July 29th, 2020 - A Little Bewildered In Tokyo, But I've Got My Tapes And I've Got My Kölsch

Hello and happy Wednesday rockers, rollers, and brew lovers!  Your pal the Meista rocking out with a pairing of the "Tokyo Tapes" by giants of the hard rock / proto-metal world, Scorpions and a tasty Bewilder Kölsch from Bewilder Brewing Company!

Album Info: 

• Artist: Scorpions
• Title: "Tokyo Tapes"
• Recorded: April 24th and 27th, 1978 at Nakano Sun Plaza in Tokyo, Japan 
• Release date: August 15th, 1978 (1st live album by the Scorpions)
• Record company: RCA Records 
• Production: Dieter Dierks 
• Album cover art: Hans G. Lehmann (photography) and 300Design (design)
• Personnel: Francis Buchholz (bass and backing vocals), Klaus Meine (lead vocals), Herman Rarebell (drums, percussion, and backing vocals), Uli Jon Roth (lead guitars, lead vocals on "Polar Nights", Fly To The Rainbow", and "Dark Lady", and backing vocals), and Rudolph Schenker (rhythm guitar, lead guitar on , and backing vocals)
• Musical style: Hard rock, heavy metal, heavy blues rock 
• Sound: Highlighting Roth's unparrelled guitar talents and Meine's vocal prowess, "Tokyo Tapes" is a benchmark in the live 1970s hard rock scene!  It wonderfully captures the passion, talent, and energy of the first era of the Scorps!  Of the album, Roth once stated: "Tokyo Tapes was a peak time, we have played together for all these years and it all came together at that time. Particularly on the first show, which unfortunately wasn't recorded. There were three shows in Tokyo, the first one was by far the best, but the second one was good too."
• Major themes: Life, rock and roll, love, lust, sex, loss, the blues, isolation, rock and roll, etc.
• Tracks:   

1. "All Night Long"
2. "Pictured Life"
3. "Backstage Queen"
4. "Polar Nights"
5. "In Trance"
6. "We'll Burn The Sky"
7. "Suspender Love"
8. "In Search Of The Piece Of Mind"
9. "Fly To The Rainbow"
10. "He's A Woman, She's A Man"
11. "Speedy's Coming"
12. "Top Of The Bill"
13. "Hound Dog"
14. "Long Tall Sally"
15. "Steamrock Fever"
16. "Dark Lady"
17. "Kōjō no Tsuki"
18. "Robot Man"

Brew Info:

• Brewery: Bewilder Brewing Company (Salt Lake City, Utah)
• Website: https://bewilderbrewing.com/
• Brew: Bewilder Kölsch 
• Style: German Kölsch
• Serving: 32 ounce crowler can
• ABV: 4.8%
• IBUs: 25
• Pour: The Bewilder Kölsch pours a clear golden-yellow with a 2-finger, eggshell white, frothy head with great retention and intricate, layered lacing.
• Nose: The nose is grainy, crackery, and hoppy.  There are aromas of freshly baked sourdough bread, crackery biscuit, lemongrass, a hint of honey, and freshly cut wild grass.
• Taste: Following the nose, the taste is malty, crackery, and grassy.  There are notes of crackery biscuit, cracked wheat, lemongrass, a hint of lemon zest, an ever so slight hint of honey, and grassy hops.
• Mouthfeel: Light to medium-bodied and well carbonated, the mouthfeel is very crisp and refreshing with a dry, clean finish.

Overall pairing: Bewilder Brewing Company's Kölsch with all it's traditional crispness, crushability, and nicely balanced flavors, does a pretty fine job of accompanying the heavy-duty rockin' punch of  "Tokyo Tapes" by the mighty Scorps!  'Nuff said!

PROST!!