Savage Amusement

Waiting four years to bang out another record after the raging success of Love At First Sting would give the idea that something grand is in the works. Indeed, Savage Amusement is certainly a decent listen with some solid moments and memorable tunes, but it definitely is a let down, seeing the roll that Scorpions were on up until this point. As pop metal was the full foundation of the new sound they had developed, this is the one that strips the metal aspect out of that description, and metal moments from 1988 and on are few and far, save for a decent hunk of them on the record to succeed this one.

Fear not, because while this is a pretty pop-like rock n roll album, there's some things worth shouting out for sure. I'll be the first to admit, I have a huge hard on for "Rhythm Of Love", a glittery fun tune that would be this record's biggest hit. It relies on simplistic riffs that bear basically no threat, and crystal clear vocals that have a very inviting tone. Not too much depth, but the right amount of fun for this type of music. Besides, the lyrics are pretty meaningful. All of this influence isn't only in the vocals and writing, though. The drumming tends to have a "dance"-like beat. "Passion Rules The Game" is filled with toned down, cymbal taps and condensed beats that don't vary much. Plus, that combined with the nonsensical effects and voice dubs that make up a very bubble gum like singing style, it gets a bit silly. Other tracks are very cringe-worthy, such as the extremely mediocre "Walking On The Edge", sporting some of the worst lyrics to go along with it. Thankfully, this redeems itself with the following track, the mighty "We Let It Rock... You Let It Roll". This one is a speed infused shredder reflecting everything we're used to from Scorpions, and definitely another one of the greater highlights. So this disc is really all over the place.

The addition of keys can be helpful and hurtful, depending on how they're used. They team up with the bass on this record a lot to add a party-like glow, and it's nifty at first, but gets old very fast. I'll admit, some of the songs that do this work as an '80s pop jam, but that's about it. Really, the whole record can be summed up as a pop-rock record sporting some very catchy moments, some really horrible flaws, and a few great tunes. It's very deserving of a listen, and worth buying for a cheap price, but this is anything but essential. Love At First Sting was how to correctly do pop-metal, this was how not to do it. Over glorifying what made previous material shine was a bad approach.

The mid-80’s suddenly started calling for changes; two radically opposite fractions were forming: the extreme thrash/proto-death movement as presented by Slayer, Dark Angel, and Possessed, and the friendly pop-metal department inaugurated by Motley Crue’s “Theatre of Pain” and partly by Twisted Sister’s “Come Out and Play”. Please note that all the cited names were American acts… cause it was the USA that was the big magnet for all the performers, including the European ones; everyone wanted to lay a hand on the golden mine that the huge country was, with over 200 hundred million people residing there. So you had to choose either of the two groups and conform to the tastes, if you wanted to enchant the Americans and bring in the cashflow, of course…

and the bands followed, one by one; Judas released the “Turbo” album, the ultimate crowd pleaser, and even Iron Maiden softened their rigorous approach on “Somewhere in Time”. The German speed metal movement also acquired mellower shades (Iron Angel’s “Winds of War”) with the leaders Helloween also making some compomises by recruiting a more melodic throat behind the mike for the first “Keeper” in order to increase their commercial appeal. Even Manowar, the ironclad warriors, joined the fray with the sing-along merry-go-rounder “Fighting the World”.

The Scorps were probably the only heavy metal band from the Old Continent who were already successful in winning the American audience on their side after touring the country extensively after the release of "Love at First Sting". They were hardly worried about any cashflow, either, having already sold over 30 million albums by 1988… but they followed suit, too, with the album reviewed here. I guess it was intended as a tribute to their American fans as it remains their friendliest recording before their brief retirement from the metal scene in the mid/late-90’s. With the band’s repertoire covering a fairly wide ground from romantic ballads to furious speed metal outbursts, we can’t really talk about any conscious adaptation to a prevalent taste here; everyone was in a more relaxing mode at the time, even the poisonous scorpions.

The opener “Don’t Stop at the Top” has a most alluring melodious beginning which early shows the predilections here, there’s no wild shredding ala “Bad Boys Running Wild” (“Love at First Sting”), or power/speed metal-ish urgency akin to “Blackout” at the beginning. A great melodic heavy rocker on all counts, it pretty much sets the tone for the remainder which immediately acquires softer balladic tendencies on “Rhythm of Love” before “Passion Rules the Game” hardens the course, but just a bit. “Media Overkill” is the epitome of cheese in heavy metal, an approach on which acts like Bonfire based their entire discography; it’s so over-the-top in terms of poppishness, with the synthesized guitars at the beginning and all, that one can’t help but sing along all the way the song providing one of the greatest choruses The Scorps have ever managed to come up with; a handsome proof that even at their goofiest the band can still deliver better than 90% of the other practitioners around. “Walking on the Edge” is a ballad with an edge which goes on for a bit too long the guys giving it an epic flavour with the prolonged chorus, but “We Let It Rock… You Let It Roll” is a galloping power metal anthem which gracefully reminds of the band’s earlier exploits. There won’t be two in a row, though, as “Every Minute Every Day” clings more towards the semi-ballad again, a rousing hymn with the staple infectious chorus. “Love on the Run” is the most aggressive cut, speed metal at its most polished and uplifting, followed by another, this time longer, ballad “Believe in Love”.

A lot of love has been poured out of this roller-coaster which is the most ballad-fixated opus of the band its overall aura strangely reminding of the previous year’s Def Leppard’s “Hysteria”, another US fandom’s conqueror. The guys were obviously in an introspective mood, and probably a bit tired after the very lengthy touring period, and they didn’t feel like rocking the hell out of their instruments. The right decision, at least from a profit point-of-view, as the album sold more than 7 million copies worldwide a few months upon release further consolidating the Scorps’ position as a leading exponent of high quality heavy metal, and the most commercially successful outfit on the scene. The guys found their “crazy” stride with a vengeance two years later, but even in the company of the other more critically celebrated efforts in the band’s discography, this opus can by all means be viewed as grand scale entertainment, if not for everyone, at least for the savage hearts and the virgin killers.

Scorpions is one of the most recognized traditional bands of all time, and their smash hit "Rock You Like a Hurricane" has won the hearts of many people, both metallers and other people alike. Needless to say, the band's label just had to make the Hannover boys create more and more material meant for a mainstream audience, and as a result, the album that would come afterword, "Savage Amusement" would have many qualities that a few of us would despise. There is a little good in it, but it's mostly polished to the point where any light reflection would blind you upon contact.

Let's get the bad things about "Savage Amusement" out of the way, since there's a whole lot of them. One of the worst offenders about this album being mediocre is "Media Overkill". That one is just outright moronic, what with pieces of the chorus repeated in a loop and sound effects at the beginning, much like the "solo" of Def Leppard's "Rocket". The bland riff and the talk box don't really help much, either. I mean, just 'cos a talkbox seemed to work in "The Zoo", doesn't mean it'll work here. It never worked with Bon Jovi's "Livin' on a Prayer", so what makes you assume that it would be perfect here? There's also the fact that the riff has the same power chords that are used in pretty much every single Scorpions song that's made it famous, including "Rock You Like a Hurricane". I guess the label didn't want the band to come up with a musical masterpiece, just a song that would get the band even higher up in the charts. Though, to be fair, the song counts as filler material, as it wasn't released as a single, and that's a good thing, too, 'cos I really hate it.

Another complaint I have is the fact that they've softened up even more in terms of writing ballads. Don't get me wrong, Scorpions has written ballads that were more convincing in the past, like "Lady Starlight", it's just that when they write a ballad here, "Believe in Love", it sounds extremely pretentious and overdone. No wonder it shows up "80's hair metal" ballad compilations found in Target stores across the land, some people seemed to eat it up as a legitimate ballad. No, it isn't. It's a glossy, pompous attempt to make people cry. To make it the lighter-waving, candy-coated pile of dog dung that it is, "Believe in Love" incorporates the use of light guitars during the verses, a common trait among power ballads. It also features lyrics dealing with being "on my knees" and " don't tell me no way" and the universal word "baby" that seems to show up in nearly every power ballad created in the history of mankind. Yeah, how sweet. If they seriously wanted to make the song even more profitable, they would've made a music video with a rainy setting and some chick with really bad hair walking around, possibly with a cute puppy in hand.

On the other side of the coin, however, there are a few sings which save the album from being completely trashed. "Rhythm of Love", for example, contains a cool hook, making it addicting to listen to. It gets a little light in some parts, especially during each verse, so it isn't as appetizing as other songs, like "Love on the Run". While much of the songs' titles feature the word "love" in it, this one is unique in the sense that it has a somewhat speedy tempo, something quite uncommon in radio-friendly bands. Believe it or not, there is actually another ballad on here, but this one, "Walking on the Edge", is actually more credible, since it looks back towards the band's psychedelic rock roots. It features light guitars that play a more serious and less syrupy riff and the choruses are actually hard-rocking and edgy. The other ballad would stay away from that, trying to be as sugary-sweet as possible. But since they had to release the latter as a single, rather than the former, the album almost completely suffers.

"Savage Amusement" isn't as savage as we headbangers wish it would be. Part of the reason for this is 'cos the album wasn't meant to please headbangers, like us, but to pad the profits of Atlantic Records by creating cookie-cutter material that they believed stupid teenage girls would be throwing dollar bills at. Unlike most overpolished albums, however, "Savage Amusement" actually does have some redeeming qualities. Those redeeming qualities, however, aren't enough to make the album worthy of being the band's magnum opus.

So often do I come across an album by a band that’s severely underrated by the fans and, of course, loved by me and a few others. Though this is the follow-up to the overrated and commercial Love at First Sting, they did make a huge change in their music. There were four years between these albums and though bands can pull that sort of thing off in the here and now, it was certainly something rare back in the 80s. The Scorpions have spent those four years well I’d say. They found a way to still be commercial, like on Love at First Sting, but also write GOOD songs in the process, something that was forgotten back in 1984. On Savage Amusement, the Scorpions show the world they can be commercial without being lame and unoriginal, and that’s what matters most to me.

This album is not heavy at all. Can you even consider it metal? It’s hair metal at best. Maybe Love at First Sting is even heavier than this, yet this all doesn’t matter. For who cares what style they pursue, the main question will always be: are the songs original, well-written and good? Well, yes, the songs on here are very good. It’s really classic Scorpions of the likes of which you would hear on Blackout or Lovedrive, but then reissued in a commercial jacket. Vocalist Klaus Meine is in excellent shape, as is the lead-work of Matthias Jabs and Rudolf Schenker. The drummer does his job typically 80s style but with some cool unexpected moves. This album contains melodic rockers like “Don’t Stop at the Top” and “We Let It Rock, You Let It Roll”, some great (power) ballads like “Walking on the Edge” and “Believe in Love”, and there is a piece of speed metal found here in the shape of “Love on the Run”. Together the songs form a strong album with a great overall ambience throughout. Let’s get a bit into the details.

The album opens with the hesitating guitar intro to “Don’t Stop at the Top”. As soon as the band joins in we are surprised by the drummer making an unexpected move by not hitting his snare in one bar. The song then evolves into a melodic theme with great lead guitars and the verses totally change the mood of the chorus, which is a great contrast. “Rhythm of Love” was the biggest hit off this album and therefore is one of the lesser songs on here, which still isn’t that bad. It starts the same as the previous song in structure, giving a hesitating start at first and then evolving into the catchy theme. It’s melodic and catchy as hell, two standard ingredients for a hit, and it works. The catchiness and somewhat poppiness continues with “Passion Rules the Game” and “Media Overkill”, and they’re really good songs with cool riffs and good melodies. Especially “Media Overkill” has the necessary 80s pop influences in the beginning but it has a really groovy bass line throughout the verses to give it its unique sound. Then we come to power ballad “Walking on the Edge”. It starts off really quiet with a soft guitar playing gentle chords. Carefully Meine joins in to sing some lines and then at the verses the power starts coming in gradually and at the chorus it bursts out! It’s a little aggressive in sound then and it’s a really cool journey from gentle to wilder.

“We Let It Rock, You Let It Roll” has, besides one hell of a cheesy title, the best riff on this album. The lead guitars at the beginning really reminded me of Children of Bodom a little, mostly due to the pinch harmonics. The song is really aggressive and adrenaline pumping. This is my absolute favorite of Savage Amusement. The verses and chorus really carry lots of energy and the guitar solos are very inspiring. We continue on a high note with “Every Minute, Every Day”. This one starts off like the first two songs: hesitating at first, but then bursting into the catchy theme. This one features odd keyboards at the theme. The rest of the song sounds great again and continues in the same vein as the other great songs here. “Love on the Run” is a fast speed metal-ish song to give the album some more energy and power. This one does not meet the greatness of the other tracks here, but a good fast song is always welcome. The album is closed by “Believe in Love”, one of the finest ballads the Scorpions have ever recorded. It’s gentle, romantic, melodic and catchy. What more does a good ballad need, besides members of the Scorpions to play the instruments and to sing?

My writing skills tend to fail me in describing the greatness of some albums, and this is one of those albums. The melodies are many and the originality is high. This is what the Scorpions should be remembered for, not predecessor Love at First Sting. This is the proper way of a metalband going commercial, such a shame that so many fans fail to see it. I recommend this album to every Scorpions fan.

Strongest tracks: “We Let It Rock, You Let It Roll”, “Media Overkill” and “Believe in Love”.

http://thecryreviews.blogspot.com/

People, I love rock music. But that doesn't mean a good band can just throw any crap together and I'll eat it up. There are lines that can be crossed, folks. Scorpions were on top of the world in the early 80s, but they went completely overboard with Savage Amusement, and the result is a shiny, neutered, glammed up shitpiling that goes against everything the band did so well in the past and ends up a godforsaken mess of 80s cliche. Why is this album so bad? Prepare the Jägermeister, get some cups out and let's get started, folks.

In fact, let's not just do this like a normal review. No, let's make this one a drinking game. Listen to this album along with me while I review it, and every time you think about how much better the band used to be, take a drink. Sound good? Okay.

I mean, what the fuck? Where did this come from? It's like a drive-by glam clusterfuck. It comes out of nowhere, leaving no lasting impression except, where the fuck did my Scorpions go? This album is completely bereft of any musical worth! Hooks? What are those? Savage Amusement is savagely amusing to the devil-horned record executives who pushed it on the public, perhaps, but not to me. This album basically takes the Scorpions formula and rapes it with a pitchfork, removing all the charm and innocence that I loved about it and replacing that with a lot of sleazy redundancy and trend-hopping disgust. What happened to the heart and passion that filled the band's previous material so vigorously?

Oops, there's one. Take a drink.

Right away, you notice the first problem: the band hasn't written any good hooks. Don't you remember how on their older albums, they'd write songs that you could remember instantly? Like how about "Catch Your Train"? Or maybe "Dynamite," off of Blackout? Ah, I can hear them in my head as if I were listening to THEM now instead of this unmemorable piece of prostitution...

And that's two. Take another drink.

So the album kicks off with "Don't Stop at the Top," which is pretty much the model for all of the non-ballads on here. There are a lot of shiny riffs and flashy licks and a big, high-pitched Def Leppard-wannabe chorus belted out at full volume for the whole arena to sing along to and then forget about. And indeed, I do mean forgettable - these songs are nothing but fluff; no substance at all. I can't remember one note or one line from any of them. They're not engaging, they have no longevity and I don't even think they're that much fun to listen to. I'm not asking for the metal equivalent of Shakespeare here, guys, I'm just asking for a little bit of the likability and energy that Scorpions once so proudly displayed on their sleeves.

Three makes a party, so take a drink.

"Rhythm of Love" is almost cool, but the awful "Passion Rules the Game" busts out annoyingly sugary glam guitar licks that you've heard a thousand times, and "Media Overkill" starts off with a sound effect that is something like the belching of Fat Albert. Why? Your guess is as good as mine. Keep in mind, people, that the band that once wrote the ballad "Yellow Raven" and the epic "China White" is now writing a song with a sound effect that sounds like Fat Albert's bowel movements. Let that sink in for a second. Sadly, they do not keep up this stupidity, and the song sinks into a mire of below-average hard rock shash. This song is really about as bland as a rock song can get - using those chorus layers doesn't really do much when the chorus itself isn't any good, guys! You would think the band that wrote "Make It Real" or "Blackout" would know something about writing chorus hooks, but apparently not. I know I keep coming back to the lack of hooks, but...it's just so insipid. There is a shocking laziness to the compositions here that I am surprised the band actually let out of the studio. They didn't need to lean on the crutch of what's popular in order to be liked, but here they are doing it anyway. Mindblowing.

Sigh. Take another drink. Witness the blandly generic gang shout chorus on "We Let It Rock...You Let It Roll," and you'll probably need another one after that.

This album is so conniving. You think because it's so well played, so pristinely produced and inoffensive, that it is actually good, but no! It's a trick by the record producers who brainwashed this band into doing this! DAMN YOU, CORPORATE MEDIA OVERLORDS! A POX ON ALL YE BLACKENED HEARTS! Ahem. Excuse my outburst. I just get a little emotional when I hear great bands that I love releasing such watered down, piss-weak commercial crap. But there is one saving grace...sort of...in the moderately good "Love on the Run," which packs some legitimately kick-ass metal riffing - hell, it's more intense than the classic stuff at times. But the vocal performance is still weak and you won't remember much of it after it's over.

This album is a wretched pile of flaming drivel that I would sooner eat a bag of nails than listen to again. It is a gutted whore of worthless candy-metal without any kind of entertainment value, made doubly ironic by the band's usual good record for that kind of thing. I can't think of even one reason to listen to this crap over any other Scorpions album. Just listen to the dying notes of "Believe in Love" - it's so defeated sounding. It's pitiful. This album is probably the best reason I can think of to take up heavy drinking, but before you do that, throw this album in the trash where it belongs. Good riddance and Merry Christmas - may you listen to no horrible musical sell-outs this year. Have a good one!

On this album, we find Scorpions at their most accessible. Lush production, catchy songs, infectious melodies, and generally peppy and happy tracks dominate this record. I know many people write this album off as pop metal trash, but, with an open mind, I think this record could appeal to the majority of the Scorpions audience.

The record opens with my personal favorite, "Don't Stop At the Top". Searing guitar melodies catapult this song into your eardrums, vocal harmonies and fluffy lyrics make this song an instant Scorpions classic. Worthy of note in this song are the soaring vocals of Klaus Meine, and the excellent leads of Matthias Jabs.

Then the album falters a bit. For being a single, Rhythm of love is sorta lame and predictable. Not much to say on this one, doesn't do much for me. Thankfully, the one-two shot of "Passion" and "Media Overkill" are bouncy and interesting enough to reignite my interest, good songs.

The songs are solid from here on out, maybe not quite as memorable as past material, but still well written and worth a listen. Then we're blindsided by "Love on the Run", and the excellent mix of speed/power metal riffing knocks this album on it's ass. The perfect insertion, smashing into your consciousness just as interest begins to waver again. The track order on this album is well thought out.

Now that we're paying attention again, we can really appreciate the last track for what it is; your typical Scorpions ballad. It's good, it's happy, it makes you reach for your lighter; it does what it's supposed to, without being particularly sappy.

This album is not groundbreaking, it's not genre revitalizing, and it's not the Scorpions best 80's work. It is, however, a solid pop metal album, with enough hooks to keep the average listener entertained. Should we expect more? I don't think so, Scorpions pulled another good album out of the bag, and given the length they'd been around at this point, I think it's silly to write it off for being formulaic. It's called playing your strengths.

Good stuff.

It's truly a shame about those Scorps. After about a decade of solid records, the mainstream media finally started to pay attention to them during the 80's, convincing the band to attempt to repeat the success of their breakthrough album, Blackout. Adopting an even more commercial sound, the following album Love at First Sting actually pulled it off, appealing to the masses while remaining heavy enough to keep their old-school fans in assent. Unfortunately, this led to an even more commercial sound on the followup to that. After all, why quit while you're ahead? Savage Amusement is why, an ashamedly typical 80's hard rock album that showcases a band that gave up trying to break ground, content instead to ride on the successes of the past.

Now admittedly, Savage Amusement isn't a terrible album. I've listened to it several times before and it's not only tolerable, but at times enjoyable. But it's the principle of the thing really. The format of every song is the exact same, following the precedent set by some of the songs on the previous album. Klaus Meine still sounds good and has plenty of nice vocal melodies, but I'll be damned if every song on this album doesn't adhere to the exact same verse-chorus-repeat-solo-outchorus structure. Even the ballady songs stick tight to this format, only the riffs change. This repetivity is unbearable and hampers this thing from beginning to end.

Despite the noticable lack of innovative songs (musically and lyrically) and one truly bad song ("Media Overkill," trendy 80's rocker), there are some glimpses of hope. Though most of the songs are mid-to-slow paced rockers, a few actually feature some decent metal riffing and "Love on the Run" is pure speed metal. Plus all of the songs are speckled with plenty of mighty fine leadwork; solos of untypical quality and quantity for the pop metal of the late 80's.

But "Love on the Run" and some fancy leadwork can't save an album this commercially marred. Only hardcore Scorpions fans might be able to appreciate this fully. I, however, will stick to the classics and pretend that this didn't happen.