Scorpions’ Lovedrive’ Gets Better with Every Listen | Album Review

Since I haven’t been to many concerts growing up, my new mission is to see my favorite hard rock bands before they all retire. As it turns out, the Scorpions are doing a Las Vegas residency in 2022 from late March till the second week of April (but that may change, depending on COVID-19). I’m not a huge fan of the Scorpions, but I’ve heard their hits and my dad is familiar with them. They may be a cool band to see live, you know, if I’m still interested by the time 2022 arrives.

However, it’d be dumb to see a band live if I don’t have at least one of their albums. So, after a trip to the Book Off on July 17, 2021, I bought Lovedrive (1979) for $15. For the Book Off, $15 is pretty expensive, so it better be good.

The album cover is iconic as it has the dude pulling bubblegum from the woman’s um thing. Honestly, I’ve seen worse and it’s not nearly as bad as the original Virgin Killer (1976) album cover, so I’ll take it.

“Loving You Sunday Morning” comes on and it’s got a good beat with Herman Rarebell on drums. But then, the guitar riff kicks in and it’s rocking! I love the distorted guitar tone; not too rough, but it’s got the right amount of edge to it. Klaus Meine sounds awesome on vocals, as well. The next song, “Another Piece of Meat” is a bit more chaotic and fast-paced; the previous song was just a warm-up. Michael Schenker does a magnificent guitar solo; I heard great things about this guy from Sea of Tranquility. 

Meine sounds so sincere and passionate on “Always Somewhere.” Depending on the songs he sings, he can sound either rough or heartfelt. Overall, it’s a beautiful ballad with a great melody. Up next, Mr. Schenker plays inexplicably on “Coast to Coast,” which is an instrumental. I’d be curious to hear what this track would sound like if it had lyrics. But then, I wouldn’t be able to hear the bass.

“Can’t Get Enough” is my least favorite track on the album because the chorus is lazy; I’m not even sure if it counts as a chorus since Meine just sings, “I can’t get enough,” and then moves onto the next verse. Plus, the drum parts are annoying; there’s no groove or specific pattern, it’s just hammering junk. It’s a short song, so maybe the plan was to play nonsense on the drums and move onto the next song.

If I’m not mistaken, Matthias Jabs plays lead guitar for “Is There Anybody There?,” “Always Somewhere,” and “Can’t Get Enough.” Schenker plays lead guitar on the rest of the tracks. If that’s correct, I enjoyed Jabs’ playing on “Is There Anybody There?” The song has a reggae feel, which I found groovy and relaxing. It’s a nice blend of hard rock, reggae, and music that you can listen to at a beach party. 

I’m not crazy about the title track. It’s ok, but I feel like it’s missing something, a bridge, a stronger chorus, or maybe a thumping bass line. The album closes with “Holiday,” which is an acoustic track for the most part, but then the drums and electric guitar kick in after the second verse. This one is slowly growing on me and it does have a nice melody, but it is a bit long. I think the acoustic section at the end could’ve been shortened a bit, since the track length is 6:32.

I enjoyed 6 out of the 8 tracks (“Lovedrive” and “Holiday” got half points), which rounds out to 75 percent. With that in mind, I’ll give Lovedrive a rating of 3.5 out of 5 stars. Overall, it’s a decent album and again, I really enjoyed Meine’s vocals, so that helped a lot. It’s getting better with every listen, so my feelings may change within the next couple of years.

Comment below your favorite song from the Scorpions’ Lovedrive album!

Take care and see ya real soon!

Lana