Scorpions
World Wide Live

THE REVIEW

The 1980s were a strange period musically, with the new wave, the revival of genres like punk, the birth of Iron Maiden, hair metal, pop, and dance. In short, many artists had to deal with this decade: AC/DC with the death of their singer, Aerosmith with the return of their two guitarists, even the rock icons the Rolling Stones experienced a tumultuous period...

But why are we talking about the '80s? Simply because for the Scorpions, nothing changed excessively during this time. After Ulrich Roth left following "Tokyo Tapes," many guitarists auditioned, but the one who convinced the most was Matthias Jabs. They immediately got back on track with the album "Loverdrive," followed by another five works that satisfied fans and critics alike. After these, during the "Love at First Sting" tour, a live album was recorded: "World Wide Live," the record we will talk about now.

Among everything, the band certainly hasn't lost the ability to perform live. In fact, here, unlike the excellent "Tokyo Tapes," the technique is greatly improved, Meine is truly in a state of grace and does not disappoint at all... A perfect live performance then. Unfortunately, in its perfection, the record lacks a little energy, a trait that characterized the previous testimony. However, the songs (in my very humble opinion) have an even more satisfying live impact, and in certain moments the emotion will truly soar to the heavens, and one won't be able to resist. You'll want to shout all the choruses at the top of your lungs and scream along with the audience when Meine interacts with them. The chosen tracks are undoubtedly the best; nevertheless, I would make a note about the setlist: in my opinion, two masterpieces like "When the Smoke is Going Down" and "Always Somewhere"" should have been included.

Let's leave the "theoretical" part to fully immerse ourselves in the record.

After the introduction titled "Countdown," the series of solos in "Coming Home" sweeps the listener away. It gave me goosebumps, and Meine's singing is perfect. Not even time to recover before the fast chords of "Blackout" blast in, reaffirming that the band is in top form. Rarebell keeps the pace perfectly for another sonic barrage: "Bad Boys Running Wild," impressive. "Loving You Sunday Morning" slightly slows the pace, but with "Make it Real" we start back up full throttle. Listening to "Big City Nights" will make you lose your voice from shouting with the little Klaus Meine, who from his image seems anything but a hard rock singer. The instrumental "Coast to Coast" gives Meine a break. The first ballad of the album arrives, "Holiday," present here only with the acoustic part, perfect with the usual impeccable Meine. But the peak, in my opinion, is reached with "Still Loving You," definable as amazing, the singer surpasses himself, not missing a note, "Rock You Like a Hurricane" reminds us we're at a Scorpions concert and gets everyone dancing again. Very well performed are also "Can't Live Without You" and "Another Piece of Meat," with "Dynamite" providing another burst of riffs and solos at will. "The Zoo" will surely make everyone scream during the chorus. To calm things down this time is "No One Like You," which creates great pathos during the quieter parts. The finale in pure hard rock style comes with the two parts of "Can't Get Enough," interrupted by the exceptional solo interlude by Jabs, "Six String Sting," where the newcomer shows he has little to envy Roth.

The live album is exceptional, although slightly lacking in the power present in "Tokyo Tapes." Because Scorpions are still Scorpions, and not even the '80s can change them.