Earthquake

After his not-too-pleasant exit from German hard rock icons the Scorpions in the late '70s, guitarist Uli Jon Roth embarked on the next phase of his career with the release of his new project Electric Sun's first album, Earthquake, in 1979. A psychedelic power trio fashioned in the image of his idol Jimi Hendrix's Experience, Electric Sun's hippie tendencies were already severely outdated from day one, but it was their leader's utter incompetence as a singer that destroyed all their hopes for success. A guitarist of breathtaking skill and widespread, mostly unacknowledged influence, Roth simply failed to appreciate the commercial necessity of a true frontman, not to mention his own limitations in that capacity. The result is that Earthquake is the kind of album that makes you want to pull out your hair. On the one hand you have Roth's flawless guitar work, showcasing his fluid melodic lines, astounding improvisations, and complete control of tone and texture while wasting not a single note; on the other, you have the aforementioned vocal deficiencies that are further hampered by his heavy German accent. Strangely, much of the material on Earthquake seems to re-interpret or re-utilize some of Roth's brighter moments with the Scorpions. Opener "Electric Sun" is pretty much a straightforward reworking of his Scorpions classic "Polar Nights," and "Lilac" recalls the middle section of "Fly to the Rainbow." Guitar shredding fans will no doubt convulse with delight at jaw-dropping six-string workouts like "Burning Wheels Turning" and the ten-minute neo-classical tour de force that is the album's title track, but only if they somehow manage to block out Roth's voice.