Do we really need another Scorpions compilation, seriously? Probably not. However, given that the band have been around for six decades, we can cut them some slack and let them have some anniversary fun.
For any fans whose shelves are already groaning under the weight of nearly 30 ‘best of’s, ballads ’n’ rockers and hot ’n’ heavies, on this new comp there are a couple of previously unreleased songs to sweeten the deal: an excellent live version of Fly To The Rainbow-era golden oldie This Is My Song, from Germany’s Rock & Pop 1973, and a tear-jerkingly epic live version of Love At First Sting mega-ballad Still Loving You from French music show Taratata in 1996, featuring violinist Vanessa Mae.
These tracks aside, it’s not hard to guess much of the rest of the 31 tracks, which run from Lonesome Crow’s In Search Of The Peace Of Mind through to the title track of 2022’s Rock Believer. Most of the Scorpions’ albums are represented by only one track, but from 1984’s US smash hit Love At First Sting there are Still Loving You, Big City Nights and Rock You Like A Hurricane.
What impresses most about this collection is the sheer variety of the material, which stretches from their early hippie-dippy noodling, via crunching heavy rock and chart-bothering ballads, through to grandiose orchestral collaborations. That the Scorpions have survived and thrived for this long is no fluke, and this compilation provides a sweeping taster of their impressive songwriting skills and commercial nous.
