Search - Scooter :: Age of Love

Scooter rules, but their later work is better

Stephen Kohoutek | Plymouth, MN United States | 04/21/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"If you are an American, like techno, and do not own a Scooter album, I demand that you remedy that by the time you sign off. Only then will you realize that most Americans know nothing about techno, and you'll never be able to hear cheesy dance music again without thinking, "This would be so much better if it were Scooter." I'm not sure if this is the one I'd pick to be the first Scooter album in the collection, but it's worlds ahead of just about anything else coming out of the techno world.This is from Scooter's "first chapter," when the lineup consisted of H.P. Baxxter, Rick Jordan, and Ferris Bueller (who would later leave, to be replaced by Axel Coon for "the second chapter"). Scooter in these days had a drum-based, heavily rhythmic style. Compared to their later productions, this album is almost sparse, but the later albums are so incredibly dense that it's not really a fair comparison. This is extremely thick, energetic music."Age of Love" and to a lesser extent "Tonight" and "Return..." are previews of the sound to come, and the rest of the album generally falls into the synthy euro-rave genre that never really caught on outside the dance clubs on this side of the pond. My favorite track is "Don't Waste no Time," but it would be hard to categorically call it the best on the album. Like I said, this isn't my favorite Scooter disc; "Back to the Heavyweight Jam" was my first, and is still my favorite. You can't go wrong with this one, though. The only downside is that it will make you drive far, far too fast."