Crazy World by Scorpions

Crazy World by Scorpions

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Crazy World by ScorpionsDriven by the popularity of a historically significant song, Crazy World was a commercial success in 1990 for Scorpions. The eleventh overall studio release by this rock band from Germany, the album charted high in the US and is the group’s highest selling album all time in the UK. Formed a quarter century earlier, this record also ushered in a fourth decade of production for Scorpions and showed that they still had plenty of creativity and rock originality in contemporary times.

Following the tremendous success of 1984’s Love at First Sting, the band toured the world and spawned the popular live album, World Wide Live in 1985. Now at the height of their popularity, the group decided to take some time off before recording another studio album. Four years in the making, Savage Amusement was released in 1988 sporting a more polished and mature sound that was met with some disappointment by long time fans.

In an effort to distance themselves from the sound on that latter album, Scorpions decided not to us their long-time producer Dieter Dierks, who had worked with the band on every previous album dating back to the mid 1970s. The group brought in studio veteran Keith Olsen, who worked to bring back the band’s raw, classic sound. The band also enlisted the help of studio composer Jim Vallance, who contributed to several of the album’s tracks.


Crazy World by Scorpions
Released: November 6, 1990 (Mercury)
Produced by: Keith Olsen & Scorpions
Recorded: Goodnight LA Studios, Los Angeles & Wisseloord Studios, The Netherlands, Summer-Fall, 1990
Track Listing Group Musicians
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 Vocals
Matthias Jabs
Guitars, Vocals
Rudolf Schenker
Guitars, Vocals
Francis Buchholz
Bass, Vocals
Herman Rarebell
Drums, Vocals
 
Crazy World by Scorpions

Starting off the album, “Tease Me Please Me” is a pure eighties-style rocker with good, deep riffing and majestic vocals by lead singer Klaus Meine. The song’s chorus has a catchy hook with rudiment accents. The second track, “Don’t Believe Her”, follows in much the same vein as the opener. In fact, this song is so similar it could be the second part of a multi-part suite (which it is not), using the same composers and the same vibe. “To Be with You in Heaven” starts with simple drum beat by Herman Rarebell along with swelling guitar feedback before the two instruments join forces in unison. Moderate and methodical throughout, the song contains same philosophical and romantic lyrics with the hook;

“To be with you in heaven I would go through the darkest hell, In heaven there’s no cure for love that kills…”

“Wind of Change” was written solely by Meine and is the true classic from this album (not to mention one of the all-time rock classics). The signature whistling intro is accompanied by a perfect blend of one acoustic guitar and two electric guitars by Matthias Jabs and Rudolf Schenker. The group’s most genuine track, the lyrics come in the wake of the fall of the Berlin Wall and forecast a similar change in Russia (which actually happened the following year, just as the song was peaking). “Wind of Change” holds the record for the best-selling single by a German artist, topping the charts in seven nations across the globe (including Germany) and reached the Top 5 in both the US and UK.

Obviously following this high point, the album never gets any better. But there still are some interesting moments. “Restless Nights” contains a methodical blues crunch with interesting and melodic verses. Here bassist Francis Buchholz has a few moments to shine through and Meine gets to show off his vocal range. Crazy World was the last album to feature Buchholz, a veteran from the band’s classic lineup.

The album’s original second side starts with a couple of standard hard rock tracks. the rather mundane theme of “Lust or Love” is followed by “Kicks After Six”, which contains some sonically desirable riffs. “Hit Between the Eyes” follows with some nice fire-one style rudiments and a hyper arrangement throughout, including a cool duo guitar lead by Jabs and Schenker.

Coming down the stretch, we have the steady rocker “Money and Fame”, featuring a cool talk box effect by Jabs, who co-wrote the track with Rarebell. The title track, “Crazy World” has interesting chord progressions and a deep and smooth harmony during the chorus hook. However, at five minutes long, this track is stretched out a bit too long. Vallance plays some moody keyboards along with Schenker’s picked acoustic on “Send Me an Angel”, a ballad which is at once melancholy and hopeful. The true highlight of this closer is Meine’s vocal which shine through with another indelible hook to complete the album.

Just prior to the release of Crazy World, the group fittingly launched the all-star concert The Wall Live In Berlin, performing both versions of Pink Floyd’s “In the Flesh”. Following the album’s release, Scorpions launched their own world tour with further success.

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1990 images

Part of Classic Rock Review’s celebration of 1990 albums.

Love at First Sting by Scorpions

Love at First Sting by Scorpions

Buy Love at First Sting

Love at First Sting by ScorpionsScorpions reached the peak of their long career with the 1984 album Love at First Sting. This album spawned the group’s best selling singles and peaked in the Top 10 of the American album charts. The album is also notable due to a couple of ancillary facts. The original cover art (shown here) was deemed unsuitable for certain retail outlets, forcing the group to re-package the album in some markets. This was one the first albums to be recorded wholly using digital technology. While on the technological cutting edge, this also caught some blow-back from some long time fans who felt the sound was too polished and metallic.

Scorpions were formed in 1965 by guitarist Rudolf Schenker, the only original member to remain through the decades. Vocalist Klaus Meine joined the group just prior to the release of their debut album Lonesome Crow in 1972. Through the seventies, Scorpions gained popularity, led by releases like 1976’s Virgin Killer and 1978’s Lovedrive. This latter album was the first to feature guitarist Matthias Jabs.

At the dawn of the eighties, the band’s popularity accelerated with the release of Animal Magnetism in 1980 and Blackout in 1982. During this period, Meine required surgery on his vocal cords and his future with the band was in doubt. But he eventually had a full recovery and came back stronger than ever as an MTV audience was exposed to this band.


Love at First Sting by Scorpions
Released: March 27, 1984 (Harvest)
Produced by: Dieter Dierks
Recorded: Dierks Studios, Germany, 1983–1984
Side One Side Two
Bad Boys Running Wild
Rock You Like a Hurricane
I’m Leaving You
Coming Home
The Same Thrill
Big City Nights
As Soon as the Good Times Roll
Crossfire
Still Loving You
Group Musicians
Klaus Meine – Lead Vocals
Rudolf Schenker – Guitars, Vocals
Matthias Jabs – Guitars
Francis Buchholz – Bass, Keyboards, Vocals
Herman Rarebell – Drums, Vocals

Love at First String was produced by the group’s long time collaborator, Dieter Dierks, and recorded at his studios in Pullheim Stommeln, Germany. Co-written by drummer Herman Rarebell, the opener “Bad Boys Running Wild” starts with a screaming lead and steady riff but falls into a lame and dated chorus. “Rock You Like a Hurricane” brings things back with great sonic qualities and melodies and a fantastic guitar lead by Schenker. A staple of 80s hard rock, the song reached #25 on the pop charts and its sex-charged lyrics include the album’s title.

“I’m Leaving You” is a decent rock song with good vocals and variations of melodic sections over a steady rock arrangement. “Coming Home” is a bit more complex as a multi-part track which starts as a soft ballad before breaking into a frenzied rocker led by the drums of Rarebell and a harmonized mocking-vocal guitar riff. “The Same Thrill” finishes off side one as an almost punk song in the way it noisily comes in and does not relent throughout.

The album’s second side is far more solid and even than the first. On “Big City Nights” the duo riff approach works well, along with a thumping bass by Francis Buchholz and dynamic vocals with a decent hook by Meine. “As Soon As the Good Times Roll” is a moderately slow and unique tune which contains some reggae elements in its approach, while “Crossfire” has a darker feel, led by the marching drum roll throughout with some good harmonies in the hook and rapid fire guitar phrases.

The intro to the ballad “Still Loving You” is the true highlight of the album due to the masterful guitar work of Schenker and Jabs. Dramatic but not tacky, this ninth and final track brings the whole album up to another level as an indelible love song which sounds as fresh and bright thirty years on as it did in 1984.

Love at First Sting reach the Top 20 on both sides of the Atlantic and Scorpions toured extensively in the wake of its success, forging a live album along the way. The group’s output and popularity remained high throughout the decade and well into the 1990s.

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1984 Images

Part of Classic Rock Review’s celebration of 1984 albums.

 

Woodstock from behind the stage

Top 9 Rock Festivals of All Time

This week Classic Rock Review joins the celebration of the 45th Anniversary of the historic 1969 Woodstock Music Festival. In conjunction with Top 9 Lists, we present a list of the Top 9 Rock Festivals of all time, along with a bonus list of Top 9 Single Day, Single Location Concerts.

Woodstock from behind the stage

1. Woodstock

August 15-18, 1969
Bethel, New York

This remains the mother of all music festivals, held at a 600-acre dairy farm owned by Max Yasgur. A series of coincidental events unfolded which effected the location and operation of this festival, which grew to become a “free” event for over 400,000 attendees. Regarded as a pivotal moment in popular music history, 32 acts performed during the rainy weekend, starting with Richie Havens, and concluding with a memorable performance by Jimi Hendrix as the crowd dispersed mid-morning on Monday, August 18th. Woodstock was immortalized in a later documentary movie as well as a song by Joni Mitchell, who was one of many major acts that did not attend by later regretted it.

Woodstock Performers: Richie Havens, Sweetwater, Bert Sommer, Tim Hardin, Ravi Shankar, Melanie, Arlo Guthrie, Joan Baez, Quill, Country Joe McDonald, Santana, John Sebastian, Keef Hartley Band, The Incredible String Band, Canned Heat, Mountain, Grateful Dead, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Janis Joplin with The Kozmic Blues Band, Sly and the Family Stone, The Who, Jefferson Airplane, Joe Cocker and The Grease Band, Ten Years After, The Band, Johnny Winter, Blood, Sweat & Tears, Crosby, Stills, & Nash, Paul Butterfield Blues Band, Sha Na Na, Jimi Hendrix and Gypsy Sun Rainbows

Buy Woodstock soundtrack
Buy Woodstock: Three Days of Peace & Music DVD

2. Monterey Pop Festival

June 16-18, 1967
Monterey, California

Jimi Hendrix at MontereyCredited as the event which sparked the “The Summer of Love”, The three-day Monterey International Pop Music Festival had a rather modest attendance but was soon recognized for its importance to the performers and significance to the sixties pop scene. The lineup consisted of a blend of rock and pop acts with memorable performances by The Who and Jimi Hendrix Experience.

Monterey Pop Performers: Jefferson Airplane, The Who, The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Janis Joplin, Otis Redding, Booker T. & the MG’s, Ravi Shankar, The Mamas and the Papas

Buy Monterey Pop Festival Live album

3. Live Aid

July 13, 1985
London and Philadelphia

Live Aid, PhiladelphiaStill the largest benefit concert 30 years on, Live Aid was a also the first live multi-venue event, with over 70,000 at London’s Wembley Stadium and close to 100,000 at JFK Stadium in Philadelphia. Organized by musician Bob Geldof of the Boomtown Rats as relief for the Ethiopian famine, the concert evolved from Band Aid, a multi-artist group who recorded “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” in 1984. Live Aid was also one of the largest worldwide television broadcasts, with an estimated audience of 1.9 billion in about 150 nations. Memorable performances and moments included those by Queen, U2, Dire Straits, a reunited Black Sabbath, and a loose reunion by members Led Zeppelin, the first since their breakup in 1980.

Live Aid Performers: Status Quo, The Style Council, The Boomtown Rats, Adam Ant, Spandau Ballet, Elvis Costello, Nik Kershaw, Sade, Sting, Phil Collins, Branford Marsalis, Howard Jones, Bryan Ferry, David Gilmour, Paul Young, U2, Dire Straits, Queen, David Bowie, Thomas Dolby, The Who, Elton John, Paul McCartney, Band Aid, Joan Baez, The Hooters, Four Tops, Billy Ocean, Black Sabbath, Run–D.M.C., Rick Springfield, REO Speedwagon, Crosby, Stills and Nash, Judas Priest, Bryan Adams, The Beach Boys, George Thorogood and the Destroyers, Simple Minds, The Pretenders, Santana, Ashford & Simpson, Madonna, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Kenny Loggins, The Cars, Neil Young, The Power Station, Thompson Twins, Eric Clapton, Led Zeppelin (announced as “Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, John Paul Jones, Tony Thompson, Paul Martinez, Phil Collins”), Duran Duran, Patti LaBelle, Hall & Oates, Mick Jagger, Eddie Kendricks, David Ruffin, Tina Turner, Bob Dylan, Keith Richards, Ronnie Wood, USA for Africa

Buy Live Aid DVD

4. Isle of Wight Festival

August 26-30, 1970
Isle of Wight, UK

Isle Of Wight Festival, 1970In sheer numbers, the 1970 Isle of Wight Festival may be the largest ever, with estimates of over 600,000, which is an increase of about 50% over Woodstock. Promoted by local brothers Ronnie, Ray and Bill Foulk, the 5-day event caused such logistical problems (all attendees had to be ferried to the small island) that Parliament passed the “Isle of Wight Act” in 1971, preventing gatherings of more than 5,000 people on the island without a special license. Memorable performances included late career appearances by Jimi Hendrix and The Doors, and The Who, who released their entire set on the 1996 album Live at the Isle of Wight Festival 1970.

Isle of Wight 1970 Performers: Judas Jump, Kathy Smith, Rosalie Sorrels, David Bromberg, Redbone, Kris Kristofferson, Mighty Baby, Gary Farr, Supertramp, Howl, Black Widow, The Groundhogs, Terry Reid, Gilberto Gil and Caetano Veloso, Fairfield Parlour, Arrival, Lighthouse, Taste, Rory Gallagher, Chicago, Procol Harum, Voices of East Harlem, Cactus, John Sebastian, Shawn Phillips, Joni Mitchell, Tiny Tim, Miles Davis, Ten Years After, Emerson, Lake & Palmer, The Doors, The Who, Sly & the Family Stone, Melanie, Good News, Ralph McTell, Heaven, Free, Donovan, Pentangle, The Moody Blues, Jethro Tull, Jimi Hendrix, Joan Baez, Leonard Cohen, Richie Havens

Buy Message to Love, The Isle of Wight Festival DVD

5. Ozark Music Festival

July 19-21, 1974
Sedalia, Missouri

Ozark Music Festival stage“No Hassles Guaranteed” was the motto of the Ozark Music Festival, held at the Missouri State Fairgrounds in 1974. While this festival offered an impressive lineup of artists as well as a crowd upwards of 350,000 people, the Missouri Senate later described the festival as a disaster, due to the behaviors and destructive tendencies of the crowd.

Ozark Music Festival Performers: Bachman–Turner Overdrive, Aerosmith, Premiata Forneria Marconi, Blue Öyster Cult, The Eagles, America, Marshall Tucker Band, The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Boz Scaggs, Ted Nugent, David Bromberg, Leo Kottke, Cactus, The Earl Scruggs Revue, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Electric Flag, Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band, Joe Walsh and Barnstorm, The Souther Hillman Furay Band, The Ozark Mountain Daredevils, Charlie Daniels Band, REO Speedwagon, Spirit

6. US Festival

May 28-30, 1983
Devore, California

Steve Wozniak’s US Festivals were staged on two occasions in September 1982 and May 1983. The second of these was packed with a lineup of top-notch eighties acts who performed in an enormous state-of-the-art temporary amphitheatre at Glen Helen Regional Park.

1983 US Festival Performers: Divinyls, INXS, Wall of Voodoo, Oingo Boingo, The English Beat, A Flock of Seagulls, Stray Cats, Men at Work, The Clash, Quiet Riot, Mötley Crüe, Ozzy Osbourne, Judas Priest, Triumph, Scorpions, Van Halen, Los Lobos, Little Steven & the Disciples of Soul, Berlin, Quarterflash, U2, Missing Persons, The Pretenders, Joe Walsh, Stevie Nicks, David Bowie

7. The Crossroads Guitar Festival

June 4-6, 2004
Dallas, Texas

Crossroads Festival 2004 adStarting in 2004, the Crossroads Guitar Festivals have been held every three years to benefit the Crossroads Centre for drug treatment in Antigua, founded by Eric Clapton. These concerts showcase a variety of guitarists, with the first lineup at the Cotton Bowl stadium in 2004 featuring some legends along with up-and-comers hand-picked by Clapton himself.

2004 Crossroads Guitar Festival Performers: Eric Clapton, Johnny A, Vishwa Mohan Bhatt, Ron Block, Booker T. & the M.G.’s, Doyle Bramhall II, JJ Cale, Larry Carlton, Robert Cray, Sheryl Crow, Bo Diddley, Jerry Douglas, David Honeyboy Edwards, Vince Gill, Buddy Guy, David Hidalgo, Zakir Hussain, Eric Johnson, B.B. King, Sonny Landreth, Jonny Lang, Robert Lockwood, Jr., John Mayer, John McLaughlin, Robert Randolph, Duke Robillard, Carlos Santana, Hubert Sumlin, James Taylor, Dan Tyminski, Steve Vai, Jimmie Vaughan, Joe Walsh, ZZ Top, David Johansen

Buy Eric Clapton: Crossroads Guitar Festival 2004 DVD

8. Live 8

July 2, 2005
Locations world wide

Pink Floyd at Live 8Held 20 years after he organized Live Aid, Bob Geldof’s Live 8 was even more ambitious, being held in nine different locations around the world on the same day. Timed to coincide with the G8 conference in Scotland that year, the goal was to raise money to fight poverty in Africa. The most memorable moment from the concerts was at Hyde Park in London where the classic lineup of Pink Floyd reunited for the first time in over two decades.

Live 8 Performers: U2, Paul McCartney, Annie Lennox, Mariah Carey, R.E.M. The Killers, The Who, UB40, Pink Floyd, Elton John, Bob Geldof, Velvet Revolver, Madonna, Coldplay, Robbie Williams, Will Smith, Alicia Keys, The Black Eyed Peas, Kanye West, Linkin Park, Jay-Z, Rob Thomas, Sarah McLachlan, Stevie Wonder, Maroon 5, Deep Purple, Neil Young, Buck Cherry, Bryan Adams, Mötley Crüe, Brian Wilson, Green Day, a-Ha, Roxy Music, Dido, Peter Gabriel, Snow Patrol, The Corrs, Zola, Lucky Dube, Jungo, Pet Shop Boys, Muse, The Cure

Buy Live 8 DVD

9. Woodstock ’94

August 12-14, 1994
Saugerties, New York

Organized to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the original Woodstock festival, Woodstock ’94 was promoted as “3 More Days of Peace and Music”. in fact, this concert took place near the originally intended location of that first show and other similarities such as common performers, similar crowd size, rain, and mud.

Woodstock ’94 Performers: Blues Traveler, Candlebox, Collective Soul, Jackyl, King’s X, Live, Orleans, Sheryl Crow, Violent Femmes, Joe Cocker, Blind Melon, Cypress Hill, Rollins Band, Melissa Etheridge, Crosby, Stills, & Nash, John Sebastian, Nine Inch Nails, Metallica, Aerosmith, Country Joe McDonald, Sisters of Glory, Arrested Development, Allman Brothers Band, Traffic, Santana, Green Day, Paul Rodgers Rock and Blues Revue, Spin Doctors, Porno For Pyros, Bob Dylan, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Peter Gabriel

Read more on Woodstock ’94 from our recent Comebacks and Reunions special feature


Bonus Top 9 List: Best Single Day, Single Location Shows

The Who at Concert for New York City

1. The Concert for New York City October 20, 2001. New York, NY
2. The Band’s Last Waltz November 25, 1976. San Francisco, CA
3. Atlantic Records 40th Anniversary Celebration May 14, 1988. New York, NY
4. Concert for Bangladesh August 1, 1971. New York, NY
5. Knebworh Festival June 30, 1990. Knebworth, UK
6. Texxas Jam July 1, 1978. Dallas, TX
7. Farm Aid September 22, 1985. Champaign, IL
8. Canada Jam August 26, 1990. Bowmanville, Ontario
9. Altamont Free Concert December 6, 1969. Tracy, CA

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Ric Albano