Herman Rarebell & Friends – What About Love? A tribute To The Music Of The 80s – Album Review

13th April 2025 0 By Jon Deaux

I’ve been listening to this album by Herman Rarebell—the guy who used to bang on things for the Scorpions. It’s called What About Love?

Listening to it feels like watching your dad try to squeeze into his old leather jacket at a barbecue. Technically, it’s the same garment, but everything’s a bit off, and no one’s having a good time.

Herman’s rounded up some of his mates to tackle a bunch of 80s classics. It’s like assembling the Avengers—if the Avengers were middle-aged blokes with overdue mortgages and too much time. They approach these songs with all the delicacy of a rhinoceros attempting ballet.

The Toronto/Heart cover has them repeating “What about love?” over and over like they’ve forgotten their question mid-song. It’s the musical equivalent of walking into a room and then standing there wondering what you came in for. After four minutes of asking, you’d think they’d have figured it out or at least moved on to a more answerable question, like “What about lunch?” or “What about turning this off?”

The Foreigner cover sounds like they locked themselves in an empty marble museum after hours. All echo and self-importance, like someone whispering their name into a canyon and getting overly impressed with the result. Expensive equipment can’t hide the fact that they’re doing karaoke for people with platinum credit cards.

Guitar solos stretch on longer than most of my relationships—each one a furious attempt to prove how fast fingers can move. We get it; you practiced. Want a medal?

The production’s been buffed to an artificial gleam – like someone’s taken sandpaper to all the charming imperfections that made the ’80s interesting. Everything’s so sterile and precise that you half-expect the songs to be wearing surgical gloves. It sounds expensive, but somehow less alive for it.

As for the drumming, Herman’s been working through some unresolved issues. He’s smacking those drums like they’ve personally offended him.

If nostalgia were a retail item, this album would be the knockoff you find at a street market. “Just like the real thing,” they’d say—but we both know it’s not.

If you enjoy hearing songs you once loved getting throttled by enthusiastic men in their fifties armed with pricey gear, this is the album for you.
Score 0/10 or 10/10. Who cares? None of it matters anyway.
Track List
01. In The Air Tonight (Phil Collins cover)
02. I Want To Know What Love Is (Foreigner cover)
03. Love Is A Battlefield (Pat Benatar cover)
04. What About Love (Toronto/Heart cover)
05. Every Breath You Take (The Police cover)
06. Sweet Child O’ Mine (Guns N’ Roses cover)
07. Here I Go Again (Whitesnake cover)
08. Addicted To Love (Robert Palmer cover)
09. Passion Rules The Game (Scorpions cover)
10. Rock You Like A Hurricane (Scorpions cover)
11. These Dreams (Heart cover)
12. I Love Rock ‘N’ Roll (The Arrows/Joan Jett & the Blackhearts cover)
Label – Edel
Release – 112th April 2025