Ah, elderly rock stars. Age may be incapable of touching a chosen few, but it wreaks havoc on most others. Scorpions: Get Your Sting and Blackout relies on nostalgia above all; "all" as in finesse, technique, immortality or rock godhood. The concert is a bit sleepy (as classic hard rock shows go), the band hits a few desperate chords (passionate as they are), and the audience... well, aging rock stars tend to draw aging crowds. The audience is enthusiastic enough, I suppose, but you can literally catch people checking their watches, thinking about the traffic leaving the venue, and losing interest. I'm getting up in years myself, so I say that with some measure of affection, and there's something to be said for a still-kicking German hard rock band that's sold over 100 million albums worldwide in its fifty-year comet ride. But there are event concerts hosted by nigh-immortal rock legends, and then there are throwback concerts hosted by beloved but nearly retired relics. Diehards will no doubt enjoy every minute of Get Your Sting and Blackout, but I suspect most fans will smile, reminisce, and wish the band a fond retirement. If, that is, the Scorpions were actually ready to lay down their guitars, which doesn't seem to be the case quite yet.
Lead vocalist Klaus Meine, rhythm and lead guitarist Rudolf Schenker (the only remaining original member of the Scorpions), lead guitarist Matthias Jabs, bassist Pavel Maciwoda and drummer James Kottak certainly sink their all into the performance, though, maintaining their energy and charisma for a twenty-song set that features everything from new songs like "Sting in the Tail" (from the band's 2010 album of the same name) to '70s hits like "Loving You Sunday Morning," '80s favorites like "Big City Nights" and, of course, classics like "Rock You Like a Hurricane." Yes, eighteen songs have taken their toll on the Scorpions by the time they finally rock anyone like a hurricane, but each musician -- from Meine to Kottack -- get an "A" for effort. (Which, in retrospect, might be one of the most backhanded compliments you can give a group of graying rock stars.) Still, there isn't as much variety to be had as there could be, and Scorpions purists may balk at the number of 1990s tracks that steal slots from more noteworthy (and often more iconic) '60s, '70s and '80s fan-favorites.
In 2010, the band released a statement to its devoted fans: "While we were working on our album these past few months, we could literally feel how powerful and creative our work was, and how much fun we were still having in the process. But there was also something else: we want to end the Scorpions' extraordinary career on a high note. We are extremely grateful for the fact that we still have the same passion for music we've always had since the beginning. This is why, especially now, we agree we have reached the end of the road. We finish our career with an album we consider to be one of the best we have ever recorded and with a tour that will start in our home country Germany and take us to five different continents over the next few years." If nothing else, Get Your Sting and Blackout echoes these same sentiments for the duration of the performance, even if seems clear that the band should have ended their extraordinary career on a high note two years ago rather than prolong the inevitable.
Get Your Sting & Blackout is presented with a horrible, artifact-ridden 1080p/MVC-encoded video transfer that just doesn't cut it, in 2D or 3D. Aside from the general haziness of the image, a complete lack of fine details and well-resolved textures, muted black levels, and a seemingly endless array of other shortcomings, the encode is plagued by ever-present macroblocking, garish banding, crush, thick edge halos, persistent aliasing and, if you can believe it, other eyesores of yesteryear like color bleeding, mosquito noise and pulldown anomalies. The concert never entirely descends to the depths of a standard DVD, but way too many shots -- way too many -- do just that. Sony Music's 3D experience is a bit better, if only because it adds some depth to the otherwise pancake-flat image and draws a bit of attention away from the more glaring problems on display. Dimensionality will leave you wanting, the concert footage is soft and blocky, and the image is prone to minor ghosting -- if, that is, your display is prone to crosstalk, as current Sony TVs ironically are -- but every other mishap should be laid at the feet of the technical encode, not the 3D effect it produces. Granted, it isn't all 2D doom and 3D gloom. Stage lights ignite with bold color and issues tend to come one at a time (rather than stacking on top of one another and bringing the entire encode crashing to the floor). But the highs end there. I wish I had better things to say about either presentation, I do. Sadly, though, Scorpions: Live in 3D is in dire need of a farewell tour of its own. Videophiles should approach with extreme caution.
Sony Music serves up two strong (albeit imperfect) lossless offerings: an immersive DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track and a crisp Linear PCM stereo mix. The DTS-HD Master Audio track will be the fan favorite, of course, as it does a nice job of dropping eager hard rock purists right in the middle of the crowd. Meine's vocals are clear and steady, as is his banter with the audience. Guitars scream, scramble, and scratch at the surface with all the intensity and able-bodied roar they should, and Kottak's drums demand attention and drive the show along. Unfortunately, while the rear speakers are fairly agile throughout, low-end output is less than extraordinary. Bass riffs and downbeats are rough and ready, but don't take full advantage of the LFE channel. Fidelity is dead on, though, with notable dynamics that showcase the nuances of each song. If you have any love of the Scorpions rockers and their hard rock classics, get your sonic sting here.
There's only one extra to be had -- a "Behind the Scenes" documentary (HD, 34 minutes) with optional English and German subtitles -- but Scorpions fans shouldn't pass it over, as it explores the challenges the concert producers faced shooting in 3D, the band's desire to experiment in three-dimensions, the process behind staging showcase moments for the 3D presentation, and an overview of all the work that went into putting on a memorable show.
Schenker and his Scorpions cohorts were apparently so infatuated with shooting a live concert in 3D that they neglected to consider high definition image quality. The band may be on its last leg, but if it weren't for Get Your Sting's god-awful video presentation and mediocre 3D experience, Sony Music's DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track and LPCM stereo mix would have satisfied Scorpions fans just fine. As it stands, you really have to be a dedicated Scorpions zealot to be pleased with this hit or miss 3D concert release.
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