Scorpion’s came out with Crazy World in 1990 and it was a pretty solid record and a total improvement in my book than the previous release which was Savage Amusement (1988).
Zeeeee Scorps are….
Klaus Meine – lead vocals
Matthias Jabs – lead guitar, backing vocals
Rudolf Schenker – rhythm guitar, backing vocals
Francis Buchholz – bass, backing vocals
Herman Rarebell – drums, backing vocals
Scorps hooked up with songwriter Jim Vallance(Bryan Adams Co Writer) and wrote some great tracks one being Hit Between The Eyes which in my opinion is a Sure Fire Scorps Rocker! Rarebell steam rolls his drums at a crazy clip while Jabs solos like a lunatic all over the map and pulls it off.(underrated lead player in my humble opinion!) Vallance helps out and delivers the Scorps a Super Duper chorus that is oh so good while Jabs is still soloing like a lunatic! Also full props for that Duster(Moustache) Schenker is sporting in the live video below circa 1991!
Scorps always wrote brilliant Rock tracks. Case in point! The first 6 tracks on World Wide Live(1985) support my theory!
Look at these Monster Tracks..this is how you pace your show circa 84-85!
Side one
“Countdown” (Klaus Meine, Matthias Jabs) – 0:41
“Coming Home” (Rudolf Schenker, Meine) – 3:17 (taken from Love at First Sting, 1984)
“Blackout” (Schenker, Meine, Herman Rarebell, Sonja Kittelsen) – 4:11 (taken from Blackout, 1982)
“Bad Boys Running Wild” (Schenker, Meine, Rarebell) – 3:45 (taken from Love at First Sting, 1984)
“Loving You Sunday Morning” (Schenker, Meine, Rarebell) – 4:41 (taken from Lovedrive, 1979)
“Make It Real” (Schenker, Rarebell) – 3:51 (taken from Animal Magnetism, 1980)
Wowzers thats a solid 6 Pack O Rock!
Scorps had a pretty cool knack for writing slower chill like tracks the best being No One Like You from Blackout(1982). But as time and albums wore on Scorps kinda lost steam on writing chill ballady like tunes and Winds Of Change or the Whistle Tune as i call it ( great message in the lyrics but why did the Scorps cave into the dreaded trap of syrup rock?) Didn’t like this tune that much back in 90 still applies today….
Dunno bout Winds..i’m sure lots of you out there dig it and hats off to ya! For Me? Meh….? I will still post the video maybe a live one to see if at all it picks up gas……
MMMMM…. after watching the live clip the Scorps tank is empty! Quick any one got a Defibrillator to revive this band? Than again these dudes are pushing 70 years young but man I dunno……
Crank up Hit Between The Eyes again. That’s the Scorps I wanna listen to!
Scorpions in 1980 release Animal Magnetism and how about that album cover? Ha! Them fella’s sure knew how to do some thought-provoking images didn’t they?
Geez man I started High School a little over a year later in September 1981. Should have drawn up this image in art class! Haha….Would have bought me some Instant Street Cred until the Principal came knocking than I would have said it was Tbones drawing! Hahahaha!
Seriously the Scorps put out one decent Piece Of Rock and if you’re keeping score it wasn’t until 1985 (after I purchased Scorpions World Wide Live ) that I got around to purchasing Animal Magnetism. A full 5 years after its release! (On cassette none the less and a few years ago rebuying it on ITunes)
Alright Kids…time for some Good Ol Hard Rock….
Must also mention that I hooked up with those Two Crazy Southern Ontario Amigos, Mikey And Mr Books! Check out there spin on this album as well. Click the links provided Peeps! Seriously for top notch writings go there……Do It!
Cast Of Characters-Klaus Meine(Vocals),Herman Rarebell(Drums) Francais Buchholz(Bass) Matthais Jabs(Guitar) and Rudy Schenker(Guitar)
Make It Real opens the album and the first thing you notice if you were weened on World Wide Live like myself is that the 1985 Live version of this song is at a much quicker pace than the studio version. 1985 and the Scorps were the big deal …Selling out Arenas! Check! Selling Shitload Of Albums! Check! Hot Chicks Digging Ugly Dudes! Check! Ingesting A Ton Of After Hours Party Treats! Check! So of course the live version is a different beast but the studio version has a real cool slower like chill tempo and I love the production on this album courtesy of Dieter Dierks.
Don’t Make No Promises(Your Body Can’t Keep) blasts right out of the gate kinda like that Blackout tune that would surface a few years later(1982) Kinda surprising this is not the opening track as it just rips your noggin apart especially during Jabs solo. Klaus Meine you can hear his tonsils shredding apart on this song. Yep you want rock! Look no further than track 2!
Some cool power chords open Hold Me Tight while Herman Ze Drummer plays a straight ahead rock groove and keeps the troops on board. Pretty cool snappy chorus! Klaus hollers ‘Alright!” Jabs dips n doodles a pretty slick little solo while Rudy holds the rhythm end down on guitar.
Twentieth Century Man once again begins with the guitars and speaking of, they must have been just cranked up loud in the studio to make the paint peel off the walls. This song is a no frills straight ahead mid tempo German Stomper. Jabs basically takes the three minutes and 5 seconds to solo under everything and makes it sound cool so I don’t puke and push skip! Atta Boy!
Lady Starlight is the ballad and the first half is filled with acoustic guitar work,strings,perhaps a symphonic element added as well but later on the song stops and all you hear is the sound of electric guitar and Bam here comes the slow to mild build up with a real nice guitar solo that ramps up whereas the song in the background stays at the same tempo. Kids this is the way you do PowerBallads…
Ok…the first 20 seconds of this opening guitar riff of Falling In Love Warrant nicked for their song Mr Rainmaker ten years later in 1990. Scorps pick up the pace with this song and the guitars are so loud! Jabs rocks the solo and to be honest the chorus I find so so. If they would have stopped the repetitive Falling In Love yada yada sing-song chorus this could have been a real good track.
Only A Man begins with Klaus leading the vocal charge before the rest of the Scorps join in. Klaus almost sounds like his voice is double tracked to make him sound sinister to make this sound like Black Scorpions but there’s is no Sabbath Doom like music stomp just Klaus sounding evil caused by some crazed groupie!
The ZOO…..man what an opening and groove! The guitars are so good here. Herman plays a straight ahead groove on his drums. Just a great tune! Classic! The chorus is Gold! how about tossing in a talk box and a ton of riff n roll during the chorus.Dreams we call The Zoo! Think these guy’s have played The Zoo every four since 1980! That’s saying something about the song folk’s!
How often is the name of the album the last song on the album? Mmmm…not to many! Except here! Animal Magnetism is a slow plodder of a track this is actually more with its mid tempo Sabbathy like vibe. Its a heavy devy slow kick to the ass beat.
All in all a pretty good Hard Rock Album! Even with the ballad. Scorps were smart they were doings these kind of tunes before any real success in North America so for that I give them a Hall Pass! They didn’t just do it with later day albums as it was the thing to do in the 80s with so many bands….
Also this album was a good lead in for The Blackout album which was to follow a few years later when Klaus almost lost his voice!
Scorpions are one of those bands that you never hear anybody say they suck! Seriously you don’t. Sure you will get people who say I don’t like this Scorps album or that Scorps album but you never hear anyone yammer out loud I don’t like Ze Scorpions!
Myself, I love the Scorpions especially from LoveDrive(1979) to World Wide Live(1985) and the albums in between Animal Magnetism(1980) and especially Blackout (1982)!
When the Scorpions released Savage Amusement (1988) the album didn’t resonate with me whatsoever except for the cover! Hahaha! But Crazy World (1990) I dug as I did Alien Nation(1993) well kinda dug…..
After that I bought Live Bites(1995) which was decent as well but after that I stopped why I have no idea sometimes bands just do silly albums and I just move on which I did but lately I rediscovered these guys and I thought Wowzers I gotta review these guys as I did Blackout a while back….refresh your marbles here with my jargon….https://superdekes.wordpress.com/2015/04/20/sonic-waves-scorpionsblackout/
1984 and a ton of heavy hitters released big albums and The Scorps were one of them….
Things We Call The Zooooooo!
1984 and the Scorps return yet again with Dieter Dierks manning the producers chair. So if ain’t broke don’t fix anything and why would Matthais Jabs,Rudy Schenker,Herman Rarebell,Klaus Meine and Francis Bucholz wanna alter the plan?
Just two years earlier (1982)Scorpions hit North American pay dirt.. ie Gold with Blackout. So when the iron is striking hot! Keep striking it!
BAD BOYS RUNNING WILD- Jab’s and Schenker right off the hop flex their guitar muscle with a super-duper mega riff that Reeks utter coolness with sweeping power chords galore and Herman Ze German opens the festivities with a smash a Roo of the drums. Bad Boys is a Panzer First Division Stomper! What a power opener! Klaus has a unique voice that sounds like German! Ha! Dig the lyrics in this tune I mean you hear them once there etched in your memory forever! ” Out In The Streets! Dogs On The Run Cat’s In Heat!” Yeppers man Scorpions lay down some serious law with the chorus which is real catchy. Jabs and his guitar solo histrionics with the wang bar diddle doodle that makes Ya wanna airband. The production (courtesy of Dieter Dierks )which is crystal clear and Frigg this is only the first song!
ROCK YOU LIKE A HURRICANE-Well what do we say about this tune? Jabs and Rudy set the bar and drink it dry with one of the most memorable opening riffs of the 80s! Course Klaus crawls and spills the beans about “My Cat Is Purring,It Scratches My Skin,What Is Wrong With Another Sin,The Bitch Is Hungry,She Needs To Tell,So Give Her Inches And Feed Her Well,” Bahahaha! What can you say about the words? That’s the 80s all rolled up in a lyric speedball shot Into our veins as 17-year-old boys and we all bought into it! Of course the video with all the ugly Scorps Guys in a cage surrounded by woman wanting a piece of them totally sold this as well. Great stuff…. Say what you want but the song structure is real good. Neat verse catchy chorus and Jabs plays a whopper of a solo! He dips n doodles all over the fretboard and plays that wang bar like it’s a soggy spaghetti noodle. The Scorps delivered a sure-fire musical winner with this track!
I’M LEAVING YOU-Scorps could always write cranked up rockers like the first two tracks here but they also had real flair for writing some killer melodic hard rock nuggets! I’m Leaving You is one of them. Nice mid tempo push by Herman’s drums along with some neat guitar pickings and Klaus hits his stride during the chorus! (It will keep you humming along for hours) What a great tune no one ever talks about this track. Well….you should!
COMING HOME-Klaus sings the tale of the touring dude who’s longing to come home! Haha yeah right?! You wanna go home to take out the trash whereas you can hang out in
some muck pit cage with chicks wanting a piece of the action? Anyhoo Coming Home ramps back up and it’s another Scorps rocker! Great buildup into Jabs solo and it also featuring a ton of riffing and Herman even smashes about some double bass drumming. Great Rock Track!
THE SAME THRILL-Jury’s out on this track. I don’t know its just a straight ahead rocker. Lot’s of riffing and rolling but the Scorps can do way better…..next….
BIG CITY NIGHTS-Once again The Scorps blitz out of the gates with a real good opening riff and we’re off! Rudy like he does on Scorps albums takes the reigns on the solos for a couple of tunes and this is one of them! This song is another well written track that has a real good hard rock slick chorus. The video for it as well shows a lot of woman(surprise,surprise) and I’m sure Sex Sells! For the record your Honor I had Love At First Sting before Big City Nights became a video single!
AS SOON AS THE GOOD TIMES ROLL-Dig the opening. As per protocol it’s the guitars that catch the ear. This track though features a neat rhythm of bass and drums and of course Klaus and the guitars kick it along. Not bad I suppose….
CROSSFIRE-Herman plays a military like drum roll through the song. The guitars are pretty slick here and proves that you don’t have to go 120 mph all the time! Crossfire along with the Military Marching Band vibe delivers a different lyrically vibe than the second song on this record. Ha! Klaus sings and asks the question why do we have to be at war?
STILL LOVING YOU- Tbone dug the Scorps form a distance! He listened and piped up as like it was yesteryear(1984ish) and commented that it gets real repetitive with Klaus singing the line Still Loving You about 400 times! Ha! Not quite but the Scorps did this a bit like on Can’t Live Without You from Blackout! Still though the Scorps did the right thing dump the PowerBallad at the end of the album. Still Loving You have some nice riffing at the end by Rudy and he’s no slouch on the fretboard. Him and Jabs make a great guitar team! One side you have flash(Jabs) and in the other corner you have (Schneker) the thinker! Still Loving You, I have to take in small doses but still it’s decent not sap….
FINAL YAMMER-Scorps deliver another decent bit of Hard Rock! Not as classic as Blackout but still pretty solid in its own defence! The fact that they were on the typical album tour album tour cycle by than is impressive that they could still muster up Gems….You gotta hand it to them…
It’s time for Zeeeee Scorppiiiiions! Blackout I bought right away as did Muc and many others back in the summer of 1982. This Scorps release was my first foray into German Rock (Accept would be 2 years later in 1984)and Blackout delivered on all levels! Great songs,solid production,great vocals and excellent solid musicianship!
Klaus Meine/Herman Rarebell/Matthias Jabs/Francis Bucholz and Rudy Schenker deliver a solid piece of Rock N Rolla!
BLACKOUT-Schenker opens the album with guitar Riff number 1 and boom here comes the rest of the boys and takes all of 5 seconds to realize that Jabs is gonna smoke some serious guitar leads on this record. Jabs has always been underrated in my book why I have no idea. I mean he’s got all the flash in the pan guitar hero moves and licks but there’s something about his playing which he takes it to another level. So yeah kudos to you Mr Jabs! Blackout though is a great opener and hey man if your any kind of rocker who has this album shall we all on the count of 3 sing together….Blackout…I really had a Blackout…..Blackout….I really had a Blackout……Blackout…..This song kicks down the walls and what a start! And full props to the wail of the vocal and smash of glass at the end of the song!
CANT LIVE WITHOUT YOU-Scorps delve right into Can’t Live…Klaus counts it in with a 1-2-3-4! Quick snappy guitar jabs(ha) deliver this tune and the prechorus is awesome and the well the chorus is jammed with of course Can’t Live …..Can’t Live Without Uuuuuuuu! Great solo and the Scorps are winning me over man and by that I mean I had there add for Blackout hanging in my locker at my old high school(Lakeview High circa 1982!)
NO ONE LIKE YOU- the guitars blast out into this tune but it’s not power metal it’s gassssssssp! A power ballad?! Allright lets cut to the chase! The Scorps deliver a slower type tune the way it should be done! Sure it has a slower pace to it….but it has balls! The guitars courtesy of the Schenker/Jabs law firm of Klaus Meine and Associates keep the song from wussing out! Super deadly chorus! Super Duper guitar solo and a total shout out to the vid that was filmed at Alcatraz! Love the part in it when Rudy smashes the guitar into smithereens and he has that crazy contraction on his head just like the pic on the front cover! Crazy Funkin Germans..but man they Rock!
YOU GIVE ME ALL I NEED- Scorps keep the train on the tracks and push this pace a little faster than No One Like You! Some acoustic guitar is on this track and the chorus is a winner! Of note Rudy would lay down the solos of the slower paced tunes like this one while Matthais would rip out the quicker tunes…go listen to this album and hear for yourself!
NOW- Klaus leads the charge to the end of side 1! Tons of Jabs laying waste to his fretboard while Herman Ze German and Francais lay down the bottom end! This is a ass kicker track! Nnnnnnnn……Now! NUFF said!
DYNAMITE- Blitzkrieg…boom this song is fired out of the cannon of super speed and there’s tons of smashing drums and guitars colliding and everything grinds to a halt with just the drums pounding and Klaus lays down those great lyrics it’s the 80s time to party Bitches….”Kick your ass to heaven with rock n roll tonight,I’ll make this night a special one,make you feel alright! Shoot my heat into your body,give Ya all my size,I’m gonna beat the beat tonight it’s time to break the ice! ….DYNAMIIIIIIIITE!
ARIZONA-why man was this not a single! It oooozes cool with a real simple groove that has Hooks all over the map! Guitars are so damn catchy. Well all know the deal Klaus is chasing some chick from Arizona! Tbone has spent a many a yesteryear in Arizona back in the day. I will have to grill him on the deal here! Anyways this song is a great great rock track! So it will come to no surprise when I say …..GEM!
CHINA WHITE- holy crap were into some serious partying now with the Scorps too be honest I would probably be hiding when the Ahem…White stuff is out, but still this is a exact opposite feel good happy tune of the previous track Arizona! Gone is Tbone lazing in the Arizona sun with the beauties around pool side in its place is China White with its Sabbath sounding cross mixed with the Scorps sound! In its place,Deke is thrashing around in the dumpster looking for booze out back in the posh Arizona hotel that Tbone is staying at!
WHEN THE SMOKE IS GOING DOWN- so we go from playing at a 100 mph (Dynamite) to chilling poolside(Arizona) and than seeing it snow(China White)in Arizona and to finally cap it off with the protocol Scorps end of album power ballad! This is a good track. Schenker takes the lead guitar on the slower tunes and plays a real good lead and wow man for my first Scorps purchase they made a classic album! No Filler whatsover here folks!
IN CONCLUSION- it’s even more remarkable that Blackout was even made. Word on the street back in 1982 was that Klaus Meine had lost his voice and that the band brought in Don Dokken to do the demos! Don and his Dokken posse where in Germany at the time recording there debut album (Breaking The Chains)Imagine that? But fortunately everything worked out in spades and the Scorps delivered and executed a large piece of German Hard Rock that made myself and Muc stand up and take notice!
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