Search - Various Artists :: Covered Like a Hurricane: Tribute Scorpions

Occasional Brilliance! Hit or Miss? Sting & A...

James Walsh | Mesa, Arizona United States | 02/04/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"The Scorpions are one of the most successful bands of the 80's rock era. Many of the stars of that era pay tribute to the band on "Covered like a Hurricane." It's been described as hit or miss. Is this a hit or a miss in my opinion?The first thing you must realize when picking up this album is that George Lynch is the guitarist. To many that means you will hear fantastic guitar playing. To me, it doesn't. I'm not a big fan of George Lynch and doubt if anybody would hail him as a spectacular guitarist if it wasn't for Don Dokken. George has a real problem playing things accordingly of late and that shines through not only on his Dokken cover album (and it is a cover album) but also on this album. Some of the guitar licks have been changed leaving you both with a new style to get used to but also a small "wait, that's not how it goes" feeling at times.That said, lets put aside the fact that George Lynch isn't on my Christmas Card list and focus on the vocalists participating. Kelly Hansen, from Hurricane, is simply amazing. Hurricane is an unsung hero band that never got its just due. His rendition of Rock You like a Hurricane is tremendous, almost as good as the original!Steve Whiteman, of KIX, does a nice job with Still Loving You. Somehow he managed to drudge up the emotion intended for the song fairly convincingly. The only negative aspect of the song is the production. During the final half of the song, it sounds slightly fuzzy. Being involved in recording myself, I know why that is. They had it turned too loud when they mixed it. It doesn't hurt the song much but should be noted.Marq Torien, of Bulletboys, does a tremendous job with Falling In Love. This one may even be better than the actual Scorpions song. Even George Lynch deserves a lot of credit for his guitar work on this one.Kevin DuBrow, of Quiet Riot, performs Big City Nights. Apparently he performed it from the building across the street from the recording equipment. I cannot fathom what exactly happened on this track but it has the sound of chaos in it at parts. You know, the sound that is around you right before you crash your car or while you're on your way down after tripping over your shoelace? That sound. Kevin sounds strong in it, but whoever mixed it did a very disappointing job.Stevie Rachelle, of Tuff, does a great job with Blackout. They even have the shattering glass at the end! Stevie has impressed me on each and every tribute album performance. The man can sing!Jizzy Pearl; of Love Hate, Ratt, and formerly of L.A. Guns; does a stellar job as always. One of these days, sadly maybe only in 50 years, people will look back at the archives and hear Jizzy Pearl for what he is. Jizzy has the most classic hard rock/metal voice I have ever heard and that certainly shines through in No One Like You.Joe LeSte, of Bango Tango and Beautiful Creatures, does a fairly good job with The Zoo. Bruce Dickenson, of Iron Maiden, did a cover of The Zoo a few years back that I feel was better than this cover. I think Joe is a tremendous singer but I don't think this was the song to have him do to shine best.Phil Lewis, of L.A. Guns, performs Steamrock Fever. Phil has a unique voice and I consider myself one of if not the biggest L.A. Guns fan there is. However, the sound of chaos returns on this track. From what you can hear through the poor production and mixing, Phil sounds strong and the song sounds good. I don't know who is to blame for the volume of this track being out of whack but it certainly is and it takes so much steam out of the song, pun intended.Kory Clarke, of Space Age Playboys, sounds fairly good doing In Trance. It's a great song and production is what it should be.John Corabi; of Motley Crue, Ratt, and Union; performed He's a Woman, She's a Man. Great job all around. Good song and good production. Corabi sounds as good now as he did on the Motley Crue album on which he appears.Paul Shortino, from Rough Cutt, performs Holiday. I am not a big fan of this song to begin with so I can't fairly judge the song. Paul sounds good but the song never picks up. The Scorpions version picks up for the second half of the song, this one does not.Down, from Faster Pussycat, does an okay version of Lovedrive. Faster Pussycat has turned to overly produced metal as opposed to their raw style of previous years and Down's voice reflects it. Also, George Lynch does not stay true to the guitar tabs by any means.Overall, it is not bad, a hit for the most part. Tremendous musicianship from members of L.A. Guns backing up George Lynch's all over the place guitar work was an added bonus. Songs to check out are Kelly Hansen, Steve Whiteman, Stevie Rachelle, John Corabi, and Jizzy Pearl's tracks. I have to believe if production had been professional on all tracks, all tracks would have been great. But, it was certainly an issue. I really was most upset that Kevin DuBrow's track got mangled because from what you can make out, he sounded great. I guess I'll hold out for Quiet Riot's Guilty Pleasures part two. Hey, a guy can dream, can't he?If you like any of the lead singers I mentioned, pick it up. If you like George Lynch's guitar work (post Dokken), you should check this out (or learn sign language). If you are an ignorant music fan that has nothing better to do than be condescending to the hair metal genre, shut it. Go watch MTV and be told who you are supposed to like this week. I'm sick of hearing "80's hair metal" as if it's a bad thing."

Hit-and-miss affair

John DeWald | Denver, CO USA | 06/25/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Unlike some tribute records, this one features the same instrumentalists on each track, only alternating vocalists. The most notable instrumentalist is George Lynch, who handles all lead guitar duties. Joining George are Steve Riley and Chuck Garric from LA Guns (on drums and bass) and John Morris from Dig (rhythm guitars).Being that the band is the same throughout, I'll comment on that first. George sounds more like his classic self than maybe what one has heard on the last Lynch Mob record. His parts are interesting combination of his own take on the songs with the ocassional nod to the original parts. That said, I've not heard a single original solo copped note-for-note. The rest of the band is solid and the have a fairly fired-up approach to the material. I've heard some tributes where the rhythm section sounds like they are on the clock, but these guys sound like they are enjoying the recording.Now for the vocalists. All 12 tracks feature a different vocalist, with all of them being from '80/'90's west coast rock/metal bands like LA Guns, Rough Cutt, Hurricane, Kix, Bang Tango, and Faster Pussycat. Also, John Corabi (currently of Union) and the ever-ubiquitous Kevin DuBrow (Quiet Riot) appear. Depending on your take of these vocalists with their regular bands I think will mold your impression of the individual tracks. "Big City Nights" with Kevin DuBrow is one bizarre track - it's supposed to be a "remix", but it really sounds like more very loud drums with the rest of the band in the background - not a highlight.The main reason I give it 4 stars is the decent backing band and the great playing from George Lynch. To be honest, Lynch was the whole reason I gambled on this disc. If you like classic Lynch, you'll probably do fine with this disc. And it is classic Scorpions material, after all."

Lynch Makes This Album Worthwhile

Scooter | Dallas, Texas | 07/28/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I bought this cd soley because the greatness of George Lynch did all the lead guitar work on the cd. He does not disappoint! He incorporates his own signature licks into every solo on the songs. Some of the vocals are hit and miss, but still not a bad tribute album. Some of the songs covered are the lesser known songs that the Scorpions put out. In a nuthsell, this is a four star cd because of Mr Scary's awesome fretboard work!"