibration
Who shows me the way to my love
Is there anybody there with that inclination
To bring back the sun to my heart
07 Lovedrive (04:52)
A girl to drive a car to love
The music rocks me down the motorway
My whore's got wings we're taking off
And I can't stop this flight of speed today
It's a lovedrive on wheels of fire
A lovedrive just one desire love
You drive me crazy Babe
The city lights of London town
Are far away my hand is on her wing
I stop the car and she gets down
I like to show why Scorpions got a sting
It's a lovedrive on wheels of fire
A lovedrive just one desire love
You drive me crazy Babe
08 Holiday (06:33)
Let me take you far away
You'd like a holiday
Let me take you far away
You'd like a holiday
Exchange the cold days for the sun
A good time and fun
Let me take you far away
You'd like a holiday
Let me take you far away
You'd like a holiday
Let me take you far away
You'd like a holiday
Exchange your troubles for some love
Wherever you are
Let me take you far away
You'd like a holiday
Longing for the sun here we come
To the island without name
Longing for the sun here we come
On the island many miles away from home
Here we come on the island without name
Longing for the sun here we come
To the island many miles away from home
away from home
away from home
away from home
away from home
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