Finally, a band who knows when to throw in the towel, call it a day and head
to the beach for some well-deserved R-n-R. Well, at least, that’s the
strategy the Scorpions are deploying behind Sting In The Tail,
announced as their farewell album. It’s a difficult road to cross —
rating a record like this. If the members of this German metal band are truly
going their separate ways, instead of setting us up for the inevitable reunion,
then their final studio recording should be something extraordinary and completely
off the hook. Indeed, Sting In The Tail has the right elements
— those flavorful riffs and general high-energy measure the Scorpions
are known for. Living up to the expectations of a proper swan song is another
issue entirely.
So, let’s start from the top. There’s “Raised on Rock, ”
a no-nonsense, pull-no-punches rocker that apparently traces the band’s
lineage. The riff guiding the title track has a lot more bite, with singer Klaus
Meine sounding positively diabolical during the back-end chorus. “The
Good Die Young” offers up a catchy chorus with Meine’s voice darkly
stroking the verse with a ragged rasp, a characteristic that pops up throughout
the record. Fortunately, Meine still musters the choruses like a screaming banshee
on fire.
It’s no mystery that the Scorps have spent the better part of the last 20 years
trying to replicate the power ballad wallop of their international hit, “Winds
Of Change.” Here, they’ve whipped up three entries: “Lerelei,”
a romantic tear-jerker; “Sly,” a crooner much more fulfilling than
“Lerelei”; and “The Best Is Yet To Come,” the record’s
final track and an uplifting, arm-waver cast very much in the mold of “Winds
Of Change.” The optimistic themes are what keep the Scorpions respectable.
Along with the power ballads are the rock anthems. “Turn You On”
and “Spirit Of Rock” are prime candidates for fist-pumping sing-alongs
in concert arenas around the world. Some may accuse the Scorpions of posing
and priming their way through the formulaic rituals of the 80s. Yet after years
of playing it up like the second cousin to Spinal Tap, there’s a sense
of serendipity in the Scorps’ retirement. It’s been a loopy 45 years,
and they’re still the biggest hard rock band out of Deutschland. That
speaks volumes. Calling it quits and retreating to their German countryside
villas couldn’t be easy. After the two-year world tour scheduled to support
Sting In The Tail, we’ll see how long the Scorpions can hibernate
away from their adoring fans.
~ Shawn Perry
