Scorpions Album: “Amazonia: Live In the Jungle”

There only "con's" I can think of about this DVD: 1. The set list contains only 2-3 newer songs, 2. The editing is abrupt and obvious, 3. The show remains the same and lacks production creativity, with the exception of having some Brazilian musicians & backing vocalists share the stage with them for the first few songs.

The Scorpions sound better than usual on this live recording, which I credit to new a sound engineer and good acoustics at the venue. Klaus' voice is not drowned out by distortion for a change and his vocal abilities are very much in tact - including his falsetto whistling at the beginning of "Winds of Change." However, he fails to remove very dark sunglasses from his face during the entire concert, which seems a bit unnatural, esp. at night. His eyes may be too sensitive to the harsh bright lights that shine upon him and/or it's his way of trying to hide his age. He does lack the energy he used to have, but not the passion with which he sings and owns the audience.

Matthias has become a guitar king/wizard to be compared to Van Halen. He should not be as underestimated and underrated as he is in the United States. He's finely honed his talent and now makes and sells his own guitars. He doesn't get as much camera time as he has in the past but his art is mastered and his smile stays on.

Rudolf is a piece of work, I say that lovingly. The man is in his 60's now and his body is more tone than most men in their 20-30's who work out regularly. His Yoga and vegetarian diet suit him well. He's learned more English and sings backing vocals more often on this DVD. He's also clownish; he wears the most bizarre pair of eyeglasses and a hat with long hair attached to it but he's fooling no one ... his playing is tight and his flying "V's" are impressive.

Pawel, the relatively new bassist, is almost absent from the DVD and gets no quality camera time.

James, the drummer, is bar none the best drummer this band has ever had and is a driving force behind the band's energy & rhythm section.

He's overtly proud to be a SCORPION and nails each song with crisp precision. He deserves a drum solo but doesn't get one. He's a powerfully technical & fast drummer bringing 'it' to the stage for the band and their fans! He has a style all of his own, flashier than Herman Rarebell, better too.

The synergy is obvious. The band doesn't need to tour America extensively because it's quite apparent they have a very large and loyal fan base in other countries. I applaud their involvement in giving Greenpeace a portion of their profits from this DVD to save the Amazon Jungle. I'm pleased they continue to record new products and new tunes regardless of the reiteration of old (commercial) songs. It's entertaing and would make a great rental!

I don't know about you but, for me, in these days, no video should be shot on a 4:3 format. It says bad quality all over it and this one is no exception.

Let me be clear: I love the Scorps for over 25 years now (I'm 40) and I was lucky enough to see them live on this last our (I live in Rio de Janeiro which btw is very far from Amazonas - even though it's the same country) and I can't say a bad hing about them live. I even got myself a pick handed to me by Rudolf (one of my guitar idols) himself!

At least the audio is very good and very well mixed. But the quality of the video is not good at all. If you're going to watch it on a modern LCD TV or even on your computer monitor in full screen you will be disappointed. Buy it only if you're a big Scorpions fan (who has to have everything) or a big Greenpeace supporter. Otherwise you better save you money.