Search - Scorpions :: Best of 2

Before They Hit Paydirt , or, When They Were Good

El Kabong | 02/05/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I have no idea who all these people are who've been buying Scorpions albums the last 20 years, but in case you're too young to remember or never noticed at the time, the ONLY good Scorpions is OLD (RCA-era) Scorpions, a/k/a The Uli Roth Era. The early model of the band delivered salvo after salvo of blistering, ram-it-down-your-throat heavy metal,70s style, with the aforementioned Herr Roth cranking out tortured leads, fills and justplainsquawk like his hair was on fire and setting a new standard in heavy-rock guitar that hundreds of young players would emulate (to this day). By the time they'd switched to Mercury and begun their world domination, Roth had left the fold and the result was the same uninteresting mix of midtempo chug and syrupy ballads they've paid the bills with the last two decades. I suppose most of the fans they've made over this period wouldn't care for this early stuff for the VERY reason it's great - its raw, immediate, uncompromising urgency and excitement! But like the man said, if you're a connosieur of hard'n'heavy, the only Scorpions you need are these two RCA best-ofs. Uli, you STILL da man!"