Jumping All Over The World - Scooter

Author's product rating:   

Originality	Definitely a cut above the rest
Lyrics	Thought-provoking
Quality and consistency of tracks	A couple of weak links
How does it rate alongside the competition	Outstanding
Value for Money	Excellent

Advantages:	Quite spectacularly silly but ultimately uplifting and innoffensive German wierdness .
Disadvantages:	A few duffers amidst the gold .  Not too many mind .

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

Overview
The 2008, double cd album and 13th release by the German Techno band Scooter. Cd 1 comprises all new material. Cd 2 is a selection of the bands all time greatest hits. Scooter are proponents of the jump-style movement of dance which can refer to the music itself or the jerky-motioned moves made to accompany it. Their music is a mixture of hardcore techno and dance.

Review
The introduction to the former of these Cds which shall be the main focus of this review is a recitation of the wikipedia definition of the word 'jumping.' All in a mechanical, mono-toned female voice, set to the classical sounds of the composer Bocherinni. If you think thats odd... you ain't seen nothin'.

I'm getting ahead of myself though. Who the hell are Scooter? I have liked Scooter from an early age despite not being a fan of dance music as a whole or German techno groups specifically. That must surely be a rare niche. But no, despite preferring the markedly slower sounds and gentler pleasures of, say, country music over the heady, hardcore metronomic saminess of dance. Despite never having attended a rave. Despite never having ingested enormous quantities of ecstasy. In short despite being normal; I rather like Scooter. Although I'm rather embarassed to say so. Most people will know Scooter purely and simply as purveyors of squeeky voiced novelty but hopefully this review will prove otherwise. (Though it probably wont.)

Music should make people happy. And despite lacking depth and emotional insight Scooter do make people happy. Their songs are mostly light happy affairs. Occaissionally not, but as a band they're always essentially inoffensive. Sure, they once relased a song expressing a curious desire to engage in sexual congress with the two thousandth year after Jesus Christ's birth. (I wanna' f**k the millenium.) But at heart they obviously just want to give people a good time and make you laugh. And if you think about it thats hardly the most gratuitous title ever anyway. When compared to rap music bragging about commtiing acts that are against the law. This is merely a somewhat abstract grouping of words indicating an altogether impossible act. Plus its funny as hell.

The lyrics in Scooter songs are performed either by the enigmatic bleach-blonde frontman H.P Baxxter, or comprise pitch adjusted, androgenous-sounding samples. In the case of the former, Baxxter tends to shout fairly impenetrable inanities. In the case of the latter you get quite bizzarely high-pitched but not unpleasently so, lyrics created with a voice modulator. These Generally form the chorus and represent a break from the high paced delirium of the beat.

When I first heard Scooter it was one of these high-pitched songs. I liked it because it reminded me of the Smurfs and I was very young at the time, so to me the Smurfs were the best band in the world. Luckily I don't still believe that. The point is songs incorporating this 'smurf-sound' can seem a bit of a joke at first. They're certainly easy to mock. Eventually you just appreciate the serenity and purity of the sound and go with it.

Frontman Baxxter's lyrics form the rest of the spoken element of Scooters discography and these speak for themselves really. I could say that they're an arbitrary mix of quick-fire, witty rapping sections and short, shouted phrases, both of which dramatically falling short of saying anything even mildy meaningful or even vaguely sensical. I could tell you that, or I could just show you.

"I am the horseman."
"Tie your shoes."
"Its not a bird, its not a plane, it must be Dave who's on the train."
"You know what? I don't know either!"
"How much is the fish?
(I could have put an exclamation mark on all of them, but hey you get the idea.)

Indeed Scooter have an inordinate amount of songs with titles about fish. This borders on a worrying facination, and I'm at a loss to explain it. Though 'they're very wierd, just go with it' covers that and pretty much everything else I think.

Ultimately although admittedly quite a childish source of amusement, these rediculous pronouncements do bring a smile to your face. If only at the fact the man spouting the nonsense is now in his 40s and can still do so with a straight face.

Performing music with no other function than to make people deliriously happy, easily mockable and relentlessly silly: Scooter then, are certainly an aquired taste. Ultimately you just have to say that Scooters music is what it is. And one thing it certainly is. is popular.

This album went straight to No.1 upon its release in the UK early in 2008 knocking Madonnas 'Hard candy' off the top spot.
One reason, of many, to love this album. By August it had gone platinum and the nation of Great Britain had been outed.

It turns out I'm obviously not alone in my covert fondness for a band that is surely the epitome of oddball German mad-cappery. Despite never exactly setting the charts on fire over here with The Logical Song their most succesful single, reaching number two in the UK singles chart. Judging by the astronomic sales of this album Scooter have clearly garnered a reasonably sizable group of fans here. This is good, it means its not just me.

I would have loved to have seen Madonnas face when she was informed of this for truelly, it was a joyous time.

"Who?" "A german dance band?" "...That sing songs about fish!?"

From the beginning Jumping all over the world is a beguiling, bewildering aurul assault. A hardcore blend of trance and dance. Sure its rediculous but its a trip. And one you can't help getting carried along by. Bouyed by the distinctive, euphoric sound unique to Scooter.

Early highlights include cover track Jumping all over the world, an insane, high paced jam with a riotously infectious beat that gets under your skin. Its concentrated Scooter goodness with the joyous uplifting sound that Scooter do best; all present and correct.

Things don't let up for a second with the next track very much in your face from the off, barely leaving you time to recover from the last. With a modulated voice sample providing the chorus, this track has an insanely catchy synth sound that never lets up for a second but for one short lull in which frontman Baxxter with gleeful mischievousness shouts "Please refrain from not- smoking." A quality track.

And thus it goes on, flowing seamlessly one mad jaunt after another, with forays into hip-hop, disco and rock along the way. Even though they're no longer young men they demonstrate that they can still produce great music in a field typically dominated by younger and hipper characters.

Its still far from perfect. There are a number of less effective tracks. 'I'm Lonely' for instance represents one too many helium-voiced songs going by this title for me. The others being Kim-Jong-Il in Team America and the near identical Akon song. Truely a bizzare phenomenon. But overall there is little in the way of filler tracks, although we could have possibly done without non-vocal tracks; eleven and twelve. These lack some of that trademark Scooter zaniness that sets them apart from more generic dance acts which these two tracks could easily be mistaken for. Indeed there is something of a lull in the album at this point as the end is neared. The music is still of a decent level, just not up to the blistering fireworks of the opening.

CD 2 is just as good as CD 1 and provides you with every last German top-ten track the band have ever produced. Which is quite a few; Those Germans are crazy, they even like David Hasselhoff. Among the many gems are 'The logical song', 'Nessaja' and 'Weekend' to name but three. So one CD showing they've still got it, and another charting the amazing history of Scooter. From their early 90's heyday to now, and still going strong. (Still shouting nonsense...) The past, present and future of a great, if strange band.

Perfect for dance music officionados as well as non-dance fans, and even inveterate indie lovers such as myself. Everyone essentially.

Two brilliant Cds, one beast of a bargain.

******

TRACK LIST.

CD1:-

1. The Definition - 1:25
2. Jumping All Over The World - 3:48
3. The Question Is What Is The Question? - 3:46
4. Enola Gay - 3:59
5. Neverending Story - 3:52
6. And No Matches - 3:31
7. Cambodia - 5:23
8. I'm Lonely - 4:02
9. Whistling Dave - 3:39
10. Marian - 4:55
11. Lighten Up The Sky - 6:19
12. The Hardcore Massive - 4:25
13. Jump That Rock! - 3:50
14. The Greatest Difficulty - 0:20

CD 2:-

1. "The Question Is What Is The Question?"
2. "One (Always Hardcore)"
3. "Shake That!"
4. "Jigga Jigga!"
5. "Maria (I Like It Loud)"
6. "The Night"
7. "Weekend!"
8. "Nessaja"
9. "Ramp! (The Logical Song)"
10. "Posse (I Need You On The Floor)"
11. "Faster Harder Scooter"
12. "How Much Is The Fish?"
13. "Fire"
14. "I'm Raving"
15. "Rebel Yell"
16. "Back in The U.K."
17. "Endless Summer"
18. "Friends"
19. "Move Your Ass!"
20. "Hyper Hyper"