My introduction to Bonfire -- a band that has emerged over the decades as sort of a poor-man’s Scorpions -- came in the form of a vinyl copy of 1987’s Fireworks. It was released in the United States on a major label and delivered to the offices of my university’s campus newspaper, where I spent most of my time when I wasn’t in class. The band's logo alone convinced me to quickly claim it. I took the record back to my dorm room and proceeded to play the hell out of it.
Into the Nineties and beyond, I kept tabs on the band, scouring the internet for hard-to-find titles and buying new Bonfire albums when I could find them -- even compilations and live ones. Bonfire remained huge in Europe while interest in the U.S. waned. But because the band’s melodic hard rock never really veered, I always seemed to return to Bonfire when I needed something familiar to make me feel good.
Bonfire’s revolving-door of members include founding vocalist Claus Lessmann, who was succeeded by Michael Bormann (Jaded Heart), then by David Reece (Accept) and finally by current vocalist Alexx Stahl. Only one original member remains, 62-year-old lead guitarist Hans Ziller, who oversaw the creation of Roots. On its seventh compilation album, Bonfire takes an “almost unplugged” approach to 19 songs from its catalog -- stretching all the way back to the 1986 debut, Don’t Touch the Light, and right up to Fistful of Fire, released in 2020.
Recorded in the thick of the coronavirus lockdown, this fan-supported two-CD set focuses on Bonfire songs seldom played live. Ziller added electric guitar and brought in Fireworks-era keyboardist Martin Ernst for added dimension.
Most of the songs work well, especially ballads like “Lonely Nights,” “Comin’ Home” and “Why Is It Never Enough.” Of the rockers, “The Price of Lovin’ You” and “Under Blue Skies” emerge as highlights. While Stahl has created his own voice for the band, on Bonfire classics like “Give It a Try” and “Sleeping All Alone,” he channels Lessmann’s orginal delivery style.
The album’s title stems from Ziller’s idea to weave guitar licks from some of his own musical influences throughout the album. While a neat idea, it distracted me, and I stopped listening for them early on.
More important than that novelty, Roots includes five bonus tracks that are new songs. Two of them (“Your Love Is Heaven to Me” and “Our Hearts Don’t Feel the Same”) are performed in a style similar to the rest of Roots, but “Piece of My Heart” and “Youngbloods” are all-out rockers that suggest Bonfire isn’t ready to be extinguished quite yet.
TRACK LISTING
Disc One:
1. Starin’ Eyes
2. American Nights
3. Let Me Be Your Water
4. The Price of Lovin’ You
5. Comin’ Home
6. Ready 4 Reaction
7. Give It A Try
8. Sleeping All Alone
9. Who’s Foolin’ Who
10. Why Is It Never Enough
Disc Two:
1. Fantasy
2. When An Old Man Cries
3. Love Don’t Lie
4. Lonely Nights
5. Under Blue Skies
6. You Make Me Feel
7. No More
8. The Devil Made Me Do It
9. Without You
10. Your Love Is Heaven to Me (bonus track)
11. Piece of My Heart (bonus track)
12. Youngbloods (bonus track)
13. Our Hearts Won’t Feel the Same (bonus track)
14. Wolfmen (bonus track)
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