Scorpions Farewell Tour – Scorpions Istanbul Concert Review, October 2010

Posted on October 4, 2010 Written by ripitup

Scorpions: Matthias Jabs, Rudolf Schenker, Klaus Meine, Pawe? M?ciwoda and James Kottak — Scorpions: (from left) Matthias Jabs, Rudolf Schenker, Klaus Meine, Pawe? M?ciwoda and James Kottak. Image via itusozluk.com

And once again, I was rocked like a hurricane! 2 years after I saw the band live in Istanbul, they rocked us once more.

Scorpions are a hard-rock band formed in 1965. And they have been rocking ever since. Unfortunately, the band decided to retire, so this concert was the part of their 3-year, around-the-world farewell tour. From what I saw, they so didn’t need to say retire as they looked like they at least had a decade of fun live concerts in them and their last album Sting in the Tail (2010) does sound like it was made by a band in their late 20s and early 30s, not rockers in their late 40s/50s/early 60s. But maybe they did want to leave at the top and as much as I am gonna miss their energy, I can respect that. There is also the fact that rock concerts can be tiring. At 26, I spent the whole Sunday (the day after the concert) being lazy. Well, walking numerous bus stops to the venue, standing up for hours, trying to find a good spot between thousands of people, dancing, head-banging and singing like crazy does this to you. But the concert – the show, was worth the every level of exhaustion.

Here is a partial list of the songs they played (I almost always forget a few afterwards, so sorry about that): Sting in the Tail (the song from the 2010 album Sting in the Tail as you can imagine. This was the opening number), Dynamite, Big City Lights, Tease Me Please Me, Wind of Change (I mean, duh!), Raised on Rock (also from Sting in the Tail, a very fast and rockin’ number), The BeSt Is Yet to Come (Sting in the Tail), Holiday, Loving You Sunday Morning. They made one comeback after pretending to leave (my voice chords still feel the pain) and they sang Still Loving You and Rock You Like A Hurricane.

The show itself was your typical, rockin’ classic: the guitaristS running up to each other, playing together with fun moves, stepping up to the drummer’s platform, the drummer stepping up, the essential drum solo and the guitar solos…The songs got louder, faster, harder and longer than their original versions, Klaus integrated our vocals into the songs and we had one hell of a good time. One of my favorite bits was the drum solo. Because the band had prepared this fun set of video stints (starring the drummer), showing him in the funniest and craziest of situations and ending up In a Scorpions album cover image. And talk about customization: while the band was singing Big City Lights, the video images behind them showed big city lights, and Istanbul was written all over the screen…

The members are Klaus Meine (vocals), Matthias Jabs, Rudolf Schenker, Pawe? M?ciwoda, James Kottak (drums) . The youngest members are James Kottak – the drummer (born in 1962, joined the band in 1996) andPawe? M?ciwoda (born in 1967, joined the band in 2003). Oldest members are Klaus Meine and guitarist Rudolf Schenker, both German, born in 1948 and are founding members.

I went to see the band with 3 friends (one about my age, 2 of them about 5 years older) and unfortunately for them, they didn’t have as much fun as I did. One liked Ozzy Osbourne’s drummer better than Kottak (I can’t know, didn’t go to see Ozzy live) but for me, if you are comparing drummers, you can’t get more challenging than Rick Allen, the one-armed drummer of Def Leppard. Another friend was complaining they didn’t play enough hit songs and one wasn’t all that happy about the guitarist’s stints and the band’s wardrobe in general. I had gone to the concert after listening to the last album and being in love with it. They played my absolute Scorpion favorites Rock You Like a Hurricane (it was also their comeback and closing song at the 2008 concert) and Tease Me Please Me. I loved how they played Raised on Rock from the new album, as it totally reflects my views on rock. And I love how guitarists and band members interact with each other- it is a rock classic. And while a man in tight leather pants walking in the streets in broad daylight would raise both my eyebrows, it is so rocknroll and it so fits a rock concert! In a way, I felt I was the oldest member of the group, because I was so at home with what the band members did and enjoyed every minute of it. I am such a rock-head. I live and breathe it and give me a rock concert hangover any day…

I’ll be reviewing the last album shortly but let me just quote from the song Raised on Rock:

“I was born in a hurricane
Nothing to lose and everything to gain
Ran before I walked
Reaching for the top
Out of control just like a runaway train

I never walked on the narrow path
I always wanted what I didn’t have
All was not enough
Riding lady luck
Driving in the fast lane and just stepped on the gas

Cause I was raised on rock
My dad was howling but my heart was a rolling stone
Yeah I was raised on rock
My mama said I had a devil to scratch my soul
And I was raised on rock”

P.S. It was so unfair for them to play The Best is Yet to Come, totally rock and be on the verge of retiring! That stung!

What do you mean You Haven’t Heard of Metallica?

Posted on June 2, 2010 Written by ripitup

So did you hear about Metallica? If you are slightly in the rock, there is a chance you heard of them. But as it happens, they are not as popular as I thought.

Now, I love some Metallica songs, either covers they did or their original. I don’t go to their concerts but my mp3 player has quite a few of their tracks. I grew up in the late 80s and 90s and probably belong to one of the last generations that express themselves with music. When I grew up, it was a shame not to know who Pearl Jam were or when Kurt Cobain died. It was cool to despise Courtney love and it was even cooler to love Guns N’ Roses. They would literally laugh in your face if you didn’t associate a certain type of metal with Metallica. Years passed by and there came a time when they were considered so mainstream… What happened? They did not fall off the face off the earth or stop filling stadiums or selling records…

James Hetfield, Metallica concert image — Didn't front man James Hetfield's hair burn during a fire stunt a couple of years ago? That's why he had it cut, right? Oh, well no objections here if James wants to set us on fire. Well, metophorically. Image from: http://www.cianw.co.uk/wp-content/uploads

Maybe this friend of mine should hang with different crowds or hang with some older people. Because he plays the electric guitar and it is fun and cool and necessary to play Metallica. I have a classic guitar. Just like most my peers around my age, it was bought with the hopes that I could one day upgrade to electric and play electric guitar solos. Oh, the dream! I most wanted to play Paradise City by Guns n’ Roses. Ah, the dreams of the youth. Kidding, I am still young and I still dream. It’s just that I am tone-deaf and far too busy launching a writing career. But I had taken a course years ago and one of the first things I learned was to play the main melody of Nothing Else Matters by Metallica. Oh and Come As You Are by Nirvana. Good old times.

Well, thanks for reading this nostalgic rant of a rock a chick. So why not list your favorite songs by them? No, wait! Individual Metallica best ofs should be the subject for another article!

But for all the other rock addicts out there, below are links to my other posts on rock(nroll):

10 Awesome Metallica Songs- Favorites of a Rock Addict

Seven Cover Songs That Rock

25+ Rocknroll Songs That You Can Dance to

Top Three Cover Songs: Alient Ant Farm, Warrant and Ugly Kid Joe

Fun Rock Poll for Rock FansFive Songs You Adore From Musicians You Don’t Normally Care About

Rock N Roll Mischief: 10 Dirty Rock Songs

Bon Jovi Were Born to be Followed

Album Review: Alice Cooper, Thrash (1989)

Year of The Black Rainbow by Coheed and Cambria

Posted on May 6, 2010 Written by ripitup

Year of The Black Rainbow by Coheed and Cambria. A modern progressive rock/metal album. Image from: http://www.israbox.com

Coheed and Cambria is an American progressive rock/metal band that recently released its 5^th album; Year of the Black Rainbow. It is not uncommon for progressive bands to have an album revolving around one big “theme”/story (Dream Theater, anyone? ) and Coheed and Cambria have made no exceptions here. Frontman Claudio Sanchez has been writing comic books series called The Amory Wars and the albums have always been related to the comics. This last album serves as prequel to the story.

Coheed and Cambria band members. Image from http://images.fanpop.com/

Don’t worry, even if you are not a loyal Coheed and Cambria fan or you’re not into the comic series, you can still enjoy the songs. The album consists of 12 solid songs -15 in the album’s deluxe edition. The first track one is a non-lyrical simple intro and is followed by the energetic The Broken. Labeling the album or the band as simply progressive will be over-simplifying things. Listening to the tracks, you will find elements from progressive rock/metal, hard rock and heavy metal. Some extra electronic touches are especially felt in the song Guns of Summer. Just like any decent metal album, you are offered a few slower tracks to let you catch your breath from all the head-banging, singing along and air-drumming you’re bound to do.

The slower songs are by no means entirely slow. Nor are they boring. These two are called Far and The Black Rainbow. And how slow can a metal song really get? Exactly. You’ll be finding outbursts and fine electric-guitar solos in these two as well.

Far is the 5^th track and after that the comic book theme is felt more heavily. While the lyrics make sense even if you don’t know the entire history and the comics, you will no doubt identify more if you have an idea about Sanchez’ The Amory Wars. The deluxe edition comes with the novel so you can catch up.

Fans of the progressive genre will probably appreciate the whole album. If you are more inclined towards hard rock or heavy metal, you might find the first half of the album more engaging and satisfactory. There are no brutal vocals and singer Sanchez knows how to adjust his voice according to the soul of the lyrics. It is overall a fine concept album.

It is also worth noting that the band’s official site has made a good job of engaging the fans with available concert tickets and polls about favorite songs.

Album Review: Alice Cooper, Trash (1989)

Posted on May 5, 2010 Written by ripitup

Alice Cooper, Trash album cover. Released in 1989. Image via images.uulyrics.com/cover/a/alice-cooper/album-trash.jpg

I knew about and liked Alice Cooper for a long time before I found the album Thrash. When something is really fun, I remember everything about it. That’s the way my memory works. I bought Trash in 2005, in Norway. As much as I enjoy all of Alice’s songs, this album was made for me- with its perfect guitar riffs and solos and the fun lyrics, with the right cool vocals to match. You can dance to this album and if you can catch up with the songs, I guarantee you’ll be down at least a couple of pounds down once the tracks finish playing. Since I love each and every one of the songs, I described evewry one of them seperately and included a part of the lyrics. Enjoy!

1) Poison: Any rock fan has to know the song Poison surely? It is how us late rock boomers (meaning those who were born in the late 80s and had to discover rock on their own. Thanks to VH1 and later the internet) Cooper. Great Karaoke song and a great way to see how long that breath of yours can last.

“One look could kill
My pain, your thrill
I want to love you, but I better not touch (Don’t touch)
I want to hold you but my senses tell me to stop
I want to kiss you but I want it too much (Too much)
I want to taste you but your lips are venomous poison
You’re poison runnin’thru my veins
You’re poison, I don’t want to break these chains”

2) Spark in the Dark: This is just sexy, saucy, naughty and just fun.

[pro-player width=’530′ height=’253′ type=’video’]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kwGsM_XKDUc[/pro-player]

“Come around midnight
We’ll be crawlin’on the floor
Burnin’with the fever
And yellin’out for more
But don’t you write it in your diary, baby
Don’t blab it on the phone
Cuz if your mom and dad find out
They’ll skin me to the bone
Now we don’t need instructions, baby
Don’t you be afraid
It takes a little friction
That’s how our love is made
From a little spark in the dark”

3) House of Fire: passion, passion and more passion. Hell, yeah!

“House of fire
House of fire, yeah
Let’s build a house of fire, baby
Not one of wood or stone
Walk thru my door of desire, baby
Come on in and make it your home
Don’t need a window to watch you, baby
Don’t need no roof overhead
Don’t need no key to unlock ya, baby
I’ll use my lovin’instead
I won’t tire
Take me higher
Building a house of fire, baby
Buildin’it with our love
We are buildin’a house of fire every time we touch
House of fire”

4) Why Trust You: mistrust, spite and anger. They have never been more entertaining. Boy, Alice Cooper rocks. More than ever.

“You come to me all teary-eyed
With your big tall tale way up to the sky
Begging on your knees for another chance
But everybody knows that’s a song and a dance
There used to be a time when you were the best
You had the fastest tongue in the west
Ya gave a look and a line like nobody else
You’d try to sell the Bible to the devil, Himself
You sadistic little liar
You’re walking on the wire you’re bluffin’up with nothin’
And the bills are gettin’higher
Why trust you”

5) Only My Hart Talkin’: Funny how our groupie-loving bad boys can go romantic better than other genre singers. Screw pop. I mean really. Why would you need a supposedly tear-jerking song when Alice can sing you an electric ballad? Slow in the right places. And faster in all the right ones too.
“Anybody’s dream can fall apart
Anybody’s mask can break
Couldn’t tell you how I wanted you
Enough to make you want to stay
I never said the words out loud
I guess I couldn’t get’em straight
Baby, give me one more chance
Before you walk away
It’s only, only, only my heart talkin’ “

6) Bed of Nails: And romance is over and passion,lust and mischief are back. “No one else gets that deep inside you, As I do, baby”. I am just quoting. Love this song.

“Yeah, we’re gonna fight
We do it every night
Baby, when you scratch
You know I’m gonna bite
You can make me die
I can make you cry
Opposites attract
That’s the reason why
No one else could make you feel
Like I do, I do, I do
No one else gets that deep inside you
As I do, baby
Our love is a bed of nails
Love hurts good on a bed of nails
I’ll lay you down and when all else fails
I’ll drive you like hammer on the bed of nails”

7) This Maniac’s In Love With You: I am totally in love with this album. I adore every single track in it. But I just adore some songs more than the other. This is one of them. Perfect for dancing your butt off to and so cute too. It is so much better when a guy knows what an s.o.b. he is. I am just kidding. But if he is calling himself a maniac, he probably is.

[pro-player width=’530′ height=’253′ type=’video’]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XsDPIYHRfYU&feature=related[/pro-player]

“I used to be so in control
But reality is losing its hold
Now I don’t know where to begin
Just look at the state that I’m in
My mind is in total decay
I’m coming to take you away
There’s nothing more that I can do
This maniac’s in love with you
Your biggest fear has just come true
This maniac’s in love with you
This maniac’s in love with you”

8 ) Trash: And the cute guy is again replaced by the dirty-chick loving regular Joe. Trash is the girl that all guys fantasize about. I wouldn’t get all thrash for Cooper but for some specific rockers, I just might. Below is the audio track.

[pro-player width=’530′ height=’253′ type=’video’]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wca1aKR8G6Y[/pro-player]

” It ain’t the way you crawl across the Cathouse floor
It ain’t the way you curse me when you slam the bedroom door
It ain’t the way you sweat me for a handful of easy cash
It’s just the way you love me when you turn to trash
Trash
It’s not the way you dress when you socialize, oh those eyes
It ain’t the diamond rock or that Rolls you drive
You can walk the streets with all your uptown flash
But when you hit the sheets you just turn trash
You’re such trash”

9) Hell Is Living Without You: It was time we got romantic once again. One of my favorite slowish rock songs. Well, it is slower than the other songs…right until Alice feels the need to express himself more loudly and passionately. Just terrific. Who gives a crap about Always (Bon Jovi- I love that band-my favorite band actually- but Always is The most overrated Bon Jovi song ever) when there is this song?

“Hell is living without your love
Ain’t nothing without your
Touch me
Heaven would be like hell
Is living without you
Nights get longer and colder
I’m down begging to hold ya
On my own and I feel like hell”

10) I am your gun: And the naughty rocker is back. Another hard-rock song to boogie to. Love this song. Yeah, if any of you is a teenager, don’t listen to this song while your parents are around.

“And if you see me on the street
And you’re burnin’from the heat
There’s a fire down below
You be the target on the bed
I’ll be shooting hot lead
Let me take control
You’re scared little girl in this big, bad town
So easy to sink, so easy to drown
Pull my trigger, I get bigger
Then I’m lots of fun
I’m your gun
I’m your gun, gun, gun
Bite my bullet
Push and pull it
Tell me I’m the one
I’m your gun
I’m your gun, gun, gun”

10 /10. As perfect as glam+hard rock get. If you are a fan of great electric riffs and an ultra-energizing 10-song-album with only 2 songs that barely give you a time to rest, this album is THE ONE. Long live Alice Cooper!