I’ve
been rolling a lot of hard rock and heavy metal lately. Three of the last four
albums are in that genre, including this next review.
Disc 1194 is… Animal Magnetism
Artist: Scorpions
Year of Release: 1980
What’s up with the Cover? This looks like the kind of
cover that would have inspired the ‘smell the glove’ jokes in Spinal Tap. The
Scorpions loved to push the boundaries on their album art, and “Animal
Magnetism” is no exception.
If you
think this cover is offensive you should know that it was their first album in the last five that wasn't censored in the United States. Whether you hate this cover, love
this cover, or just love that some people will hate this cover, I’m not keen on
censorship and I’m glad one of their covers was finally left alone.
How I Came To Know It: Like a lot of Canadians my age, I
only really knew the Scorpions from 1982’s “Blackout” forward. My buddy Spence introduced
me to several earlier Scorpions albums over the last few years, and this was
one of my favourites.
How It Stacks Up: The last time I rolled the Scorpions (February
2015) I only had three of their albums. Thanks to Spence’s encouragement and a
little exploration I now have five, and I’m considering getting a sixth. Of the
five I have, “Animal Magnetism” comes in at #2, easily displacing “Love at
First Sting.”
Ratings: 4 stars
When it comes to the
birth of heavy metal I look immediately to Black Sabbath as the father of it
all, and Iron Maiden and Judas Priest as the two younger uncles. However, the
Scorpions deserve a place in the discussion – maybe a fourth brother who we
didn’t know as well growing up because he lived on the continent.
“Animal Magnetism” is
a classic early metal record. On their earlier records the Scorpions had
dabbled with the sound of screeching guitar riffs, and the almost operatic
bombast that characterizes metal. Here, they go all in.
As much of this album eventually
impressed me, the opening track “Make It
Real” gave me cause for doubt. For some reason this track sounded a bit
tinny, and felt a bit pop radio in its construction, despite the powerhouse
vocals of Klaus Meine.
Fortunately, all doubt
was quickly dispelled as the record progressed. “Don’t Make Promises (Your Body Can’t Keep)” starts like a burst of
machine gun fire before quickly dropping into a crunchy guitar riff. It is also
a great example of how lead guitarist Matthias Jabs and rhythm guitarist Rudolf
Schenker play masterfully off each other. Schenker is the engine of these
songs, brilliantly sitting in the pocket and infusing the music with horsepower.
Jabs floats in on top, delivering some sweet runs that amp it up.
The best example of
this is on “Twentieth Century Man.”
The two guitarists know exactly how to make each other sound better, and it
doesn’t hurt that Klaus Meine is one of metal’s great vocalists. The music has
the cold strength of steel girders, balanced by the majesty of the anthemic
song structures. It is like looking up in awe at a skyscraper and standing triumphantly
on top of it at the same time.
If you listen to a lot
of Scorpions you’ll know these guys really enjoy singing about sex, and many of
these songs are straightforward appeals for booty with very little subterfuge
about them. Meine is either singing about taking girls home, asking girls if
they’ll come home with him or apologizing to his girlfriend for all those girls
he’s taking home. Lines like these from the title track:
“You make me groove
I want you, that’s all I do
Make love to me right now
Love me ‘till I’m down”
Leave little to the
imagination. Just written on the page like that they are hilariously over the
top. When they’re accompanied by music they’re still pretty funny, but you forgive
it all because of how righteously the songs rock out.
The Scorpions were early
adopters (some would argue creators) of the power ballad. On “Animal Magnetism”
it is “Lady Starlight.” It is a bit
too hippy dippy for my tastes, but nonetheless has some pretty guitar picking
and Meine’s vocals, where he briefly trades in his “let’s do the sex!” routine
for some genuine romance.
Before long he’s back
to being creepy. “Falling in Love”
sounds like it is going to be romantic, but the way Meine gives off Bon
Scott-like “eeuwww!” sounds makes it
clear this isn’t love. Then right when you are expecting more of the same he
throws in a falsetto “yeah!” like a
sexual climax. It is delightfully gross.
The album features the
band’s eighth drummer, Herman Rarebell which I mention because of the Spinal
Tap overtones and because Rarebell does a fine job of keeping things organized
and on time, with a sharp snap to his drumming that is exactly what the record
needs. In a band that has had 11 drummers over its history, Rarebell was the
man through much of their major success, including writing some of the songs
and lyrics. He deserves a shout out for both his talent and his endurance. From
1977-1995 he was a key part of the band’s success, never once drowning in vomit
– his own, or anyone else’s.
Best
tracks: Don’t
Make Promises (Your Body Can’t Keep), Hold Me Tight, Twentieth Century Man,
Falling In Love
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