Tuesday, March 11, 2014

Scorpions - Crazy World

This was the album that introduced me to the Scoprions, and of course, it was my dad that had this album first. He had the cassette and when I got my first CD player it was one of the early discs that I bought. Though I haven't listen to it much in the last decade, I still love throwing it on, and sitting back to enjoy. This is a great "Summer night" kind of album.

However, there is a depth to this album I find astounding. In retrospect this album could be considered a bit cliche of the Metal music at the time, but this is on the high end. Keith Olsen along with the Scorpions produced a mighty fine album.

Tease Me Please Me opens the album, and it's a great opener. It has an actual build up that leads to a smoothe quick, fun and totally enjoyable tune that's a little Popish, and a little cookie cutter, but it's really good. This is stripper music, when stripper music is good.

I often forget about Don't Believe Her, it's not a track I ever think of when I think of this album. When it first starts up I'm asking "Why don't I remember this song? Then when it hits the chorus I understand. It has a great dark vibe to it through out the entire song, but the chorus sounds way too singable and upbeat.

I don't mind To Be With You In Heaven. This is a nice track that is both boy and girl friendly. My only complaint is the drums sound electronic. Almost like they were programmed in Cakewalk.

If youg know one song from Scorpions, it's most likely Rock You Like A Hurricane. However, there's a chance you may know Wind Of Change instead. If this is the only song from this German band, that you like I guess you can be forgiven as well. It's a damn fine song, and it's a mighty beautiful song to see and hear live. On this album it's just fantastic and captures a place and time in history that you never have to know about to enjoy or experience this song to it's fullest. "I follow the Moskva / Down to Gorky Park / Listening to the wind of change / An August summer night / Soldiers passing by / Listening to the wind of change / The world is closing in / Did you ever think / That we could be so close, like brothers / The future's in the air / I can feel it everywhere / Blowing with the wind of change / Take me to the magic of the moment / On a glory night / Where the children of tomorrow dream away / in the wind of change / Walking down the street / Distant memories / Are buried in the past forever / I follow the Moskva / Down to Gorky Park / Listening to the wind of change / Take me to the magic of the moment / On a glory night / Where the children of tomorrow share their dreams / With you and me / Take me to the magic of the moment / On a glory night / Where the children of tomorrow dream away / in the wind of change / The wind of change / Blows straight into the face of time / Like a stormwind that will ring the freedom bell / For peace of mind / Let your balalaika sing / What my guitar wants to say / Take me to the magic of the moment / On a glory night / Where the children of tomorrow share their dreams / With you and me / Take me to the magic of the moment / On a glory night / Where the children of tomorrow dream away / in the wind of change".

It's the dark and slithery vibe to the track that makes it sound so pefectly naughty and enjoyable when Restless Nights comes on. Except it has the same problem as To be With You In Heaven, the chorus is too upbeat compared to the rest, though not as bad in this case.

Of all the songs on this album the one that comes across the most as an album filler to me is Lust Or Love. While I had an issue with the last track and the second track on this album, so far, I find this song the most boring . It does have a nice stready and regular beat that's good for driving. Actually this album the whole way around is a good driving album.

Speaking of driving tunes, Kicks After Six, sounds like a fantastic chase track, with lyrics that are meant for good girls that like high speed driving too. It's not a very deep song by any stretch, but the guitars are totally killer on this track. "Late at night when you're all alone / Take a ride to the danger zone / If someone wants to cut you down to size / You never argue with a loaded .45 / Just when you've had enough / It's really getting tough / I'm ready for that hit between the eyes / Someone get me out of here alive / I'm ready for that hit between the eyes / Can't you see I'm much too young to die / You can feel the tension in the street / There's no escape, getting closer to the heat / You play with fire, get your fingers burned / It's too late, past the point of no return / Just when you've had enough / It's really getting tough / I'm ready for that hit between the eyes / Someone get me out of here alive / I'm ready for that hit between the eyes / Can't you see I'm much too young to die / Late at night when you're all alone / Take a ride to the danger zone / If someone wants to cut you down to size / You never argue with a loaded .45 / Just when you've had enough / It's really getting tough / I'm ready for that hit between the eyes / Someone get me out of here alive / I'm ready for that hit between the eyes / Can't you see I'm much too young to die / I'm ready for that hit between the eyes / Someone get me out of here alive / I'm ready for that hit between the eyes / Can't you see I'm much too young to die". I know those words aren't very deep, but they became implanted in my mind when I heard Hit Between The Eyes for the first time in a movie called Freejack. I fell in love with this song, even though it's totally cookie cutter, high speed, high octane, and full throttle adrenaline. I mean this one is bitching.

I like the come down of Money And Fame, it works really well and has a totally badass side to it. It's on this track they get the, what I will call, the "Restless Night formula" right. You could easily interchange those lyrics into this song's music and it would work perfectly, and be an even better song. Oh yeah, this song has a talk box, and I love talk box when it's done right. It's so totally awesome and well done.

I really like the way Crazy World is done. I mean it's pretty stock sounding for Metal of the time, but since I knew this before any of that other predictable stuff, I find this one real cool and fun. Also the guitars really drive it home in this one. I decided to grab the review I wrote for Send Me An Angel in a previous best of review I did. However I modified it a little bit, because it's on a different album this time.

The album ends with Send Me An Angel. I normally wouldn't bitch about this song. I love it on the Crazy World album. The lyrical content is once again something that just totally draws me in. "The wise man said just walk this way / To the dawn of the light / The wind will blow into your face / As the years pass you by / Hear this voice from deep inside / It's the call of your heart / Close your eyes and your will find / The passage out of the dark / Here I am / Will you send me an angel / Here I am / In the land of the morning star / The wise man said just find your place / In the eye of the storm / Seek the roses along the way / Just beware of the thorns / Here I am / Will you send me an angel / Here I am / In the land of the morning star / The wise man said just raise your hand / And reach out for the spell / Find the door to the promised land / Just believe in yourself / Hear this voice from deep inside / It's the call of your heart / Close your eyes and your will find / The way out of the dark / Here I am / Will you send me an angel / Here I am / In the land of the morning star / Here I am / Will you send me an angel / Here I am / In the land of the morning star". I know people think this song is about worshipping Satan, but I think it's about needing an angel to help guide the subject of the song out of Satan's land. Telling the person to close their eyes and just follow the Angel, ignoring everything in the world controlled by Satan. But that's just my view.

If I were doing a road trip tomorrow this album would be in the collection of albums I brought with. When I grab this album and throw it on I enjoy pretty much every moment of it. It really is a shining example of music of it's time.

7/10 - content

7/10 - production

8/10 - personal bias

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