by Mott the Dog
This is a very sad collection of songs put together,
but what was a second rate band in their heyday is a total disaster today.
Haven’t they heard that the unplugged rage was over ten years ago?
Acoustica just reeks of desperation.
So, what do you actually get for your buck here? Well,
firstly there’s Klaus Meine on vocals who’s voice has seen better
days. To hide this fact every rotten song is smothered in lush backing
female vocals which might sound O.K on a Barry Mannilow album. But
remember, the Scorpions were supposed to be a rock band not a lounge act.
On lead guitar you have Matthias Jabs who, at best, was brought into the
Scorpions’ line up to duplicate the solos from previous guitarists in
the band, and could easily be blown off the stage by our own Lam Morrison.
Then also on guitar is the less talented brother of
previous lead guitarist Michael Schenker, Rudolf, who looks and plays more
like a bank manager than a bank robber these days, and a non-descript
journey man bassist, Ralph Riechermann. The previous drummer, the
marvelously monickered Herman Rareball, had to be replaced as he became to
old and fat to actually hit the skins, so young James Katak got the job.
Hopefully for him, he will soon move on to greener pastures.
There are also a motley collection of other musicians
that have been pulled in to try and keep some life in the shell, but
actually just help to crush it all further down.
The songs themselves are all done, as the title
suggests, acoustically, and what you get is just a rerun of some of the
kitschier moments of the band’s back catalogue with obvious emphasis on
the ballads, which the band seem to be concentrating on these days. The
playing is so lackluster that the music no more than dribbles out of the
speakers.
New song and new single “When Love Kills Love” is
one of the worst offenders. You would definitely take the stairs to avoid
this in elevators. The title alone, “I wanted to cry (but the tears
wouldn’t come)”, should tell you enough to warn you to stay well
clear.
The Scorpions have certainly lost their sting. If this
is the best they can produce, they should be laid to rest. Not one of Rock
‘n’ Roll’s finer moments, in fact, not Rock ‘n’ Roll at all.
Musicians
Klaus Meine - Croacker
Rudolf Schenker and Matthias Jabs - Sleepy Guitars
Ralph Rieckermann - Bass
James Kottak - Tub Thumper
Track Listing
1. The Zoo
2. Always Somewhere
3. Life Is Too Short
4. Holiday
5. You & I
6. When Love Kills Love
7. Dust In The Wind
8. Send Me An Angel
9. Catch Your Train
10. I Wanted To Cry (But The Tears Wouldn’t Come)
11. Wind Of Change
12. Love Of My Life
13. Drive
14. Still Loving You
15. Hurricane 2001
The
book is made up of individual chapters that do not need to flow on from
one to another. In this way, the separate vignettes can be picked up and
put down with ease. This is not a book that needs to be read at one
sitting, though I found it interesting enough that I happily read on from
chapter to chapter.
It
is December 1944 in Belgium and he is captured by the Nazis. After a
period of intense interrogation under torturous conditions, he is sent to
a POW camp. The camp is unofficially run by Col. William McNamara (Bruce
Willis) who is not impressed by Hart, knowing that he broke under
interrogation, and he assigns him to defend Lt. Lincoln Scott (Terrence
Howard), a black POW accused of murdering a fellow white prisoner. Lt.
Hart does not take long to realize that the Col’s real reason for
setting up the investigation and trial is only a smoke screen to distract
the diligent German Col. Visser (Marcel Iures) from discovering an
imminent escape and sabotage operation. This means Lt. Hart must find a
way to do the right thing for Lieutenant Scott, to save his own
conscience, without jeopardizing the plans of his fellow countrymen.
Mott’s
CD review: