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Scorpions > Pure Instinct > Reviews
Scorpions - Pure Instinct

What the Hell? - 15%

ballcrushingmetal, December 4th, 2022
Written based on this version: 1996, CD, EastWest

There is not much to point out about this album. In general, this is one of the most cheesy and commercial releases, even one of the band's worst releases the band ever brought out (there is a 1999 album that is even worse in the first place). Further, the songwriting work here is awkward, the pop concept injected in the songs results in a watered-down work, and much of their riffs seemed to go away with their ideas. So forgettable is this release that a ballad is the only acceptable number, and not by too far. "You and I" is the most remarkable highlight and an impressive number that fits the symphonic concept. Further, the guitar playing displayed here is the best for a Scorpions ballad.

The rest of the album is worth skipping. Is this a reflex of the band's songwriting maturity? Hell, no! This songwriting can't be expected from a band that had a very good idea on how to write ass-kicking stuff. So the concept of maturity reflected by the critics seems to be reduced to "watering things down" and making pop stuff and has been the perfect justification for the creative burnout in many bands and for the shit they bring out. Examples pop out in thousands, and there is no need to go track by track when the formula is the same. In general, the album is full of silly choruses like in the opening track, the music is much more melodic, and the band avoids being outrageous in any way, shape, or form. The most rescuable part of guitar playing is the soloing displayed in various songs like "You and I". All this leads to the fact that you won't regret omitting this album.

This review can also be read here https://antichristmagazine.com/review-scorpions-pure-instinct-eastwest/

The Failed Soundtrack to Paul Verhoeven’s Blockbuster - 53%

bayern, July 22nd, 2020

I always mistake this album-title with the one of Paul Verhoeven’s 1992 hit with Sharon Stone and Michael Douglas… well, basic or pure, it’s an instinct all the same, just look at the fuckin’ cover, for crying out loud! I guess it’s only the big stars that can get away with explicit sexual content freely featured on their sleeves… it’s not that I mind it, no; but we’ve had, and still do, budding teenagers who are only too eager to purchase the German legends’ CD’s. In other words, some propriety should be exercised, sirs…

the thing is that by the mid-90’s our heroes were ready to throw everything on the wind: propriety, quality song-writing, rowdiness, conformity, even dignity if you like… cause the album reviewed here would have been considered the lowest point in their career if it wasn’t for its even shabbier, more embarrassing successor. So what does the pure instinct look/sound/taste like according to the Gospel of the Scorps?

Well, it sounds like goofy unpretentious rock/hard rock which has one relatively remedial moment, the sprightly opening “Wild Child” that could be a good companion piece to the W.A.S.P. hit of the same title. In fact, to call this a hard rock album one may possess a bigger stretch of the imagination as at least half the material is blasé undisguised ballads. So prepare for all ballad varieties that you have come across earlier, and not only on the Scorpions works: the bouncy on-the-verge-of-rock (“But the Best for You”), the romantic semi-acoustic (“When You Came into My Life”), the folk/country purely-acoustic (“Time Will Call Your Name”), the epic pathos-flavoured (“You and I”), the minimalistic drowsiness-inducing (“Are You the One?”) one… but these aren’t the real problem here; the real problem is that each of the remaining cuts can be more or less squarely placed in the categories above. Yep, there’s next to no tension exuded from this very energy-deprived approach which at least gives Klaus Meine an opportunity to show his more lyrical side; and the man doesn’t slouch carrying this poignantly idyllic pageant from beginning to end as to notice the participation of his colleagues would be really hard, and at times doesn’t really sound necessary.

I can understand if the guys were tired and needed a break… but from what?! The support tour for “Face the Heat” was long since over, the band had nearly a year at their disposal to recuperate. If the material on offer was at least a tad superior I would have given the guys a few pats on the shoulders for discarding the ruling at the time groovy/post-thrashy trends… but I can’t do this now; I can’t cause I was expecting another venerable tribute to the good old heavy metal. And this is the reason why I was one of the first fans in my hometown to purchase the cassette when it landed in the shops… only to receive another cold shower during the mid-90’s; and the first genuinely frustrating one, if you think of it, as by that time all the other heavy metal dinosaurs were holding on one way or another… Iron Maiden with the new recruit Blaze Bailey were still rocking hard; the reunited Accept whose same year’s “Predator” was way more convincing; the fading but still resounding echoes from the Black Sabbath repertoire with Tony Martin; not to mention the modern transformation in the Judas Priest camp with the “Jugulator” a year later… even Metallica’s very shaky “Load” had something more appetizing to offer.

Yep, Scorpions laid down the weapons first and this painful fact is hard to forget. And it turned out that this mellow delivery wasn’t intended as a mere isolated stint… the way to the bottom wasn’t that long from then on like “Eye II Eye” showed so well. I want to believe that the band were challenging themselves by playing music they didn’t like at all as a way to enhance their skills… cause, you know, when you deal with what repels you can strengthen your tolerance to it, and can make you a more proficient practitioner…

bullshit; just looking for excuses for the guys where there aren’t any; and I shouldn’t perhaps be doing that as the stylistic vacillations continued through the new millennium, up to the present day… yeah, sometimes trusting your pure instinct can be a really deceitful option. And that’s why I always bet on the basic one…

Ship's Still Sinking - 35%

Sweetie, May 15th, 2018

Oh boy, there aren't too many signs of recovery in the near future. If Face The Heat was the leftovers of Crazy World, then Pure Instinct is like the leftovers of leftovers. In other words, it's like that food that's been sitting in your fridge for two weeks now that nobody bothered to eat because it was only good fresh, and now nobody wants to touch it. May as well just pitch it out. This is gonna be pretty quick and to the point, because there really isn't enough physically here to warrant a beefy description.

If you're looking for choppy song structure, then look no further, because there isn't a single track on here that flows very nicely, save for MAYBE the ballad "When You Came Into My Life". Riffs are broken up into powerless bursts of light strumming, providing no redeemable jam structure. The staccato style that's imposed on a great number of them only make it worse. Acoustics are added in all over the place, but they take the same route, and fail to save this from being boring. Oh yeah, that's another key thing. Even when there's a strong lead in the instrumental department, it fails to drop anything memorable. Sure, there's a catchy chorus here and there, and perhaps this adds a wee bit of relevance to this. That's no excuse for shitty songwriting, especially if I already forget how the song goes within five seconds of it ending. The ballads (other than the one mentioned earlier) completely suck too. "Does Anyone Know" doesn't have the emotion it tries oh so hard to possess, and the long intro serves no purpose but giving you more time to fall asleep. Thank God Klaus can at least still sing cleanly and concisely on this, because if not then we'd really be lost!

That seems to be a common theme; the worst albums by this band are always the longest. The album following this one is the absolute lowest, and worst piece of shit they'd ever pump out, yet it's their longest album. This one isn't much shorter. Are there catchy moments? Sure. Is there an ever so slight hint of thought? I guess. And could it be plenty worse? You bet. Not worth your time, though. Unless if you're a discography collector, there's not much need to visit this.

Hidden Genius - 90%

The_CrY, October 6th, 2010

Isn’t it surprising how almost every 90s album by an 80s metal band gets bashed nowadays? And you should know most of that isn’t even deservedly. Take this album for example; the Scorpions take a different step in their career than cheap, commercial hair metal and in an instant the fans bombard this album as one of their worst. Lucky for this album there is still someone like me to stand up for this hidden gem.

Hidden behind the abominable cover art are eleven great tracks; all of them containing a lot of colourful themes and arrangements. There’s just one problem for our everyday Scorpions fan: there’s a certain lack of heavy rockers. Predecessor Face The Heat had enough of them and is perhaps the heaviest Scorps record to date. What better solution for a follow up is there than to release the inevitable opposite? Oh yes, there are a few rockers on the album, and probably some of the best the Scorpions have written. “Wild Child” with its drum-heavy verses and very catchy chorus is an instant Scorps classic, “But the Best for You” rolls on tightly with a friendly riff and “Stone in my Shoe” is a relaxing track with a typical 90s-Scorpions feel to it. Said quite blandly: the rest of the songs are all ballads. Now don’t you dare to trash this album just because of that. These eight ballads happen to be some of the finest the Scorpions have ever put together.

The first you’ll come across is “Wind of Change”-clone number two: “Does Anyone Know”; to sum this one up it’s a sing-along track with similar styled lyrics to the aforementioned track and is probably one of the less original songs on here, but still not bad. “Soul Behind the Face” takes the album to a whole new sound with its bluesy lead guitars at the intro. Given the often cheesy lyrics to ballads, it’s safe to say this one features some of the most thoughtful love-styled lyrics they’ve written. A lot of arrangements have been done with the clean and acoustic guitars, though the electric guitar still mostly blinks at us from the chorus and the solos. “When You Came Into My Life” is a very passionate one with a great build-up with very persuasive spine-shivering vocals from Klaus Meine. That brings us to another element in favour of this album: Klaus Meine is in a great shape. Combined with the very colourful and intimate arrangements of the songs, the result is breathtaking. We are surprised by Matthias Jabs when he plays some slide guitars on “Where the River Flows”, my favourite track off the album. In this track Ralph Rieckermann proves that he is the only worthy successor to Francis Buchholz and his bass-lines make the song. He does so much more than just accompanying it.

A little bit of guts are added with the acoustic swinger “Time Will Call Your Name”. Very catchy chord progressions vary with the inventive vocal melody in a way that is neither cheesy nor cheap. Note that this track’s chorus is one of the catchiest on Pure Instinct. “You and I” is the lead single from this album and somehow the Scorpions always succeed in writing an amazingly catchy ballad and making it so memorable at the same time. This is one of their finest ballads ever, even topping classics such as “Still Loving You” or “Wind of Change”. The almost orchestrally arranged “Are You the One?” closes this album and might seem like a weak track, but when you listen the album as a whole it perfectly closes the album as it actually sums up the record.

So in fact we have a pretty good Scorpions album here. Hell, on of the finest they’ve released I’d say. They might not be playing metal here, but that shouldn’t matter and it doesn’t. This collection of pop/rock tracks deserves to be much more than just another album in the Scorpions discography nobody knows. Underrated and highly recommended.

Strongest tracks: “Where the River Flows”, “Time Will Call Your Name” and “You and I”.

http://thecryreviews.blogspot.com/

This just plain sucks! - 10%

Brat1983, March 4th, 2006

After having heard the marvellous "Face The Heat" album, I was actually looking forward to this album, but as much as I had expected, just as much was I let down. But it didn't seem as though I was gonna be disappointed... not for the first 4 minutes... The song Wild Child is an instant classic. A very catchy track and a really good hard rock song. All 10 points goes to this song.

6 songs out of the next 10 songs are ballads... which probably would have been acceptable had they been the same high standard as "Still loving you", "Wind of change", "Holiday" and the likes of such... but unfortunately they aren't. They are the worst kind of garbage you could ever imagine. Uninspired, boring, sad!

One could have hoped that the few hard rock tracks here would be worth mentioning, but they are just as uninspired and dreadful as the ballads. This album really is a fine example of a famous band running out of ideas... If it hadn't been for Wild Child, this would have been as bad as St. Anger...!

And I could go on... the cheesy lyrics keeps on coming out of this trash pile... "Stone in my shoe", "Sould behind the face", "You and I"..... the Scorpions never wrote super lyrics but with this album they literally hit rock bottom!

This is such a stinker! Download Wild Child or get it copied from somebody but avoid the rest of this stinker like the plague!