When I got my copy and looked at the cover my heart sank. Here we go, I thought:
1. Produced by super-slick pop-rock hitmeister Desmond Child.
2. All songs committee-written with "pro" songwriters like Child and Marti Fredriksen.
3. No songs co-written by more than one Scorpion (what, don't they talk anymore?)
4. Four Matthias Jabs writing credits (sorry, I love his playing but his few previous credits were mostly single B-sides)
However... it's bloody good! Yes, it's very "produced" and the songs are a bit formulaic - they don't really sound like classic Scorpions, but they're good, strong, melodic hard rock. It's no Lovedrive or Love At First Sting (or Taken By Force for that matter), but it's the best Scorpions album for a very long time.