Product: Scorpions: Live at Wacken Open Air 2006 (2008)
Rating: 4.0
Five star performance, 3-star production
Well, after months of hearing about it, my most anticipated DVD of 2008 finally arrived and I have mixed feelings. From a performance standpoint, this is an AWESOME show featuring guest appearances by ex-Scorps Michael Schenker, Uli Jon Roth, and Herman Rarebell. The addition of these great musicians for a one-night reunion is a blessing for those of us who listened to the Scorpions long before Rock You Like a Hurricane took the mainstream rock world by storm in the early 80s. All musicians are at the top of their game, and enjoying themselves on this special night.Unfortunately, as is often the case with DVDS these days, this suffers from the dreaded MTV-video style editing throughout, causing even non-epileptics to go into seizures after awhile. Special guest guitarists Roth and Schenker deserve more camera time during their brief appearances, but their amazing solos were caught only momentarily in the unyeilding flashing of images.Camera shots changing every second is fine for a 4 minute video, but it gets really annoying on a concert that stretches over two hours. Someone needs to string these video editors up by the gonads and let them hang for a week on CNN Updates to get the point across. It virtually ruins my ability to just sit and watch the concert all the way through (unless I'm really drunk or multi-tasking).I also have some issues with the audio. On my 5.1 computer system speakers, the volume is very low and I have to max out all controls to get it to sound anywhere near a rock concert. Also, the bass end is lost in the mix and I had to really boost up both my EQ and subwoofer to get some PUNCH out of this show. When I did that, the bass guitar was just a rumbly drone.In contrast, on my television's old-school tower speakers with a modern subwoofer, the over-all volume level is fine (probably because of the amplifier), but again the bass guitar is distorted when I tune the subwoofer to kick me with the drums. A legendary concert of this magnitude deserves a better mix in my opinion.I do have to give the audio engineers credit on the 5.1 surround mix though, it is a fantastic use of the technology. Really cool stereo/front-rear effects, and they are featured throughout. Hearing it on my tv's stereo system just doesn't do it justice compared to the surround.With the video/audio flaws setting this DVD at 3 stars, the nearly perfect musical performance brings it up to a solid 4 STARS and is still worthy of purchase for any long-time Scorpions fan. My recommendation: BUY IT!It's probably the best Scorpions concert you'll ever get to see in your living room.