The Scorpions setlist is entirely focused on the ‘Lovedrive’ to ‘Love At First Sting’ albums making this a great, post-Uli Jon Roth greatest hits live.
Written by: Dave T
ARTIST: The Scorpions
ALBUM: World Wide Live
LABEL: EMI/Harvest
SERIAL: CDP 7 46155 2
YEAR: 1985
CD REISSUE: Reissue List
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: Germany
LINEUP: Klaus Meine – vocals * Matthias Jabs – guitars * Rudolf Schenker – guitars * Francis Buhholz – bass * Herman Rarebell – drums
TRACK LISTING: 01 Countdown * 02 Coming Home * 03 Blackout * 04 Bad Boys Running Wild * 05 Loving You Sunday Morning * 06 Make It Real * 07 Big City Nights * 08 Coast To Coast * 09 Holiday * 10 Still Loving You * 11 Rock You Like A Hurricane * 12 Can’t Live Without You * 13 The Zoo * 14 No One Like You * 15 Dynamite
RATING: 90/100
WEBLINK: Official Website | FB Link
Background
According to the Scorpions, the live album was a secondary outcome of a project centered in a documentary intended to show a touring band (‘Always Somewhere’ lyrics spring to mind). After four albums with the classic 80’s lineup, the last two very successful worldwide, it was about time.
Gone were Meine’s vocal issues that risked ‘Blackout’s release as well as Rarebell and Buchholz issues with drugs/alcohol and producer Dieter Dierks respectively. The band was at a commercial and live act peak and the time seemed right. Five concerts held at Paris, LA, San Diego, Cologne and Costa Mesa between February and April of 1984 were recorded, and the best cuts were mixed to build a single concert that mirrored the then-current ‘Love At First Sting’ setlist.
The Songs
I’ve always had a fondess for Rudolf Schenker’s primal, gargantuan approach to rhythm guitar that was and still is the foundation of Scorpions’ hard rock. Mathias Jabs flashy style was already fully integrated to the band’s sound, Klaus Meine seemed to have recovered from vocal surgery delivering better than ever before and Rarebell’s rock solid drumming completes the picture.
The Scorpions setlist is entirely focused on the ‘Lovedrive’ to ‘Love At First Sting’ albums making this a great, post-Uli Jon Roth greatest hits live. Scorpions live renditions are faithful to the studio versions. The strength of the album lies in the fact that somehow you feel like you are actually there. The recording is crystal clear and pristine, however it is scorching and the band is on fire.
It lacks the annoying compression that plagues live albums from the 1990’s onwards without losing any guts. Schenker on the left side of the aural spectrum backed by Buchholz, Jabs on the right, Rarebell everywhere and Meine and the audience are one, as witnessed by the interaction during all the intros and especially the Paris-culled ‘Holiday’ heartfelt version.
I find no tracks to be skipped, and several songs top the studio versions for sheer power. The hard rockers ‘Bad Boys Running Wild’ and ‘Big City Nights’ are clear examples, the former featuring Jabs’ shredding style and the latter filled with Schenker’s tasty licks.
Other hot highlights include ‘Coming Home’ (much more noticeable than the studio version), the instrumental ‘Coast To Coast’ with Meine joining the guitar army, ‘Can’t Live Without You’, and the sensational ‘The Zoo’ with the addition of Jabs’ endearing talk box device. The Scorpions are maybe the only ones that can play two ballads in a row, and the tandem of the previously mentioned ‘Holiday’ and the worldwide hit ‘Still Loving You’ is awesome.
Separate paragraph for the two last songs on the original CD issue. ‘No One Like You’ is for me The Scorpions power ballad with its euro flavor and ‘Dynamite’ is, as the title suggests, devastating (‘California you want some more rock ‘n’ roll?’. Klaus shouted to the audience). The original CD release omits the tracks ‘Another Piece Of Meat’, ‘Can’t Get Enough’ Pts. 1 & 2, and ‘Six String Sting’ due to time constraints.
In Summary
1985 was a great year for live recordings, with this one and Iron Maiden‘s ‘Live After Death’ topping my list. ‘World Wide Live’ is Scorpions’ 1980s greatest hits and a standout live album, one of the last of the great live albums era. The band toured relentlessly during 1984 and 1985.
Their two January 1985 gigs at the original Rock In Rio festival are regarded as epics. Their June 1985 concert at Knebworth is another highlight. And ‘World Wide Live’ allows us to witness Scorpions at their peak.
Video
Bad Boys Running Wild
Still Loving You
Entire Album (Select Tracks)
