Today is the 20th anniversary of the Berlin Wall falling, and in tribute, I've come across a staple from the German band Scorpions - Wind of Change, from their 1990 album Crazy World. Written after lead singer Klaus Meine and the band visited Moscow in '89, it's the kind of raw power ballad that would be bastardized during US tours and campy love sequences in action movies. But we're not talking the Extreme or Poison kind of power ballad, where the band shamefully sheds away their metal tendencies for a chance at a Billboard charter. Meine's lyrics are still strongly influenced by his own heritage, where human rights and musical freedom aren't Bono-esque catchphrases.
By all accounts, Wind of Change will always have trouble getting respect from music critics - this is, of course, the same band that gave us Love at First Sting. Hell, its B-side is Tease Me Please Me. But Meine's earnest vocals and the modest guitar solo are a change of pace from their body of work, while the haunting whistle loops lend that rustic Ennio Morricone western touch. Haunting yet uplifting. -- PC
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