The Toy Box: 80's Music Review

Showing posts with label 80's Music Review. Show all posts

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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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!

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: Sabrina - Sabrina

By 1988, Sabrina Salerna was a household name in Italy, and finding major success across several countries outside of the USA. She had quickly built a fanbase around a manufactured pop showgirl image, aided by rather revealing music videos. Granted, she had good music to back this up, evident by her winning Best European Singer at Festivalbar that same year.

The problem was that Sabrina wanted to focus more on the latter and ditch the gimmicks. For this, she left her label, Five Records, and signed with Videogram. This move would allot her the creative control she was seeking, while shedding the unwanted image, or so she thought.

Prior to her second album, she released All of Me (Boy Oh Boy), which was followed by a new music video. While it would become another summer hit for her, it wouldn't perform as good as Boys (Summertime Love). Producer Matt Aitken would state that her vocals in the studio were "pretty decent" but also made comment about the way she was dressed. Her modest clothing during the session "did not fulfill the promise that was expected." He would go on to elaborate, stating, "Maybe the shock value was gone, or maybe they didn't shoot the right scene in the swimming pool for the video."

Sabrina released 1988's Super Sabrina, which also became relatively successful, but thanks to accompanying music videos for My Chico, and Like A Yo-Yo, wasn't able to shed her sex symbol status. Additionally, she would go on to be featured in her own self-titled video game for home computers, released in 1989.

Good stuff! Who doesn't love a classic video game?

Firing up the album for today's Retro Spin, I was hoping that the same level of goodness that came with her debut would be present. Quality wise, yes, this hit the mark. Hits wise, not so much.

Overall, it was just okay. The singles, Like A Yo-Yo, All of Me (Boy Oh Boy), and My Chico are decent, with the latter being the weakest among the bunch. Beyond that though, there's not a lot going on for this one.

Perhaps Matt Aitken was on to something with his comments. Though for me, it wasn't shock value, but instead the overall novely wore off quickly. Super Sabrina came with more of the same, but without the newness punch that was delivered with her debut.

Still not content, Sabrina left Videogram to pursue a broader musical spectrum and leave the Italo-disco pop persona behind. Though she would go on to release four more studio albums between 1991 and 2008, all under a different label, none of these would chart.

She remains active to this day, mostly performing at festivals, and making one-off appearances around the world. It's odd that in her pursuit of music freedom, and a desire to shed her showgirl image that even as of 2026 she continues to ride the waves of Boys (Summertime Love), belting it out while still wearing revealing clothing. But I suppose when it comes down to it, everyone needs money. I mean, if I could survive the rest of my life occasionally singing one song in my underwear, I'd do it too.

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And now, 31 Days Of Halloween!

Nothing says Halloween like a great, scary movie to get you sitting on the edge of your seat, or better yet, with your loved one in your arms getting as close as possible. With so many to choose from, just what would you watch if you could? As we go through each day of October, I'll be posting a series of horror movie posters from some of my favorite franchises of all time.

Kicking it off is the tried-and-true classics. I'm talking Universal Monsters. With so many movies in this catalog alone, you could easily spend the entire month by just watching one a day. Sure, by today's standards, they can get a bit corny, both in the acting, and dialog, but they paved the way for the genre, and to this day stand true as iconic films and characters.