Savage Amusement

Digitally remastered reissue.

Customer Review: good album for Scorpion fans, not for the masses

If you're a big fan of the Scorpions like I am, you'll probably enjoy Savage Amusement. It is not, however, on the same high level as their outstanding peak albums Blackout and Love At First Sting. For the casual listener who wants something beyond a "greatest hits" compilation studio album, I recommend those two releases. If you're a Scorpshead who wants more Matthias, Klaus and Rudy, Savage Amusement fits the bill. My favorite tracks include Rhythm of Love and When Passion Rules the Game.



Customer Review: Great album, AMAZING remaster

I know that the Scorpions' albums from this era aren't universally loved, and that longtime fans in particular were not pleased by the band's crossover into more radio friendly territory, but for those of us who discovered the Scorpions in the mid to late 80's, these are the albums that define the band's sound.



Case in point - 1988's Savage Amusement. Coming on the heels of the monster hit Love at First Sting, Savage Amusement finds the band continuing their arena rocking heavy metal sound. This is a first rate 80's metal album all the way. Hearing Rudolf Schenker's guitar work on this album reminds me of a skilled surgeon at work. He just gets in there and cuts with incredible precision. This first rate metal guitar work makes it much easier to overlook the band's love-obsessed lyrical content. And of course there are Klause Meine's unique and powerful vocals. I can't imagine ever hearing the term "German metal" and NOT immediately thinking of Meine's voice. Savage Amusement doesn't have a super anthem on par with Rock You Like a Hurricane here, but there are plenty of great rockers, including Don't Stop at the Top, Passion Rules the Game, and Media Overkill. The album also features two of the band's bigger hits in Rhythm of Love and the sappy ballad Believe in Love. I can see how these kinds of songs could put off some fans, but overall this is a very hard rocking album, ballads or not.



Love at First Sting is the better album, but Savage Amusement comes pretty close. It's a great example of the Scorpions sound in the 80's, and 20 years later remains one of my favorite albums from that era.



NOTE: The 2001 EMI reissue of Savage Amusement features absolutely AMAZING digitally remastered sound. It's a dramatic improvement in sound quality over the original, and in fact sounds like something released today. Even without bonus tracks, the improved sound quality makes replacing your older version totally worthwhile.
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