Scorpions / London, UK 02.02.1984 Complete

The SCORPIONS reached the peak of their career in 1984 with their masterpiece album “LOVE AT FIRST STING.” Now, a newly unearthed master recording allows you to experience that glorious moment. This recording captures their performance at the Hammersmith Odeon on February 2, 1984, in superb audience quality. The “LOVE AT FIRST STING Tour” is rife with various masterpieces, including official releases like “WORLD WIDE LIVE” and “SUPER ROCK ’84 IN JAPAN,” as well as the acclaimed album “DEFINITIVE COSTA MESA 1984 SOUNDBOARD.” First, let’s take a look at the overview of their peak activities spanning nearly four years to understand the position of this release. 1983 Summer: Production of “LOVE AT FIRST STING” begins. December 8-17: Europe #1 (4 shows) ← *ROCKPOP 1983 1984 January 23 – February 29: Europe #2 (27 shows) ← ★HERE★ February 13: “LOVE AT FIRST STING” released. March 17 – July 18: North America #1 (86 shows) ← *COSTA MESA 1984 etc. July 30 – August 12: Asia/Japan #1 (9 shows) ← *SUPER ROCK ’84 etc. August 14 – September 2: North America #2 (13 shows) October 26 – December 3: Europe #3 (26 shows) 1985 January 15 + 19: ROCK IN RIO (2 shows) ← *ROCK IN RIO 1985 – January 28th – February 7th: Japan #2 (8 shows) ← *NAGOYA 1985 and others (June 20th: “WORLD WIDE LIVE” released) – June 22nd: Knebworth show – August 24th – September 2nd: North America #3 (4 shows) ← *DAY ON THE GREEN 1985 1986 – August 16th – September 5th: Europe #4 (7 shows) ← *RUNNING WILD and others A superb recording unique to the early stages of the tour, just before the album release. This is the overall picture of the “LOVE AT FIRST STING Tour”. The Hammersmith show on this album was the 9th show of “Europe #2”, which took place just before the album release. The official “WORLD WIDE LIVE” was made up of multiple shows, but the earliest one was the “February 29th Paris show”. This album is a live album that goes back even further, by about a month. This release, which vacuum-packs that show, is a superb recording that melts your heart with its extremely thick core, direct feel, and lustrous sound. It’s the first generation master of the tape recorded by a person named “Alex Dart,” and it’s powerful yet fresh and beautiful. The circumstances are clear, so it must be an audience recording, but the density is so immense that it’s hard to believe it’s a spatial recording. The sense of synchronization that flows into your brain is overwhelming, rather than the feeling of being there, and it’s just as engaging to listen to as an FM broadcast. It’s the kind of direct recording where you occasionally hear raw applause and think, “Oh yeah, it’s an audience recording.” The full show with all 16 songs, including early limited tracks not found on official releases, is depicted with an extremely thick and intimate sound, capturing the full show just as they entered their peak. The early sets of the tour were similar to, yet different from, ‘WORLD WIDE LIVE’ and the masterpiece ‘DEFINITIVE COSTA MESA 1984 SOUNDBOARD’, so let’s compare and organize them. Lovedrive (6 songs) – Loving You Sunday Morning / Lovedrive (★) / Coast To Coast / Always Somewhere (★) / Another Piece Of Meat / Can’t Get Enough Others (10 songs) – Denju: Don’t Make No Promises (Your Body Can’t Keep) (★★) / Make It Real / The Zoo – Scorpion Palace: Can’t Live Without You / Blackout / Dynamite – Forbidden Tattoo: Coming Home / Bad Boys Running Wild / Still Loving You / Rock You Like A Hurricane *Note: Songs marked with “★” were not included in the official ‘WORLD WIDE LIVE’ or the classic album ‘DEFINITIVE COSTA MESA 1984 SOUNDBOARD’. In particular, songs marked with “★★” are exclusive to the European #2 tour. …And so it goes. It’s not unusual for ‘LOVEDRIVE’ to be the central focus, but this time they’ve generously included six songs. The balanced mix of the title track “Lovedrive” and “Always Somewhere,” remnants of the previous tour, is characteristic of the early stages of the tour. And above all, there’s “Don’t Make No Promises (Your Body Can’t Keep).” This is a limited track that was dropped up to “Europe #2” and hasn’t been included in the setlist since. Just 11 days before the release of “LOVE AT FIRST STING,” this is a superb live album that lets you experience the raw stage performance at the moment the door to their peak opened, with FM broadcast-quality direct sound. A full show unique to “Europe #2,” incorporating the hit songs from “LOVE AT FIRST STING” while still retaining limited tracks from the early 80s. A superb audience recording of the “February 2, 1984 Hammersmith Odeon” performance. A live album that lets you experience a setlist unique to the early stages of the tour, just 11 days before the release of “LOVE AT FIRST STING,” with FM broadcast-quality direct recording. Enjoy a fantastic full show that includes tracks not found on the official ‘WORLD WIDE LIVE’, such as “Don’t Make No Promises,” “Lovedrive,” and “Always Somewhere.” Live at Hammersmith Odeon, London, UK 2 February 1984 TRULY PERFECT SOUND (78:30) 1. Intro 2. Coming Home 3. Don’t Make No Promises (Your Body Can’t Keep) 4. Bad Boys Running Wild 5. Loving You Sunday Morning 6. Make It Real 7. Lovedrive 8. Coast To Coast 9. Always Somewhere 10. Still Loving You 11. Rock You Like A Hurricane 12. Can’t Live Without You 13. Blackout 14. Another Piece Of Meat 15. The Zoo 16. Can’t Get Enough 17. Dynamite