The Toy Box: Scorpions

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Retro Spins: Scorpions - Savage Amusements

Today wraps up my playthrough of the Scorpion's 80's discography. I'm in all new territory with this one, which is odd since I listened to their 1990 follow-up, Crazy World, quite extensively as a teenager.

Following their 1984 released, Love At First Sting, Scorpions embarked on a massive global tour and simultaneously used some of these recordings to release the 1985 live album, Worldwide Live. Sting would become their biggest album at the time, upstaged only by the aforementioned Crazy World, which remains their biggest of all time.

Upon their return to the studio, it was time to hammer out another moneymaker for Harvest Records. While Savage Amusements did manage to achieve this, as a whole, it underperformed in comparison to the past two previous albums. Though it would produce no Billboard Hot 100 hits, Rhythm Of Love, and Believe In Love would land on the rock charts, peaking at number six and twelve, respectively.

I actually really liked this one. Whether it was because it was Scorpions at the top of their game, or because it was all new to me, everything kept punching hard, creating an overall great listening session.

The first half is definitely superior to side two, and while I liked all the tracks from this initial side, Don't Stop At The Top, and Media Overkill were the standouts. With that said, this is by no means a wall record. For those of you who don't know what that means, a wall record, for me, is an album that is either perfect from start to finish, or so highly regarded by me that I've sought out a first pressing vinyl to frame and put on the wall. Still, it's a decent album, and was enjoyable to play through.

Before wrapping up the decade, the band released the compilation album, Best of Rockers 'N' Ballads. Rather than go all the way back to their 1972 debut, this selection of hits stays focused in the band's prime, 1979 - 1988, taking tracks from 1979's Lovedrive, 1980's Animal Magnetism, 1982's Blackout, 1984's Love At First Sting, and 1988's Savage Amusements. It also includes a cover of The Who's B-side, I Can Explain, which the Scorpions initially contributed to Stairway To Heaven / Highway To Hell.

As noted above, their 1990 album would become their biggest seller of all time but unfortunately would be followed by a steady decline in sales throughout the remainder of the decade and on. Despite this, their albums have continued to do well, charting consistently in the top ten in German, while also performing well around the world. The band also remains quite active and initially were to be on tour in the USA as of September 2026. However, these dates have been postponed to 2027 due to officially undisclosed "unforeseen circumstances" and ongoing health struggles.

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Disclaimer: They Toy Box does not endorse or contribute to piracy. Retro Spins posts are intended for educational and entertainment purposes only. None of the music discussed here is available for sale, downloading or distribution.

And now, 31 Days Of Halloween!

If you go back to my October 2nd post, you'll not I mentioned a buddy of mine who was big into movies. Well, it was with him that I went and saw the very first Candyman film in movie theaters with. At this point in our life, Blockbuster was pretty much a weekly thing. We totally abused their policy on getting a free rental if you say you didn't like the film you previously rented.

Though I had a solid collection of films, he was definitely the bigger film fan. When we entered the theater, I had no clue what a Candyman was, or what it would even be about. Mind you, this was the days of early internet, and watching movie trailers online wasn't a common thing. As such, if you didn't catch it during a commercial break for a television show, or at the beginning of another movie, you didn't see it. The point being, I didn't know what a Candyman was.

Tony Todd, rest in peace, totally nailed the character. He brought something to the screen I'd never seen before in a horror genre. First and foremost, a diverse casting. Secondly, a horror character who literally spits bees at you. Then there's the hook. Whoo, it was fantastic!

Then came the sequel. Not as good story wise, but fun, nonetheless. That, however, was my last outing for the series. I never saw the third film, nor the remake.

Retro Spins: Scorpions - Blackout

I don't know what's going on with me. I thought I would be more into going through the Scorpions 80's discography. Yet, I find myself really unmotivated. I'm putting my best foot forward here and hedging on.

Though they'd been rockin' since their 1972 debut, Lonesome Crow, it wouldn't be until 1979's Lovedrive that they landed on US charts. This was aided by their extensive touring of the US, which they continued to do for their 1980 follow up, Animal Magnetism. However, it would be 1982's Blackout which served as their official breakthrough, garnering their first Billboard Hot 100 hit, No One Like You, which peaked at number sixty-four.

Leading up to the album's recording, singer Klaus Meine found himself undergoing surgery on his vocal cords. This left him, and the band, unsure if he would even be able to sing again. However, to keep the process going, Don Dokken, of the band Dokken, was brought into record the demo tracks. He'd ultimately be credited on backing vocals of the album when Meine recovered and returned to complete his own tracks.

Blackout would go on to achieve gold certification in France, and platinum in the USA and Canada, making it their biggest selling album at the time. It would further reach number ten on the Billboard 200 and also peak in this spot in Germany. Across the remainder of the world, it landed in the top fifteen in four other countries and performed moderately (top 100) in Switzerland and Netherlands.

The album delivers a solid hard rock / metal sound, and with it comes that familiar Scorpions sound I tried to explain in yesterday's post. Basically, it sounds like a Scorpions album, and depending on your tastes, that's for better or worse.

It was solid, much better than its predecessor, and I can see why it garnered so much positive attention. Though it only has the one aforementioned hit, for me, there were other standout tracks. These included the title track, Blackout, along with You Give Me All I Need, Dynamite, When The Smoke Is Going Down, and China White.

There was a fun fact published in Kerrang! issue 12, where lead guitarist, Rudolf Schenker stated he was unable to choose between two particular guitar solos for the song. As a result, the German and US release are different mixes.

What I will say is that Scorpions are one of the few bands who can make me appreciate a good ballad. Between the slick guitars of Schenker, and haunting vocals of Meine, I can't help but get sucked in.

Ultimately, I'm glad I pressed forward through this one. It not only changed my mood but got me a little psyched up for continue through to the next. That next, however, will not be 1984's Love At First Sting, as I've already played through that one. Instead, I'm off to the tail end of the stinger with 1988's Savage Amusements.

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And now, 31 Days Of Halloween!

Yes! Attack Of The Killer Tomatoes and it's even more ridiculous sequels! What's not to love? My dad had the original film way back when it came out on VHS in 1981. Mind you, this was back when tapes cost between $50.00 and $80.00. Mind you, by 2026 standards, that's about $190.00 - $303.00. That's a lot of money for a B-movie.

It quickly became one of my favorites, and the song Puberty Love still lives rent free in my head. Plus, the sequel has a very young George Clooney, and it got the cartoon treatment in the 90's! I mean, come on! It doesn't get any better.

With that said, I don't mess with anything past said cartoon, so I've not seen the two "newer" films.

Retro Spins: Scorpions - Animal Magnetism

Today I'm looping back to Scorpions. They're a band I touched on initially back in 2023 with my Retro Spin of 1984's Love At First Sting. I, like many before me was introduced to the band with their monster hit, Rock You Like A Hurricane, which would be their biggest Billboard Hot 100 hit to date as of May 1984. It wouldn't be until 1991 that it was usurped by Wind Of Change, which went to number four.

My first album from the band was actually 1990's Crazy World, which featured the latter mentioned hit. In fact, if memory serves me right, I got it from Columbia House or BMG as part of the twelve CD's for a penny "deal".

By the time I started rebuilding my CD collection into the 80's tome it is today, there were two albums from the band which I wanted to add to my collection. Those were 1982's Blackout, and 1984's Love At First Sting. Beyond that, I had no interest. But as normally happens as I came across 1988's Savage Amusements at a used CD shop and picked it up. Despite having three of the four releases from the 80's, I actually didn't actively track down today's Retro Spin, 1980's Animal Magnetism until recently. And that's the story of how I got my 80's discography of Scorpions.

Before I dive in, can we just talk about the elephant in the room? Seriously, what's the deal with that album cover? Scorpions is a band who I've felt often conceive and select questionable covers, to the point that there are some I will never add to my collection.

Animal Magnetism certainly sounds like a Scorpions album. You know how some bands have a sound you can immediately pick up on? Yeah, that's what's going on here.

With that said, while it's decent, it's by no means amazing. Make It Real was really the only standout track for me, and candidly, at this point I don't even remember how it went. Part of this may be my own personal issue of current exhaustion, and overall lack of effort mentality as a result. Whatever it was, the album turned out to be mediocre at best.

Beyond that, I don't have much more to say about this one.

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And now, 31 Days Of Halloween!

Back in the days of Blockbuster, and my first job working in a grocery store, I got into buying VHS tapes. This was thanks in part to a buddy of mine who was a major film buff. He was the kind of guy that every week he went to the theater to see what was new, rented a handful of tapes on the way home, and followed this up by hitting the video store to take buy a pile of tapes for his massive collection. He'd also be the first person I knew to get a DVD player, which was a big thing back then.

As for me and that Blockbuster, the manager at the store next door to my job was someone I went to high school with. This allowed me an opportunity to get a lot of tapes through him. Mind you, he didn't give them to me, but instead, allowed me to order copies, and most importantly, kept them behind the counter as I showed up weekly to pick up what I could afford until I finally got them all. It was through him that I obtained the complete run of A Nightmare On Elm Street films.

Freddy quickly became one of my favorite horror icons, with his movies constantly being put on in rotation. I personally stopped with Freddy Vs. Jason and never saw any of the ones that came after it, nor the television series. While the first will always be a classic, I think I favor the characters from part three, and the story arc built between that one and part four.

Retro Spins: Make A Difference Foundation - Stairway To Heaven / Highway To Hell

The Moscow Peace Festival which took place in August 1989, brought hair and metal bands together under one venue for a night of rock across the USSR. Cinderella, Gorky Park, Nuance, Brigade S, Scorpions, Skid Row, Mötley Crüe, Ozzy Osbourne, Bon Jovi, and special guest, Jason Bonham, would all take respective turns performing a selection of their hits, all broadcast live across fifty-nine nations. The event would go on to inspire the hit, Winds Of Change by Scorpions.

This was followed by the compilation, Stairway To Heaven / Highway To Hell, released under the banner, Make A Difference Foundation, which featured studio performances of cover hits by most of the folks noted above. All album proceeds would be split between Make a Difference and the Soviet Union's All-Union Society for Sobriety.

Now I'll be the first to tell you that most covers never hold a candle to the original, but there are exceptions. What's surprising is that all of them on this compilation fall under the exception. They're amazing!

Each respective artist brings their all, in only the style they know how. With amps cranked up to eleven, and bellowing vocals that would scare a pack of wolves away. Part hair band, part metal, all loud.

It's awesome to hear some of my favorite artists from the 80's performing "new" material, like an old friend come to visit again. While each artist performs their own studio cover, it wraps up with a three-part live performance "jam" from the event with everyone involved performing Hound Dog, Long Tall Sally, Blue Suede Shoes, and Rock & Roll.

Though it was never released on DVD, you can also get a two-volume VHS set from 1989 of The Moscow Peace Festival, though volume one is far rarer than two for some reason. While I wish it was on DVD, this is still a great way to enjoy the show.

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Retro Spins: Scorpions - Love At First Sting

Let's make August a heavy metal kind of month. One that thrashes with sick guitar licks, thumping drums and punchy bass. Let's also start it off with Scorpions.

You definitely get all of the above with their 1984 album, Love At First Sting. Aided by a successful live performance on MTV a few years prior, it was the record which cemented their international fame in the United States. Of course, it didn't hurt that it included smash hits, Rock You Like A Hurricane, Big City Nights and Still Loving You.

Coincidentally, these are the only stand out tracks to be found. Mind you, there's nothing necessarily "bad" here. They're just not anything as impactful as these three. They set the bar pretty high for the remainder of the album.

Despite their popularity, longevity and impact on the 80's, believe it or not, none of them ever broke into the top ten. Rock You Like A Hurricane peaked at number twenty-five, Still Loving You debuted and disappeared the following week at eighty-six and Big City Nights didn't chart at all. This was unexpected news when I dug into the history of the album.

Over the years, the band has come into a lot of controversy over their choice of album covers. While there was none more worse than their original for 1976's Virgin Killer - A cover anyone with any sense of moral compass would find vile and disgusting, the original cover for Love At First Sting continued this trend of backlash. It's because of this that you can find two versions of the album. The original as depicted here and the alternate "clean" version, which is a picture of the band walking towards the camera against a blank background.

Album covers aside, if you're looking for the three powerhouse tracks noted above, this is definitely the place to find them. You'll get a solid album overall, but as I said, these ones definitely stand out among the rest.

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Disclaimer: They Toy Box does not endorse or contribute to piracy. Retro Spins posts are intended for educational and entertainment purposes only. None of the music discussed here is available for sale, downloading or distribution.