I was made for lovin' this!!
Cameron Rochette | St Andrews, Scotland | 01/05/2006
(4 out of 5 stars)
"The three-man techno band Scooter released its fifth album, "No Time To Chill", in 1998. This album features a variety of dance tunes, and I think that this album is a bit different from the usual rough and hardcore sound of Scooter. This album is definitely softer, and its overall feel is more melancholy. However, it works. Scooter is trying new things here, and the somewhat more passive and lonely feel to this album of electronica provides a refreshing change in pace. No Time To Chill also features some of the hit singles such as How Much is the Fish and Call Me Mañana.
LAST WARNING - As usual, the opening track is not a techno song but a voice counting down from ten to one followed by some interesting chords on the synth.
HOW MUCH IS THE FISH - This is, without any argument, one of the greatest Scooter songs ever. Not only does it have the coolest song title in the world, the instrumentation in this piece is bloody awesome. Featuring cowbells, keyboards, retro Celtic themes, and some of the best lyrics you'll ever hear from H.P. Baxxter. This is a true pump-up song. I first heard this about six months ago, and I immediately liked it. This is one of the few tracks on the album that is really active and has a fake crowd singing along. You can't help but want to sing along every time you hear it. If I were you, I'd buy this album just for this three-and-a-half minute duration of awesomeness!
WE ARE THE GREATEST - This one is for the electric generation!! A bit slow, with a more progressive rhythm, We Are The Greatest is another single that features a MALE electronic voice singing most of the song. This is rare - every other song featuring an electronic voice by Scooter is sung by a high-pitched squeaky female. This song can only be described as "groovy".
CALL ME MAÑANA - This is classic Scooter. The synthesizers, of course, have a wonderful melody, accompanied by H.P. yelling his lyrics rather quickly. I still don't know why the single of this song has an album cover featuring a picture of three horses. This piece, while embodying all of the typical Scooter elements, still seems to be a bit forlorn. I still love it.
DON'T STOP - This song features H.P. Baxxter yelling "Don't stop!" a couple times in the song. The rest of it is just trance. This is definitely one of the more melancholy tracks on this album. I still really like it a lot. It has a very cliché chord progression, going down one whole-step from the tonic, but oh well. It works, because Scooter is clever.
I WAS MADE FOR LOVIN' YOU - I honestly don't know how this song became a single. It's not that good. The lyrics are super-cheesy (you can tell by the title), and the electric guitar interludes ruin the piece. This is one of the few songs in which H.P. Baxxter actually sings instead of talking or yelling or rapping or MC-ing or whatever you want to call what he does.
FREQUENT TRAVELLER - This is probably the worst song on the track. It's just boring, and doesn't really appeal to me. However, it's not too bad. The album overall is still really good. The music itself is a bit formulaic, like something from an action movie. Halfway through the song, a high-pitched voice comes on and sings a harmonic melody that has reminiscences of Middle Eastern music, while a techno pulse comes in along. The clash between this Western and Eastern music doesn't fit well with Scooter's standards, and so it is a bit of a boring song.
EYES WITHOUT A FACE - This is the only song by Scooter that is a ballade. In this song, H.P. Baxxter turns from a happy hardcore MC into a heartfelt lead male vocalist. I'm surprised he can sing this well. H.P. sings very sad and lonesome yet beautiful lyrics. He sings of a woman he loved with whom he wishes he could reunite. This song has mostly an acoustic guitar playing the instrumentation with a short section with a very slow electronic beat. There are also (real) women singing in the background as an accompaniment in French. This song still brings a tear to my eyes. It is the most chilling Scooter song ever, unlike anything else they have ever recorded, but I love it.
HANDS UP! - This song has H.P. back on the mic with his usual yelling, and features an electric guitar. The lyrics are stupid, but oh well. "Hands Up!" is a bit repetitive. The second half is better than the first half.
EVERYTHING'S BORROWED - This is another passive song. It starts out with the percussion playing a funky riff, followed by an interestingly lonely sounding chord progression with H.P. saying (not yelling), "Everything's borrowed, in this world" very seriously for once. This has some more typical Scooter instrumentation.
EXPECTING MORE FROM RATTY - This song features H.P. yelling a lot, very quickly, and then all of a sudden, the music becomes very quiet. H.P. yells, "Expecting more", pauses, and then says very quietly, "from Ratty". What I don't like about "Expecting More From Ratty" is that the pulse, the rhythm, and the beat are very typical of rubbish techno.
TIME AND SPACE - "Time and Space" is a great closer for a Scooter album. It's a classic trance number by H.P., Rick, and Axel, and is very tranquil-sounding. It makes you want to go out and run a mile. Not exactly pump-up, but the adrenalin in the piece is enough to "summon up the sinews" in you.
On a scale from one to five, I'd give it a four. Why? Because overall, some of the tracks seem a bit too repetitive and/or cliché. However, that being said, it's an awesome album, and reveals more of the darker and melancholy side of Scooter."
Awsome chill
Zolex | Belgium | 06/03/2003
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Like the others this is again a awsome Scooter album.
The songs are going in the right way of the future.They are the GREATIST."
Track Listings (12) - Disc #1