The Scorpions

I heard about Seif Abu Bakr and The Scorpions for the first time maybe 3-4 years ago. Their album “Jazz, Jazz Jazz” ended up on my radar because of an eBay auction; it might have been the first auction for this particular album on the platform. While the bids kept on rising daily up to a staggering 1000$, if I recall correctly, I was intrigued about the snippet preview bits of the music on this album as well as by the impressive artwork. This album happens to be my first conscious connection with Sudanese music. Habibi Funk must have already existed for a year or so but I had not yet come across any recording from Sudan that I felt fitting in the context we set for our self. I remember I did some quick research in the aftermath of the auction (which I obviously did not win) to gather some information about the band but apart from some vague bits and pieces I could not find anything.

The Scorpions never sounded better. This tribute is well worth adding to your archives of metal. Inspired by the pioneers of metal, you can't help but like this one. Take away Therion's cover of Crying Days and Rough Silk's version of Is There Anybody There and your left with 16 killer tracks…

The Best of the Scorpions, Vol. 2 contains ten songs from the Scorpions' late-'70s and early-'80s records, prior to their crossover hits "No One Like You" and "Rock You Like a Hurricane." …

ANIMAL MAGNETISM is an album that may take a few spins before its hypnotic metal groove takes hold. The underlying theme of the album is sexuality and could find easily serve as fine soundtrack for an evening of passion…

It's quite difficult to find a young person who knows about the Scorpions. Even when their careers were peaking in the '80s, they were never widely recognized, existing always as more of an underground band. The lack of hit singles produced by the group is by no means a judgment of its talent, however, as Deadly Sting: The Mercury Years proves. Some may find the fact that Mercury made the compilation a double-disc set surprising – again due to the band's small following – but the album is far better than the single-disc collection Best of Rockers 'n' Ballads. Following chronologically from 1979 to 1993 (thus covering the years in which the band enjoyed its most success)…

Blackout was the Scorpions' first majorly successful album, due to its clever balance of pop/rock (the title track), power ballads ("When the Smoke Is Going Down"), and catchy heavy metal ("Dynamite," "No One Like You"). Vocalist Klaus Meine had a throat operation prior to the record's release, and surprisingly, his voice sounds more melodic and lively than ever…

The Scorpions' two previous releases, Blackout and Love at First Sting, were mostly successful due to the band's ability to adjust with the times; with Blackout, they used the classic power rock introduced by bands like Van Halen, and for Sting they used similar melodies, but with a harder, tighter sound akin to the work of such bands as Dokken and REO Speedwagon. With Savage Amusement, the group's first studio recording in almost four years, The Scorpions experimented with more polished pop melodies that Def Leppard and the like had made popular…

Taken By Force is the fifth studio album by German hard rock band Scorpions, released by RCA Records in 1977. This was the first Scorpions album to feature drummer Herman Rarebell and the final album to feature guitarist Uli Jon Roth…

When the Scorpions finally broke through to the mainstream in 1982, RCA released numerous compilations of the band's earlier work from the '70s. By no means should one think The Best of the Scorpions is for diehards only – the music here is quite enjoyable. RCA would go on to release several more Scorpions compilations (Best Of, Vol. 2, Hot & Heavy, Best of Rockers 'n' Ballads, etc.), but the original Best Of is still the wisest purchase.