Pure Instinct [PA]

Performer: Scorpions
Engineer: Erwin Musper; Attie Bauw
Distributor: Alternative Dis. Alliance

Notes: Scorpions: Klaus Meine (vocals); Matthias Jabs (guitar, 6- & 12-string acoustic guitars, slide guitar); Rudolf Schenker (guitar, 6- & 12-string acoustic guitars, E-bow, background vocals); Luke Herzog, Koen Van Bael (keyboards); Ralph Rieckermann (bass); Curt Cress (drums, percussion); Pitti Hecht (percussion). Producers include: Keith Olsen, Klause Meine, Rudolf Schenker, Matthias Jabs, Ralph Rieckermann. Personnel: Klaus Meine (vocals, background vocals); Matthias Jabs (guitar, acoustic guitar, acoustic 12-string guitar, slide guitar); Rudolf Schenker (guitar, acoustic guitar, acoustic 12-string guitar, E-bow, background vocals); Luke Herzog (keyboards); Curt Cress (drums, percussion). Audio Mixer: Erwin Musper. There are two ways to look at this album. While many fans might be disappointed with the lack of hard rock expected, some of the Scorpions' best songs ever haunt this album. After getting the listener's attention with the rowdy "Wild Child" and dramatic "But the Best for You," Pure Instinct mellows out and displays the Scorpions' maturity in composing and songwriting from such songs as "Does Anyone Know," "Soul Behind the Face" and "When You Came into My Life." Although some might find it boring, the album speaks with certain emotions the Scorps haven't expressed for many years, which is especially absent from the album Face the Heat. While it may not be as much a rock album as many fans would have hoped for, it is still an album that can be very worthwhile. ~ Barry Weber On Pure Instinct, the Scorpions shoot for crossover success by concentrating on ballads -- and that's not the in the power ballad style, either. Though there are still distorted guitars, they're buried in the mix, which fulfills the intention of accentuating the melodies. Unfortunately, those melodies aren't particularly memorable, especially when placed in comparison with their previous mega-hit, "Winds of Change." The handful of rockers don't do enough to vary the pace of Pure Instinct and the album, consequently, is a bore. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Melody Maker (5/18/96, p.49) - "...Any band who'll open an album with the lines `She's a wild child/And the love she makes rocks the mind off my brain' must have something about them. A careless abandon perhaps..."

Scorpions are one of Germany's most popular rock exports. As part of the first wave of 1970s heavy metal, the band played a tight melodic version of the increasingly harder and heavier rock that was becoming popular at the time. Scorpions would go on to influence hair-metal acts like Motley Crue, as well as more aggressive bands like Megadeth and Metallica. The band's 1989 Cold War power-ballad "Winds of Change" was an international smash and sold several million copies worldwide.

Click Here for Shipping Options and Policies

Shipping or Dimension weight in pounds: 0.25