[.ca] Blackout

From Amazon.com:
German heavy metal marauders Scorpions recorded seven studio records before breaking in to the U.S. market in 1982 with Blackout. The album became the group's first platinum disc in the U.S., and the dynamic single "No One Like You" became a staple of album rock radio. While the Scorpions had created powerful anthems and epic rockers in the past, Blackout mixed the ingredients just right. The title track was an endorphin rush of fast-riffing guitars and electrified, high-pitched vocals that culminated with the sound of shattering glass. "Can't Live Without You" was a powerful melange of flash, firepower, and pure melody, and the slow, surging "China White" sounded like a psychedelic interpretation of Led Zeppelin's "Kashmir." After years of ignored visas, Scorpions had finally arrived in America. --Jon Wiederhorn

It's still pretty good, after all these years:
This is the Scorpions' Off the Wall. When Michael Jackson hit his peak with Thriller, it was interesting to go back and hear the previous album. When the Scorpions hit their peak with Love at First Sting, you could go back and hear this, the album in which they were clearly trying to figure out how to reach the largest possible audience. On Blackout, even the missteps are pretty good. You Give Me All I Need and No One Like You are prototype power ballads with a little too much power. That makes them more interesting than anything on Love at First Sting. And songs like Blackout and Now! are a lot of fun --- garage versions of Rock You Like a Hurricane. It helps that this album sounds so good remastered. It's really tight, but too old to be as slick as anything produced today. And they didn't throw in any extra tracks; I just want the original album, sounding good but without weak bonus tracks.

It's OK, but...:
You can really do alright with the greatest hits packages, seeing as how all the strongest tracks ("Blackout" "No One Like You" "You Give Me All I Need") are already on BEST OF ROCKERS n' BALLADS, and "China White" and "Dynamite" appear on the double disc DEADLY STING. Then there is the new millenium's VERY BEST OF and by then, you pretty much have the best of this album all available elsewhere. No doubt a good album, but being only a passing Scorps fan, and only really a fan of thier "heavy 80s/early 90s, I'll stick to the hits. You may want to as well. Save your money folks, we aren't all rich. I recommend CRAZY WORLD compared to this. As for the music on here, it is the begenning of the Scorps golden metal years, with "No One Like You" being my ultimate favourite from this CD. "When the Smoke is Going Down" has some great guitar lines but the song itself just doesn't come across well. Really every song here is good but just misses the mark somehow, coming only close to being a really great tune. "Arizona" is catchy and sports a heavy groove that fit well together too. Check it out based on your own tastes, everyone is different, and everyone prefers a different time in the Scorps long, long career. 5/9

It is one of the Scorpions hard rocking albums:
It is a more hard rocking album of the Scorpions. It has more of a hevy metal sound than in the Scorpions other album Animal Magnetism and Lovedrive. It even has the song "When the Smoke is going down" in it. It has an eerie sound in it, it's not too soft of a song nor too hard. That song would be an authentic Scorpions classic. Dynamite, Now and Blackout shows the heavy metal side of the Scorpions. The song "You give me all I need" shows more of the band's emotional side. I recommend this album if you are a hard rocking Scorpions fan.

4.5 stars - excellent album:
Blackout (1982.) Scorpions' eighth album. In 1982, the Scorpions released their eighth studio album, Blackout. At the time of its release, it would go on to become their most popular album of all (that is, until their next one, Love At First Sting, would steal that honor away.) Is Blackout a heavy metal masterpiece worthy of its lofty reputation, or is it just a subpar effort from the band? Read on for my review. By looking at this album's tracklist, you can easily see that two of the band's biggest hits were originally recorded for this album - the fast, furious and heavy title track, and the mainstream-oriented power rocker, No One Like You. These tracks have been among those responsible for bringing the band tremendous fame. And, of course, as with any Scorpions albums, there is way more here than meets the eye. Much like Animal Magnetism before it, this is mostly an album of fast and heavy tracks, although the band does try its hand at ballads - rather well, might I add. One thing that greatly angers me is that the Scorpions have been deemed a glam/hair metal band due to all of their popularity in the eighties amongst bands of those stylings, and their long hair. THE SCORPIONS ARE NOT A GLAM METAL BAND! If you need proof that the band is a straight-up metal act and not glam rockers, listening to this album might just be enough to change your mind. All in all, this proves to be another excellent album for the band. Over the years, a number of heavy metal bands have emerged from Germany, but none as talented as the Scorpions. If you like the band for their tracks that rock hard, Blackout is a must-add to your collection.

4.5 stars - More classic metal excellence:
Blackout (1982.) Scorpions' eighth album. In 1982, the Scorpions released their eighth studio album, Blackout. At the time of its release, it would go on to become their most popular album of all (that is, until their next one, Love At First Sting, would steal that honor away.) Is Blackout a heavy metal masterpiece worthy of its lofty reputation, or is it just a subpar effort from the band? Read on for my review. By looking at this album's tracklist, you can easily see that two of the band's biggest hits were originally recorded for this album - the fast, furious and heavy title track, and the mainstream-oriented power rocker, No One Like You. These tracks have been among those responsible for bringing the band tremendous fame. And, of course, as with any Scorpions albums, there is way more here than meets the eye. Much like Animal Magnetism before it, this is mostly an album of fast and heavy tracks, although the band does try its hand at ballads - rather well, might I add. One thing that greatly angers me is that the Scorpions have been deemed a glam/hair metal band due to all of their popularity in the eighties amongst bands of those stylings, and their long hair. THE SCORPIONS ARE NOT A GLAM METAL BAND! If you need proof that the band is a straight-up metal act and not glam rockers, listening to this album might just be enough to change your mind. All in all, this proves to be another excellent album for the band. Over the years, a number of heavy metal bands have emerged from Germany, but none as talented as the Scorpions. If you like the band for their tracks that rock hard, Blackout is a must-add to your collection.

• Blackout
• Can't Live Without You
• No One Like You
• You Give Me All I Need
• Now!
• Dynamite
• Arizona
• China White
• When the Smoke Is Going Down