The Scorpions, "Love at First Sting"

CJ takes us rockin' down the Rhein

CJ’s Pitch:

The members of Scorpions were pretty old when they first started prowling the Sunset Strip in the late ‘70s. After all, they’d been banging around Europe since 1965 when guitarist Rudolph Schenker founded the band in Hanover, Germany. Their move to the U.S. coincided with a change in record labels and the addition of a young guitarist named Matthias Jabs, which kicked off the most successful period of the band’s existence.

While they we’re hanging out at the Whiskey looking like Nikki Sixx’s pervy uncles, they also managed to produce four hit albums in five years culminating in the subject of this week’s pitch, Love at First Sting.

The lineup of Schenker, Jabs, singer Klaus Meine, bassist Francis Buchholz and drummer Herman Rarebell (a.k.a. Herman ze German!) may sound like the attacking five of the West German World Cup team, but they were unquestionably the best incarnation of the band. The music they created in that four-album, five-year run is as deep as it is wide. You can make a persuasive argument for any one of those records being their finest hour and be right in each case.

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I want to take a moment to talk about Meine. He is easily one of the most underrated singers in heavy metal. Most people think about Rob Halford or Ronnie James Dio or Bruce Dickinson as the signature vocalists of the genre. But, Meine’s clarion voice and considerable range gave Scorpions a distinct sound that elevated them above other bands from that era. Not to mention that Klaus was the author of some of the most unintentionally hilarious stage banter of all time.

When Mitch and I worked in the same agency over a dozen years ago, I could walk out of my office and shout in my best Klaus Meine/Arnold Schwarzenegger accent “Do you know why we love to play Cah-LEE-for-NEE-ya? Do you?!?” To which Mitch would respond from down the hall, “Because you people, you really know how to part-aaaaaay!!!”

Good times.

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Anyway, back to Love at First Sting.

Other than the music itself, there’s nothing really heavy about this album. It’s just happy time party tunes one after another. Yeah, there’s a half-hearted political statement or two, but even that is lost in a maelstrom of premium axe work and catchy lyrics.

“Bad Boys Running Wild” may sound like an ABC After-School Special, but it’s really just a heavy metal “Boys Are Back in Town”. “Big City Nights”, “The Same Thrill” and “As Soon As The Good Times Roll” are face value rockers that offer nothing more than a chance to sing along at the top of your lungs.

As for “Rock You Like A Hurricane”, I double dog dare you to crank it up in your office. Go ahead, nobody will complain. In fact, Ted from Accounting will suddenly appear in your doorway, throw his Brooks Brothers tie over his shoulder and start playing a wild air guitar. It’s that universally loved. Even my wife, who unilaterally loathes most of my metal favorites, will belt out the chorus given half a chance.

The final song on the album, “Still Loving You”, is an undisputed Top 5 power ballad. I was listening to Ozzy’s Boneyard on satellite radio (as one does) and the DJ told a charming story about this song. It seems that Klaus was a little stuck on the lyrics, so he went for a walk in the snow-covered forest to figure it out. I like to think that, Frost-like, he came to a place in the woods where two paths diverged and decided to take the one that rocked harder! Then, he walked back to the studio and recorded the tracks for a song that I would include on countless mix tapes for countless girls who wanted nothing to do with me. Countlessly.

Mitch, Ken, do you know why I love to walk the halls of the Newbury St. Collection? Do you? Because you fellas, you really know how to part-aaaaay!!!

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Ken’s Response:

It’s not too often we get to...errr, choose to celebrate German culture, but I’ll give away the ending, we’re celebrating it this week.

Looking back from way up on high in 2021, the opener “Bad Boys Running Wild” is pretty terrible, but in 1984 it was what every kid between 12-28 was yearning for.  Distorted power chords were the musical aphrodisiac of the time, and Scorpions were more than happy to deal us what we wanted.

With massive hits like “Rock You Like a Hurricane”, “Big City Nights” and the best song on the album, “Still Loving You” one might think you could just dismiss the rest of the record as filler.  You can’t!  There’s too much really solid guitar work, even if it lacks the technical acumen of an Eddie Van Halen or the artistry of a Randy Rhoads.  It’s the vocals though that separate Love At First Sting from other late ‘70s-’80s metal.  Klaus Meine is the real deal and is simply a better, more pure and clean singer than most of his peers.

“Coming Home” and “The Same Thrill” are speed metal songs that I’ve always had a distaste for, largely because speed metal tends to be too fast and intense for singers to keep up.  I’ve shaken my head time and time again questioning why producers didn’t slow it down a bit in the studio, trading a bit of speed for a tighter melody.  Well, maybe they were all just hoping to get a Klaus Meine moment or two.  Simply put, he hits every single note and makes the whole thing work.

I enjoyed this album a lot.  So as it turns out, I don’t hate metal, I just hate bad metal.

• Pitch successful (danke schoen)

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Mitch’s Response:

Back when I pitched Al Stewart’s Year of the Cat CJ confessed that he had a soft spot for soft rock, which I knowingly exploited. Well, turnabout is fair play and CJ is returning the favor by pitching an album that I should hate but he knows that I’ll secretly love. 

CJ has a secret weapon: he’s well aware that I’ll let in any album from the “Lugnut Collection,” named after my older brother (and CJ’s classmate) Steve. Growing up, my brother loved metal, and while I hated the genre at the time, through sheer Clockwork Orangian repetition, I kind of like it now, at least in a nostalgic way. 

The Scorpions were always a favorite, probably due to their judicious use of side-boob on their album covers (no cable or internet back then!), tight musicanship, and hilarious Franz & Hans accents.

Listening to “Bad Boys Running Wild” one gets the sense that Klaus has no idea what he’s singing, like that time I had to fill in as the cute one in Menudo. This continues with his pronunciation of “hurri-ken” in their signature song, “Rock You Like a Hurricane”. In many ways it’s the Germanness that makes The Scorpions notable, as it helps them stand out from all of the NWOBHM bands that were popular at the time.

The songs are a little samey, but they’re all high-quality. The guitar work from Jabs & Schenker is fantastic, the production work is excellent, and it’s just a solid kick-ass rock album. I’m also in full agreement about the sheer awesomeness of “Still Loving You” a truly fantastic power ballad that lasts as long as a giant stein in a bier garden. 

Of course I’m letting the CIA’s favorite band (listen to the “Winds of Change” podcast) into the Newbury St. Collection. That’s where all the Euro-trash hang out in Boston anyway!

• Pitch Successful (Love at First Stockholm Syndrome)

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CJ’s pitch was successful and The Scorpions’ Love at First Sting has been added to the Newbury St. Collection!

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The winds of change have blown the Scorpions into the Newbury St. Collection, but are you still loving this piercing ‘80s metal album? Head on over to the comments section and let us know what you think about Love at First Sting.

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Please join us next week as Mitch tries to play it smooth with his beloved birthday buddy Boz Scaggs and his sexy, slinky smash hit album, Silk Degrees.

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The Exile on Newbury St. Spotify playlist features our favorite songs from all the albums we’ve discussed to date. Subscribe today and listen back on the fun we’ve had so far.

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Exile on Newbury St. is a weekly newsletter competition between some old friends to see who has the best taste in music. Learn more about us and the rules of the game.