SCORPIONS – Eye II Eye [Japan Edition +1] + B-side

This one was requested by one of you. 0dayrox specializes in remastered reissues and hard to find / out of print albums. In the case of SCORPIONS‘ “Eye II Eye”, the album never has been remastered, but it’s very hard to find.
The physical CD of “Eye II Eye” has been out of print since many years ago, and oddly, never has been available as digital download. So you gotta find used copies or pay or pay pretty much for an unopened CD.
Even hard to find is this “Eye II Eye [Japan Edition +1]” with its exclusive bonus track. To make it more juicy, we added the non-album track, single B-side ‘Mind Power’.

“Eye II Eye” is the ‘black sheep’ of all Scorpions albums. Recorded in the second half of the ’90s, Meine & Co decided to try something different. Think Def Leppard sound at the same era, and some pop melodies / electronics into the mix.
That’s apparent right from the opening track, “Mysterious,” which kicks off with a funked-up drum machine track, uses distorted guitars for rhythmic accents rather than pounding riffs, and leads into a bright chorus melody that feels more like teen-pop than arena-metal.
And I like it.

“Mysterious” sets the tone for the rest of the album and is followed by the melodious, laid back single “To Be No.1”, obviously repulsive to many with its techno-ish beep in between. But also this one is nothing but a pop-rock diamond. Just because it is so different from all the other Scorps tunes it stands out.
The relaxing ambience continues throughout the entire album, with heavy riffing occurring on various songs like “Mind like a Tree” or “Yellow Butterfly” and sometimes even classic Scorpions riffing like on “Aleyah” and “Priscilla”.

There is a gem in title track “Eye to Eye”, a poppy very touching a ballad. It is about the deaths of the fathers of guitarist Rudolf Schenker and vocalist Klaus Meine, and the lyrics are so beautiful and Meine’s voice is so full of emotion, though hoarse, and the atmosphere through the entire song is palpable.
Then there is “Skywriter”. Though its verses might not be very catchy at first, the chorus will most likely get your attention. Not to mention the great bass line underneath.
Come to think of it, that bass player, Ralph Rieckermann, is truly a star on this album. On numerous songs his colourful bass playing really stands out, for example on “Mysterious”, “Yellow Butterfly”, “10 Light Years Away” and , of course, “Skywriter”. It’s really a pity this was his latest studio album with the Scorpions.

An often disliked song would also be “Freshly Squeezed”, another one of my favorites. It sounds so damn wrong in the verses that it’s actually very cool. It sounds like some attempt at being modern, cool and hip with its fast and catchy verses and the offbeat rhythm throughout the song.
Another standout would be Priscilla, with a more recognizable Scorpions touch. As you hear Klaus Meine sing about “Priscilla” eating all his food and him planning to kill her, it was truly funny to hear that Priscilla seemed to be a cockroach. Didn’t see that one coming.

Classic Scorpions riffing on “Aleyah” must’ve satisfied all the naysayers of this album, if they would still be listening to this album. There is just typical ’80s riffing here and the chorus is so epic, especially at the end when the killer solo comes through.
The album is closed by the piano ballad “A Moment in a Million Years”, which is an emotional thank you to the fans.

The Japanese bonus track is the rare remix of Scorpion’s classic You And I [”Butcher” Radio Remix], more uptempo and with other instruments added.
The extra is the To Be No.1 CD-single B-side / non album track “Mind Power”, a rocker in the same vein to the album where the guitar work is pretty awesome.

When released, “Eye II Eye” alienated many fans, however, the album did well in Europe & Japan.
It’s a radical departure from classic Scorpions, and I am sure many of you never heard it. In its backbone, it’s classic Scorpions songwriting and the stinging guitars are still there, just wrapped by a different sonic approach.
Give it a try, it’s fun, and good.

01 – Mysterious
02 – To Be No. 1
03 – Obsession
04 – 10 Light Years Away
05 – Mind Like A Tree
06 – Eye To Eye
07 – What You Give You Get Back
08 – Skywriter
09 – Yellow Butterfly
10 – Freshly Squeezed
11 – Priscilla
12 – Du Bist So Schmutzig
13 – Aleyah
14 – A Moment In A Million Years
JAPAN BONUS TRACK:
15 – You And I [”Butcher” Radio Remix]
EXTRA TRACK:
16 – Mind Power [“To Be No.1” CD-single B-side]

Klaus Meine – lead vocals
Matthias Jabs – lead guitar, backing vocals
Rudolf Schenker – rhythm guitar, backing vocals
Ralph Rieckermann – bass, backing vocals
James Kottak – drums, percussion, backing vocals, lead on 12
additional musicians:
Mick Jones (Foreigner) – acoustic guitar on 4
Peter Wolf – keyboards and piano on 14
Michelle Wolf – backing vocals on 8
Herman Rarebell (ex Scorpions) – backing vocals on 5
Airway Allstars: Siedah Garrett, Michelle Wolf, Lynn Davis, James Ingram, Phil Perry, Kevin Dorsey – backing vocals on 7

Out Of Print
.