Sean Connery wryly starred in Never Say Never Again. His movie, paraphrasing his oft spoken denial of reprising his James Bond role, should be use by the long-running German hard rockers, who threatened retirement a couple of years ago. Well, just in time to commemorate their 50th anniversary, here's studio album #18, containing never-released old ideas, as well as newer material, from the last half decade. To say many of us stopped caring about Scorpions output, once they appeared on MTV, is being kind.

While the lyrics of ‘Going Out With A Bang’ opener ring hollow, given the protracted exit, it's at least a lively number, in the supped-up 50s rock tradition. What quickly becomes evident (start of ‘We Built This House’ ballad) is that many of these songs were initially scrapped for containing recognizable riff, seemingly recycled from (or written during the same session as) well known Scorps material. The juvenile ‘Rock My Car’ (should be another c word) is an embarrassing double-entendre ditty, from guys pushing 70! Acoustic tinged, ‘House Of Cards’ mimics ‘Winds Of Change’, minus the political overtones. ‘Rock N Roll Band’ (can you get more generic?) has a little gritty guitar and played at the most upbeat pace in a decade or more. Apart from Klaus Meine's accented nasal whine, the sanitized pop of ‘Catch Your Luck’ is unrecognizable as anything Scorpions, German, or even European. Who would want to lay claim to it anyway? With electronic drums/backbeat and multiple voice chorus, ‘Rollin' Home’ is filler, at best. ‘Hard Rockin' The Place’ with electronic modulated punctuated voice and brief guitar break is an attempt to heavy things up. ‘Eye Of The Storm’ is another melancholy relationship-based struggle, on acoustic guitar. ‘The Scratch’ inhabits territory similar to the lead-off cut, infused with a bit of jazz. ‘Gypsy Life’ ends of the standard CD with a tale-of-the-road ballad, although the deluxe edition includes four more tracks and ‘Delirious’ is an Itunes exclusive. Of all the extras, only a robust ‘Dancing With The Moonlight’ warrants investigation, let alone greater cash outlays: old rock by/for old fogies. With former (greatest!) Scorpions guitarists Uli Roth and Michael Schenker (including Francis Bucholz & Herman Rarebell in his band) not only touring, but airing many of the pre-80s classics, this incarnation can call it a day.