Savage Amusement (1988)
For Tangerine Dream's Electronic Meditation review I wrote: "As noted here many times I became something of a fanatic for Tangerine Dream starting in 1982, and began to track down any album I could. One of the albums that had proven elusive was their debut, Electronic Meditation. Finally I secured a copy at the tail end of 1983. Got home, undid the shrink, and put the LP on the turntable. I most certainly wasn't expecting this. I didn't even know where to turn. I had no reference points for what I was hearing. But I was completely captivated by it. It took me months to even hear it properly, parsed to where I could even understand it. Like trying to master a foreign language in that way. "
Exact same situation here, even the same record store! Replace Tangerine Dream with Scorpions - and go back in time three years earlier. Scorpions debut was an elusive title for me until I got my driver's license in 1980 - and you can read more about that whole scenario in the Electric Sun - Earthquake review (they were purchased together).
Clearly we are talking two entirely different expectations though. With Tangerine Dream I was expecting an electronic album. With the Scorpions, I was expecting hard rock going into metal. I did own Fly to the Rainbow, so there was some idea at least of what I was getting into.
I was careful on the Electronic Meditation review to not say that was my first Krautrock album, which would have otherwise fit the narrative perfectly. Nope - in fact Lonesome Crow was. I would not have known what the term Krautrock meant if you hit me over the head with it. And I did not have any idea that's what Lonesome Crow was either. Not for many years actually. It was, in fact, Electronic Meditation that introduced me to the idea of what the Krautrock music genre meant. It was then that I learned that Lonesome Crow was the first album on the legendary Brain label. And it all came together for me.
I had one likeminded friend in high school who I borrowed this album to. He said to me "I don't about you, but I'm really curious about the other albums on the back cover." Me too! This was the Rock On Brain issue, and per their protocol, they would advertise five other records from the series. Those monikers sure do sound intriguing: Embryo, Birth Control, Jane (is it a lady singer?), Guru Guru, Satin Whale. Of course it would be only a few short years later while in college I begin to find albums by these groups, with Satin Whale coming last (after college) in 1989 (fortunately it was the original Desert Places too).
As for the album Lonesome Crow, as noted in the opening, it really took me some time to get into this album. But I most certainly did enjoy it, just not at the level I eventually would. Today I consider it a masterpiece, a band clearly operating at another level than their peers even at this early stage. It has all the Krautrock elements of psych, jazz, hard rock, and general freakishness. The title track was my favorite upon first listen, and remains that way today. It's really a pity they couldn't keep going in this direction for longer, though Fly to the Rainbow introduced Uli Roth to the band, so at least they maintained a psychedelic disposition for much longer than they needed to (commercially speaking). From an economic perspective, Scorpions did absolutely the right thing and used their talent to rise to the top of the charts. But artistically they were never as good as their debut. Not even close.
Ownership: 1972 Brain (LP). Gatefold. Green Metronome label; 1980 Brain (LP). Titled: Action. Rock On Brain series. Orange/blue label (my first copy); 1982 Heavy Metal Worldwide (LP); 2005 Brain Japan (CD). Papersleeve. Includes the Repertoire booklet with liner notes in English; 1989 Rampage (MC).Might seem obsessive but each of the above have a different and unique purpose and I have no intention of selling any of them.
9//80 (acquired); 6//05; 11/18/14; 1/9/24 (review)
---10/14/15
---12/3/22
Funny enough, I hear this album better today than the above review implies, but my rating stays the same. You have to hand it to the Scorpions - they were able to make heavy metal mainstream. That is to say, more popular with the general populace than the usual down-market angry white male audience (you know... like me). Def Leppard also accomplished similar. And whereas I recently noted that the Scorpions seemed to miss their chance on Animal Magnetism, they caught themselves here. So the metal tracks pack more wallop and the commercial oriented songs have more hooks. Other than 'China White' it becomes clear that the Scorpions were no longer interested in artistic legacy, but rather cashing in at the local bank. Can you blame them? They were in the right-time, right-place. They were to take this philosophy even further on their next opus Love at First Sting. An album I bought real time but never really liked. I'm sure I'll find one eventually and we'll see if that remains true or not. And then the Scorpions were no longer relevant after that - desperately trying to make hits when no one was interested in an old grizzled German band (or so it seemed to the new incoming youth). Today, the Scorpions don't have the same historical admiration that bands like Judas Priest and Iron Maiden enjoy. And any new product is met with skepticism, fair or not. That's the price you pay when you make a deal with the corporate devil.
Ownership: 1982 Mercury (LP). Lyric inner bag. 1982 (acquired); 6//05; 10/14/15; 12/3/22 (review)
Picking up the story where I left off with the bookends to Lovedrive: Tokyo Tapes and Animal Magnetism. As stated there, Lovedrive was my introduction to the band. Now that they got Uli Roth out of the way, it was time to focus on adding some muscle, and to be a pioneer in the upcoming heavy metal movement. But they're still not all in, and so this could also be looked at as a transitional album, though the psychedelic aspects are now long in the rearview mirror. And Brother Michael Schenker is on board to assist with a three guitar attack, mostly on the heaviest numbers. The album opens somewhere in the middle of their heavy sound at the time with 'Loving You Sunday Morning'. 'Another Piece of Meat' is really where they threw the gauntlet down that they are to be taken seriously as a metal band. 'Always Somewhere' introduces us to what would ultimately make the Scorpions rich: the power ballad. Though, in this case, it's an obscure song in their canon. 'Coast to Coast' is a killer instrumental that best utilizes the three guitars on hand. 'Can't Get Enough' is another true metal piece. And I certainly had to agree with the title at the time - I wanted more metal like this! The title track is the other heavy song here with its galloping rhythm. That leaves the two oddball tunes. 'Is There Anybody There?' is like a weird metal reggae mutant, and quite unique I must say. 'Holiday' is almost, dare I say, proggy. There's something the (modern era) Scorpions won't ever be accused of. It's sort of an acoustic moody folk number before it breaks into a cool metal riff with a haunting chorus and closes with mourning distant electric guitars. One-of-a-kind in their catalog that's for sure, and one of my all-time favorite Scorps tracks.
Ownership: 1983 Fame (LP).
Tokyo Tapes represents the swan song for Uli Roth as a member of the Scorpions. He was always a square peg in a proverbial round hole anyway, but for my tastes, he was the most creative member of the band. He was also the final link to their psychedelic past. Not surprisingly, the majority of the material comes from their RCA years, most notably Taken By Force, Virgin Killer, and In Trance, with a nod to Fly to the Rainbow and one track from Lonesome Crow (the least representative unfortunately). The album opens with the unreleased 'All Night Long' which is in the now-patented straightforward hard rock sound that Klaus Meine and Rudolf Schenker had adopted by then. Then a couple of Virgin Killer run-throughs gets us to one of the highlights of Tokyo Tapes: 'Polar Nights'. As I've said many times before, live albums are pretty useless if you play the studio versions verbatim. This is the one place that Roth gets in some improvisation - especially the opening. One wishes for it to go another ten more minutes, it's so awesome. And he really lets loose on the solos later on in the piece. The other Roth great moment is the stinging intro (see what I did there...) to 'Dark Lady'. Other highlights includes the psychedelic oriented 'Fly to the Rainbow' and 'We'll Burn the Sky", the B-sider 'Suspender Love', and the hard rocking 'Speedy's Coming'. All one can do is imagine how awesome this live set would have been if it included other Roth penned tunes like 'Drifting Sun', 'Hell Cat', and 'Sails of Charon', with the latter omission being almost criminal since it was on the preceding Taken By Force. Honestly though, take Roth out of the mix, and this album becomes unnecessary. For their part, the Scorpions were ready for the next chapter, when they hired on guitarist Matthias Jabs to replace Roth, changed labels to Mercury, and muscled up for the oncoming heavy metal onslaught. Uli Roth went on to form the also excellent Electric Sun.Ownership: 1978 RCA Japan (2xLP). Gatefold.
1980 (acquired); 6//05; 11/5/11; 12/26/21 (review)
I bought this album when it first came out. I was already an established Scorpions fan, having seen them live, and was most excited about their new album. It didn't disappoint. Nor did it enthrall. I wanted more from the Scorpions by this point (1980). Now I appreciate more the music on hand.
In retrospect, the Scorps really missed an opportunity here from an underground perspective. They were adored by hardcore metal fans, even though they really weren't such a beast. If they were going to lay down the gauntlet, Animal Magnetism should have been that album. Established band with street cred, and a heavy sound, this was their time. But instead they had other ambitions, which did pay off for them in the end. But with a different crowd. You're not going to get too far into a discussion about 80s power ballads without mention of the Scorpions. But Animal Magnetism doesn't really have power ballads either. Their one attempt 'Lady Starlight' doesn't suck, so you know they hadn't mastered it yet lol. Mostly this is dog and butterfly, with an emphasis on the dog. And that's why the album works. And the final two tracks give the album its quality reputation in the underground. Or I should say, allowed them to keep their reputation. 'The Zoo' and the title track are heavy dirges that just pulverize the listener. It was the opposite of the fast pace I was looking for at the time, but both have proven to transcend time, and provides a fascinating 11 minute close to an otherwise normal metal album. And besides, 'The Zoo' has the most talk box outside of Frampton Comes Alive...
Ownership: 1985 Mercury (LP); Mercury (CD). 90s press
World Wide Live (1985)
i actually think The Scorpions still have a pretty big following. They tour every year and I've seen them a couple times and my daughter never misses them. They still fill venues. I find myself chatting with people often about them. I turned my sweetheart on to them a few years back. She never liked the few songs she had heard. Once she fell in love with Schenker and Uli albums, she saw redeeming qualities in their later music. She LOVES anything Klaus sings, but Lonesome Crow and Taken by Force are her favorites. YES, I am bragging on what an awesome music babe I have! ☮❤🎸
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