[HOT TRACK]Get Ready to Be Stung － Again
Published: 05 Jan. 2003, 16:57
Bon Jovi's "One Wild Night: Live 1985 - 2001" made its Korean debut last Thursday, and is now listed as one of the best selling albums on the local pop chart.
Another living legend of rock, the Scorpions, released a live album titled "Acoustica" last Saturday. As the name suggests, this album features all "unplugged" songs, the group's first try at this album format. The 15 tracks were taken from live concerts held in Lisbon, Portugal.
The band at present consists of a five member line-up － vocals are performed by Klaus Meine, Matthias Jabs on lead guitar, Ralph Rieckermann on bass, James Kottack on drums and Rudolf Schenker (who originally formed the band in 1969) on rhythm guitar. Considered one of the most successful rock bands from eastern Europe, the Scorpions have released 23 albums and sold 22 million copies to date.
"Lonesome Crow," released in 1972, was their very first album and was used as the sound track for the German film "Das Kalte Paradies." Strangely enough, the album is hardly known to the general public.
Most critics agree that the band's heyday was from the late 1970s to the early 1990s. "Animal Magnetism" was released in 1980 and earned gold platinum status. "Crazy World" was the best selling album of the band in 1990 with the hit song "Wind of Change." Before the release of "Crazy World," Meine underwent surgery on his vocal chords, but, fortunately, his voice has retained its unique timbre as the new live album shows.
Since the early 1990s, worldwide the rock music scene has switched from heavy metal and hard rock to alternative style, which has eroded the popularity of the band, with its very typical rock sound. But the Scorpions' fame is undimmed as this new release proves.
"Acoustica" includes older favorites from the band such as "Holiday" and "Wind of Change," and it also features its most recently released singles, such as "When Love Kills Love."
Three of the songs are remakes of other hits including, "Love of My Life," originally sung by Queen, "Drive," by the Cars and "Dust in the Wind," by Kansas.
The group is scheduled to perform in Korea in late July, two times in Seoul and once in Pusan.
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"Distant memories are buried in the past forever. . . I follow the Moskva down to Gorky park."
－ from "Wind of Change"
by Chun Su-jin
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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