THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, August 10, 1996 TAG: 9608100321
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: MUSIC REVIEW
SOURCE: BY CRAIG SHAPIRO, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: 62 lines
It's a shame that Goethe isn't writing today, because the Scorpions are true Faustian fodder. The tired Teutonic rockers surely swapped something for fame and fortune.
Maybe Rob Reiner could put them in a movie.
He wouldn't have to invent a band to lampoon like he did for ``This is Spinal Tap.''
The point? The Scorpions are about as indigenous to rock 'n' roll as their arachnidan namesakes are to Das Vaterland.
It was true when they first blitzkrieged through ``Rock You Like a Hurricane,'' ``No One Like You'' and ``Wind of Change.'' And it was clear Friday at the Virginia Beach Amphitheater that nothing has changed.
That may have been their neatest trick of the night. The band is pushing a new album, ``Wild Child,'' but the tracks from it sounded downright old. ``Oh Girl (I Wanna be with You)'' is an especially tepid ballad.
Guitarist Rudolf Schenker probably had something different in mind when he told the Los Angeles Daily News that the Scorpions didn't want to be influenced by what is happening in rock today.
Mission accomplished, Rudy.
That's not to say the set was a total dud. Schenker and fellow guitarist Matthias Jabs have been at it so long they couldn't help but flex some muscle. Although Klaus Meine sings with all the nuance of a jet engine, his tonsils are tough as nails.
On the other hand, there hasn't been this much posing since the last Parisian fashion show.
Too bad the billing wasn't reversed. As expected, Alice Cooper was a lot more fun.
He's toned down the Grand Guignol theatrics that caused such a sensation in the early '70s. But even without the guillotines, electric chairs and scaffolds, there's no denying the appeal of such hard rock classics as ``Eighteen,'' ``School's Out,'' ``No More Mr. Nice Guy'' and ``Welcome to My Nightmare.''
Give some credit to his band, made up of members of Suicidal Tendencies' and Ozzy Osbourne's crew, and the rest to the former Vincent Furnier. The preacher's son, who turns 51 on Christmas Day, is still a most worthy showman.
But who could predict that the shock 'n' roller would ever play a Family Special concert at the Amphitheater? The irony was a scream. ILLUSTRATION: GARY C. KNAPP photos
A hard night of Teutonic rock
Sword notwithstanding, Alice Cooper toned down the gruesome
theatrics that caused a sensation in the early '70s. He's still a
most worthy showman.
Although Klaus Meine of the Scorpions sings with all the nuance of a
jet engine, his tonsils are still as tough as nails. The hard-rock
group played the Virginia Beach Amphitheater on Friday night,
pushing a new album, ``Wild Child.'' But the tracks from it sounded
downright old.
MUSIC REVIEW
The Scorpions with Alice Cooper
Friday night at the VIrginia beachh Amphitheater by CNB