POP MUSIC REVIEWS : Scorpions’ Rock of Ages Past a Welcome Change at Forum

If you’re starved for old-fashioned arena hard-rock, even the Scorpions sound good.

Considering the Nirvanas and Pearl Jams dominating rock these days, with their intensity, insight, Angst and preoccupation with the offbeat, it was a pleasant change on Friday at the Forum to stroll down memory lane with a dinosaur like the Scorpions, who are dedicated to mindless, party-time, straight-ahead hard rock.

While sometimes rousing and gloriously anthemic, the Scorpions’ music was most often shallow, with hardly a memorable lyric. For the pumped-up Scorpions crowd, though, that’s not a negative. When you’re grooving to “Rock You Like a Hurricane” you’re not looking for words of wisdom.

The German quintet does try its hand at meaningful music--”Wind of Change” is a homage to the turbulent changes in Russia. The result: well-meaning but pretentious.

After 23 years on the rock circuit, they don’t rock as hard as they used to. There was a mechanical, rote feel to some of the music. Lead singer Klaus Meine sounded out of tune and strained at times, but, as usual, the band did a fair job of covering up his mistakes.

The Scorpions show may have been occasional fun and a welcome change from a steady diet of alternative rock, but you could see why their kind of arena hard-rock is dying out.