Scorpions Album by Album?

Going by the review vinyl diehard posted, both "Passion Rules the Game" and "Walking on the Edge" are "dance rock songs". Dunno.

 

Going back an album. World Wide Live was the album that got me into the Scorpions. I played that cassette sooooooo many times. Like another poster indicated it's basically a best of with cheering, so if you didn't have any studio releases, why not?

I was partying at the Met Center parking lot before an AC/DC 'Who Made Who' show and got hit in the side of the head with an half eaten piece of buttered corn-on-the-cob while listening to WWL's 'Big City Nights', while tripping on acid.

 

I bought Savage Amusement on cassette when it came out. I don't think I got through it once.

 

Alright well I finally relistened to the whole album. I don't think it's a bad album by any means but it's just not very memorable and no songs really stick out. I'd probably compare it to AC/DC's For Those About to Rock without the title track. Don't Stop at the Top is enjoyable and a typical 80's Scorps opener but not as good as any of the previous Jabs era openers. Rhythm and Passion are probably the most popular tracks from the album and I've always thought they were "OK". Media Overkill is a solid rocker that's probably my favorite song on the album. I don't like Walking on the Edge much at all. We Let It Rock and Every Minute are also just OK but at least we get a Peter Baltes appearance. Love On the Run is boring. Believe in Love is also your typical Scorps closing ballad. I said before I always enjoyed the Scorpion ballads and this was is no exception. Overall, not bad with a few good songs. Just nothing special.

 

I believe that if you were on board with the Scorpions during the Roth years, what came later, for the most part, was a tough pill to swallow.

 

I came in at Blackout, but quickly learned to appreciate the early albums the most.

 

Savage Amusement is not a bad album at all, it's just not very memorable overall. I do like the songs "Don't Stop at the Top", "Rhythm of Love" and "Believe in Love" the most, the rest is alright.

 

SA isn't the better Scorpions album but has some great songs, specially "Every minute every day". Always seems to me a great number, with the similar vibe that "Big city nights", "Falling in love" or "Don't believe her".

 

I remember when Scorpions released SA. i was at school. Good old days.

 

Can someone take the lead on this thread and continue from Savage Amusement?

I will be out of the country on business for awhile.

 

I will take this over and keep it going. I want to hit on Savage Amusement first and then we'll go onto Crazy World.

 

Thanks brother. I have to go away to Kabul on gov't business.

 

SCORPIONS - Savage Amusement (1988)

Don’t Stop at the Top
Rhythm of Love
Passion Rules the Game
Media Overkill
Walking on the Edge
We Let It Rock … You Let It Roll
Every Minute Every Day
Love on the Run
Believe in Love


Klaus Meine: Lead and backing vocals
Matthias Jabs: Lead and rhythm guitar, talk box
Rudolf Schenker: Rhythm and lead guitar, backing vocals
Francis Buchholz: Bass guitar
Herman Rarebell: Drums


Four years after the release of 1984’s Love at First Sting, Scorpions return for their next studio outing, Savage Amusement released on Mercury Records in 1988.

There’s something to be said for comfort food; you know, mashed potatoes, gravy, chicken fried steak, green beans; that sort of thing. That’s, essentially, what Scorpions music is. It’s a known commodity that will fill the gut and leave you feeling satisfied if not somewhat unhealthy and a bit bloated. And that’s essentially, Scorpions for you. The band found a formula that worked for them around the time of Lovedrive and decided to stay on that path until they drove it into the ground. And by 1988, they pretty much had.

What you have with Savage Amusement are variants of songs from the Lovedrive to Love at First Sting, but rearranged a bit some variants on the riffs, and with some different technology employed along with the novelty item of the talk box and whatever other little minor the tweaks the band decided to employ for a bit of deviation. Minor deviation, though. Keep that in mind.

“Don’t Stop at the Top” is, basically, “Loving You Sunday Morning” while the stupidly titled “We Let It Rock … You Let It Roll” is “Blackout Pt. 2”. Seriously, it’s the same kind of sharp staccato riff and the guitar histrionics that characterized the title tune of the 1982 album. “Passion Rules the Game” is “No One Like You” with the punctuated, call and response riffs with the rhythm section and the more delicate chording underneath the verses. It’s pretty much the same tune. “When passion rules the geeeeem” .. yeah.

And that’s thing I’m talking about here: Rudolf Schenker, while a talented riff meister, seems to fall back on past ideas too much due to either laziness or because he knows what’s tried, true, and tested and doesn’t want to mess with the formula too much. Scorpions are, as much as you might hate to admit it, a corporate entity that supply you a product. That’s not so much a criticism of the band, but more of a statement on a lot of hard rock and heavy metal in general. Most of the popular bands like Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, or whomever rarely deviate from their formula or, if they do like, for instance, Priest with Turbo, it can meet with disastrous results. So, best to play it safe and stay with the accepted parameters of what your core audience has established that they like. So, that’s what Scorpions do on Savage Amusement. Schenker is no dummy and wants to keep a good thing going.

One of the songs on Savage Amusement I like pretty well on is “Rhythm of Love” which has a infectious, tough main riff and rousing chorus that works well with its mid-tempo driving tempo and softer verses that contrast with the heavier chorus figures. It’s a good song and the drums and bass keep a pulsing back beat that helps drive the song. “Rhythm” is pretty much a dance song with heavy guitars and that’s not necessarily a bad thing, though. Another dance type song is the forward looking (lyrically, anyway) “Media Overkill” that uses the talk box ala “The Zoo” or Bon Jovi’s “Livin’ on a Prayer” (really, “Media” is trying a bit hard to be this tune), but it also has a driving 4/4 beat that is accentuated by the gated reverb drum sound of Rarebell that is all over this album (I hate it, btw). The talk box is overused to the point of parody on “Media Overkill”, but whatever. I guess Rudolf thought it would be embraced by the fans since it went over so well with “The Zoo”. Another song I like pretty well is the deep cut, “Every Minute Every Day” which like “Rhythm of Love” has a tough, crunchy riff and is pretty no nonsense. It’s definitely one of the better songs on an album that doesn’t have a lot of distinction in terms of the tunes.

“Walking on the Edge” starts out like “When the Smoke is Going Down” and then moves into a more dance groove type tune that is very much more of the same. It has probably the most groaner line in terms of lyrics in the entire album: For you, life is just like chess, if you don't make a move, you'll lose the game (excuse me!: geeem) . Jesus, who came up with that one? And that’s another thing with Scoprions: the lyrics and topics of the band are just so limited. It has to be frustrating to have to sing about songs that are almost, invariably, about love, making love, or losing love. I mean, that’s really all the Scorpions sing about. There’s always some sexual innuendo thrown in for cheese sake, but it’s always more of the same. There are many, many bands that have that painted themselves into a corner in terms of topical manner of their songs (again, Priest and Maiden) but even those bands can vary it up with songs about giant metal robots taking over the world or Alexander the Great or whatever, but not the Scorpions. It’s all about the base emotions of human relationships between a man and woman. Frankly, it’s a bit boring. I think that’s why songs like “Animal Magnetism” from the album of the same name, “China White” from Blackout and even “The Zoo, from Magnetism are a tad refreshing because they aren’t repeating the same topical cycles over and over in terms of Scorpions lyrics and themes. They’re at least a bit different. Savage Amusement has none of those types songs, instead keeping the songs very much in the realms of the norm.

And I think that’s the end problem with Savage Amusement is that it’s an album that takes no risks whatsoever. After a four year lay off to recharge their batteries, Scorpions return to give you exactly what they’ve given you before. I realize that the band doesn’t want to tinker with proven success too much, but if you don’t try to branch out, at least a bit, you run the danger of becoming a parody of yourself and by 1988 that’s pretty much what Scorpions had become. Because Savage Amusement doesn’t contain any real knock out tunes, it’s kind of a forgettable album and I think that’s why the album didn’t resonate real well with fans. The music was just too safe. By 1988, the landscape of hard rock was beginning to change with Soundgarden’s Ultramega OK and Mudhoney’s Superfuzz Bigmuff and fans were wanting to hear something a bit more grit and attitude and, meanwhile, Scorpions are cranking out the same old stuff. It would be the beginning of the end of the band’s success as the band would struggle mightily through the end of the 80’s and the 90’s as they continued to steadfast hold onto a sound that was rapidly becoming cliche and tired.

 

Okay, so there's my take on Savage Amusement. We'll go onto Crazy World in about a day or (as soon as I can get a review for it in other words).

 

Nobody mentioned it but I wanted to say before the thread moves on that the "missing" snare drum beat that weaves in and out of Don't Stop at the Top was a cool touch.

 

I really prefer the Uli days but there's something with Savage Amusement that always made me feel right, a kind of special touch. Great memories about it. That tour was the first timer i saw then performing live on stage...the last tour without any kind of cap or hat, like the good old days.

Great article from GodShifter. There's a version of the song "Love on the run" that appears with a different mix in the drums. There wasn't actually any reference of this. It appears in the maxi "Rhythm of love". Killer drum mix, a bit loud than the original version in the album.

In a few days i' ll travel to Germany and i want to go to some places that seems important in the Scorpions history:

- Star Studios: Hamburg (First Scorpions recordings)
- Robert Koch Realschule: Langenhagen (Scorpions and Dawn Road rehearsals)
- Elisabeth Church: First Uli's concert.
- Dierks Studios: Needs no explain.
- Hannover University: Last concert Dawn Road and Scorpions concerts.

I'm very interested in Scorpions first years (1965 -1982). If someone could tell me any interest place important into the Scorpions History I' ll be thankful.

 

SCORPIONS - Crazy World (1990)


Tease Me Please Me
Don’t Believe Her
To Be With You in Heaven
Wind of Change
Restless Nights
Lust or Love
Kicks After Six
Hit Between the Eyes
Money and Fame
Crazy World
Send Me An Angel


Klaus Meine: Lead and backing vocals
Rudolf Schenker: Rhythm and lead guitars
Matthias Jabs: Lead and rhythm guitars
Francis Buchholz: Bass guitar
Herman Rarebell: Drums


Scorpions brought in the new decade with a new sound and a new producer and it paid dividends for them. With 1990’s Crazy World the band had a huge hit with “Wind of Change” and success with the single “Send Me an Angel” as well. Though the rest of the 90’s would be unkind to the band with the onset of grunge (dirty, punk influenced rock n’ roll in other words), Crazy World would be, in effect, Scorpion’s last great hurrah.

Feeling the band needed a change after their unhappiness with 1988’s Savage Amusement, the band brought in seasoned AOR vet, Keith Olsen, for the production duties of Crazy World. Gone after almost 15 years was long time producer and co-collaborator, Dieter Dierks. And with Olsen at the knobs there is vast difference in terms of the sonics of this record. This record literally BOOMS! The drums are vast and spacious while Francis Buchholz’s bass is audible for the first time in, like, forever. He really lays down the bottom end very well with some really tasteful playing. In truth, he’s always been a talented player, but got lost in the mix with a lot of Dierks’s records. I like Dieter Dierks’ work, but the truth is, he was never about sonic dynamics. All of his records are characterized by heavy treble and lack of bottom end; Scorpions or otherwise.

The guitars are as they always are with Scorpions: biting, crunchy, and in front. There’s not that much difference with them, really. Meine’s vocals sound really good on this record, too. He’s in the lead in the mix and right in the center of everything. In truth, everything on Crazy World sounds really good. Yeah, some might not like the production choices on the drums, but, overall, the mix and sound is outstanding.

I’ve read some reviews where writers claim that Crazy World is a heavier outing than past outings, but I really don’t hear that too much. I think it’s more of the ‘in your face production’ than the songs truly being of a heavier variety. Scorpions retain the same topical matters for Crazy World as in past records: sexual innuendo, rock n’ roll, parties, and, yep, misogyny. Though with Scorpions you never really get the feeling that the misogyny is truly something they believe in. It’s more just the rock n’ roll bravado/testosterone fueled deal that they do. It’s part of their formula. A true subtle difference of Crazy World is, though everything thematically and lyrically that is Scorpions is present, it has been toned down a bit. The lyrics are sex charged, but not overly so, the innuendo is less used, and the whole record seems to be a tad bit more restrained in terms of its blatant sexism. Even the cover by Hipgnosis isn’t something that makes you shake your head and say, “what were they thinking?” It’s a fairly subtle and interesting cover, though like many Hipgnosis designs, it makes no correlation to the music inside.

With that said, there is the gorilla in room on this record and it’s a song that has zero to do with sex, partying, or anything of nature. In fact, it’s a song with social commentary on the fall of the Berlin wall and changes that were taking place in the world at the time of Crazy World’s recording. That song is, of course, the one: “Wind of Change”. It’s quite the polarizing tune as many absolutely love it and others despise it. It’s, easily, Scorpions’ biggest crossover hit in their career and their highest charting single ever. It’s actually a nice, heartfelt song, but it’s also kind of saccharine sweet and then there’s the whistling. Yeah, has anyone ever pulled off whistling on a song and it’s truly worked? (I’m looking at you W. Axl Rose). My response would be: no, but others might disagree. But, yeah, Crazy World sold massive units because of “Wind of Change” and gave Scorpions a brief, and much needed, boost in their career at the time when interest was sagging a bit for the band and the hard rock landscape was changing.

The rest of Crazy World is your typical Scorpions hard rock/metal, but there is a higher degree of melody with this record than in previous Scorpions outings. Songs like “Tease Me Please Me” with its simple repeating chorus sounds like something the early The Who might do, while the rest of the tune is catchy and sticks in your brain. The final tune, “Send Me An Angel” is the same thing: highly catchy while, at the same time, giving you the end Scorpions ballad that almost every Scorpions’ albums are known for. Songs “Don’t Believe Her” and “To Be With You in Heaven” more restrained rockers while, basically, the rest of the album save “Wind” and “Send Me An Angel”, are of your regular variety power rockers that Scorpions are known for. I.E. “Money and Fame” kind of has a Blackout like “China White” vibe to it, while “Kicks After Six” is more along the line of something Motley Crue might crank out around the same time. Actually, there’s a lot about the rockers on this record that remind me of Ratt a lot. But, yeah, a lot of the LA scene type stuff on here; probably a nod or two to G’n’R also.

Note: Crazy World would be bass player, Francis Buchholz, last album with the band and, thus, ending the “classic line-up” period that had been intact since Lovedrive. More changes were on the way, but Scorpions could ride the wave of success with this last album. As I said earlier, the rest of the new decade would not be so kind.

We'll always have "Wind of Change"!

 

Don't Believe Her is one of my favorite Scorpions songs, and Wind Of Change is good too.

 

Hello my name is Christian from France.
I'm a big Scorpions fan and collector.
On my website I'm working about Tourhistory and Line-ups of the band. Of you can help me to find dates, or tickets scans... to help me to complete my website, it will be really helpfull.
You can see what I've already done here:
http://scorpcol.freeheberg.com/
All your impressions are welcome.
I'm especially interested in the period from 1965 to 1979.
Best regards.

 

Bump for the scorpions.

 

Love the Crazy World album although I did not buy it at the time - needless to say I could live without hearing WOC again but there's no denying its a very good song.

The album definately has a more subdued commercial feel than say Blackout or even Love At First Sting but the quality of the production and songs makes up for its lack of bombast!

 

Just like Savage Amusement, some strong tunes (Don’t Believe Her, Restless Nights, Lust Or Love - which reminds me of Big City Nights - and Send Me An Angel), but also some OK or mediocre ones. Main difference is that in 1988 every band on the planet wanted to sound like Def Leppard or Bon Jovi, which also left its traces on SA, while in 1990 the band enjoyed their newly gained freedom of no longer being put in irons by Dierks. At that time I regulary read the German Metal Hammer and I remember very well the mudslinging between the Scorpions and Dierks in those days, which was quite strange, considering how successful they had been together up to that point. On the one hand, I didn't like the polished sound and production of SA, but on the other hand I often asked myself if the Scorpions would have made better albums in the 90's with Dierks still on their side. Especially in Germany, with the enormous success of Wind Of Change, the Scorpions lost much of their reputation as a hard rock (or even metal) band in the beginning of the 90's, which is strange, too, as ballads (and many of them quite strong ones) had always been a trademark of the Scorpions, so this wasn't some kind of sell-out. Of course this process was sped up by an awful follow-up album that, in addition, just fell in-between Grunge and the Punk revival ...

 

I feel the same about Crazy World as a do about Savage Amusement. Good album, but nothing really blows me away. What’s interesting to me is they hired Jim Vallance (Bryan Adam’s writing partner) to co-write a bunch of songs with them. I believe this was the first time the Scorpions had really used outside help before so I’m kind of curious as to who made this decision and why. Were they running out of ideas? They didn’t really make any fundamental shift in their sound with this album.

 

Hey Jeff,any idea where I can see photos from the Scorpions In Trance album photo session with the model and the strat ? I LOVE that album,Thanks,Bill

 

Hi Bill,
The original version of that image I had saved from the following site
http://www.saatchi-gallery.co.uk/images/thumbnail1.php/eqkm200837121237ast.jpg

However it has long since been removed. It was the only outtake image that was there (if there were more I would have saved them as well)

That said if you would like to see the unedited version without the Photoshopped on bikini top, click here to open the Photoshopped version in it's own window and then remove the work "Clean" from the end of the URL so that it ends with InTranceOutTake.jpg instead of InTranceOutTakeClean.jpg