CD REVIEW: HERMAN RAREBELL & FRIENDS – Herman’s Scorpions Songs

Shane | 12 March 2015 | Reply

CD REVIEW: HERMAN RAREBELL & FRIENDS – Herman’s Scorpions Songs
Solid Rockhouse Records
7 November, 2014
Reviewed by Shane Pinnegar
8/10

With Scorpions celebrating their fiftieth anniversary as a band this year, they’ve released the rather excellent Return To Forever album which reworks outtakes from their ‘80s glory days, and it seems several ex-members are also in the mood to celebrate their involvement with the legendary German rockers.

So, not only has Uli Jon Roth released an album of reworked versions of his contributions to the band from his late-seventies tenure, now drummer Herman Rarebell – who was with the band from 1977 through to 1995 (bar a short break mid-‘80s) – has done similar.

All of the tracks here were co-written by Rarebell – some he wrote the music for, some he wrote the lyrics for – all are great tracks, and delivered well by a revolving cast of big names.

So we see Bobby Kimball (Toto) singing Rock You Like A Hurricane, Don Dokken doing You Give Me All I Need, Paul Shortino bluesing up Love Is Blind, Jack Russell tackling Don’t Make No Promises, Tony Martin on Another Piece Of Meat amongst the likes of John Parr, Michael Voss, Johnny Gioeli, Gary Barden and others.

Michael Voss features heavily on guitar across the album, whilst Rarebell drums on every track, and the likes of Dario Seixas, Arno Baum, Chris Hasler, Jose Antonio Rodriguez and Thomas Perry appear elsewhere.

Herman’s Scorpions Songs is a cool album, a document of a man revisiting his own extraordinary contributions to an extraordinary band, and culminates with something completely different: a newly written orchestral ballad called Let It Shine that sees Rarebell reflecting lyrically on his sensational career. It serves as fitting closure to this huge chapter of his life, and bursts with well-deserved pride.