Crazy World (Scorpions album)

Crazy World is the eleventh studio album by the German hard rock band Scorpions, released on 6 November 1990.[8] The album peaked at No. 21 on the Billboard 200 chart for albums in 1991.[9] That same year, the song "Wind of Change" reached No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100[9] and "Send Me an Angel" reached No. 44 on the same chart.[9] It also has the only Scorpions track to credit bassist Francis Buchholz as a writer, "Kicks After Six". This album was the band's first album in a decade and a half to not be produced by Dieter Dierks.

Crazy World
Cover design by Richard Evans
Studio album by
Released6 November 1990 (1990-11-06)
Recorded1990
StudioGoodnight LA Studios, Los Angeles, U.S.
Wisseloord Studios, Hilversum, Netherlands
Genre
Length52:53
LabelVertigo, Mercury
Producer
Scorpions chronology
Savage Amusement
(1988)
Crazy World
(1990)
Face the Heat
(1993)
Singles from Crazy World
  1. "Tease Me Please Me"
    Released: November 1990
  2. "Don't Believe Her"
    Released: December 1990
  3. "Wind of Change"
    Released: 21 January 1991
  4. "Send Me an Angel"
    Released: 17 September 1991
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[3]
Classic Rock[4]
Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal5/10[5]
Forces Parallèles[6]
Rock Hard8.0/10[7]

Crazy World became the band's only album to reach number one in their home country of Germany.[10] In the UK, it remains the only Scorpions album to attain Silver certification (60,000 units sold) by the British Phonographic Industry, achieving this in November 1991.[11] In the United States, it is the band's second best-selling album to 1984's Love at First Sting, and their last one to be certified at least gold by the RIAA.[12] It was the band's last studio album to feature the Lovedrive-era lineup, with Buchholz leaving the band in October 1992.

"Hit Between the Eyes" was played during the ending credits of the 1992 film Freejack.

"Send Me an Angel" was played at the closing scene in the 2004 Cold Case episode "Who's Your Daddy." "Wind of Change" was also used during the 2009 film Gentlemen Broncos and towards the end of the 2014 film The Interview and international version soundtrack featured Nutri Ventures in pilot episode.

Reception edit

Adrien Begrand writing for PopMatters called the album "pop metal by [the] numbers".[13]

Track listing edit

No.TitleLyricsMusicLength
1."Tease Me Please Me"Klaus Meine, Herman Rarebell, VallanceMatthias Jabs, Jim Vallance4:44
2."Don't Believe Her"Rarebell, Meine, VallanceRudolf Schenker, Vallance4:55
3."To Be with You in Heaven"MeineSchenker4:48
4."Wind of Change"MeineMeine5:13
5."Restless Nights"Meine, Rarebell, VallanceSchenker5:44
6."Lust or Love"Meine, Rarebell, VallanceMeine4:22
7."Kicks After Six"Rarebell, Meine, VallanceFrancis Buchholz, Vallance3:49
8."Hit Between the Eyes"Rarebell, Meine, VallanceSchenker4:33
9."Money and Fame"Jabs, RarebellJabs5:06
10."Crazy World"Meine, Schenker, Rarebell, VallanceSchenker5:08
11."Send Me an Angel"MeineSchenker4:32
Total length:52:51

Personnel edit

Scorpions edit

  • Klaus Meine – vocals, additional "gang" vocals on "Tease Me Please Me", additional "bang" vocals on "Crazy World"
  • Rudolf Schenker – rhythm guitar, lead guitar on "Wind of Change" and "Send Me an Angel", additional "gang" vocals on "Tease Me Please Me", additional "bang" vocals on "Crazy World"
  • Matthias Jabs – lead guitar, rhythm guitar on "Wind of Change" and "Send Me an Angel", additional "gang" vocals on "Tease Me Please Me"
  • Francis Buchholz – bass
  • Herman Rarebell – drums

Additional musicians edit

  • Koen van Baal – keyboards on "Wind of Change"
  • Jim Vallance – keyboards on "Send Me an Angel"
  • Roy Tesse, Dries van der Schuyt, Ria Makker, Gerard v.d. Pot, Louis Spillman, Wolfgang Praetz, Inka Esser, Claudia Frohling, Cliff Roles, Peter Angmeer, Tony Ioannoua and Jim Lewis – "gang" vocals on "Tease Me Please Me"
  • Marcel Gelderblom, Mirjam Erftemeijer, Henk Horden and Patrick Ulenberg - "bang" vocals on "Crazy World"

Production edit

  • Keith Olsen – producer, engineer, mixing, additional "gang" vocals on "Tease Me Please Me", additional "bang" vocals on "Crazy World"
  • Erwin Musper – engineer, mixing, additional "gang" vocals on "Tease Me Please Me", additional "bang" vocals on "Crazy World"
  • Shay Baby – additional engineering, mixing
  • Attie Bauw, Albert Boekholt, Tom Fletcher – assistant engineers

Charts edit

Chart (1990-1991) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[14] 49
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[15] 1
Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[16] 20
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[17] 6
Finnish Albums (The Official Finnish Charts)[18] 14
French Albums (SNEP)[19] 2
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[20] 1
Hungarian Albums (MAHASZ)[21] 5
Italian Albums (Musica e Dischi)[22] 13
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[23] 39
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[24] 4
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[25] 6
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[26] 3
UK Albums (OCC)[27] 27
US Billboard 200[28] 21

Certifications edit

‹See Tfd›‹See Tfd›
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Austria (IFPI Austria)[29] Platinum 50,000*
Canada (Music Canada)[30] 2× Platinum 200,000^
Finland (Musiikkituottajat)[31] Gold 40,716[31]
Germany (BVMI)[32] 2× Platinum 1,000,000^
Italy (FIMI)[33] Gold 100,000[33]
Mexico (AMPROFON)[34] Gold 100,000^
Netherlands (NVPI)[35] Gold 50,000^
Norway (IFPI Norway)[36] Gold 25,000*
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[37] 3× Platinum 150,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[38] Silver 60,000^
United States (RIAA)[39] 2× Platinum 2,000,000^
Summaries
Southeast Asia 400,000[40]
Worldwide 7,000,000[41]

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References edit

  1. ^ Rivadavia, Eduardo (6 November 2015). "How Scorpions Welcomed Fans to a New Decade on 'Crazy World'". Ultimate Classic Rock. Retrieved 14 September 2022. The result, as mentioned earlier, was a successful resurrection of the Scorpions' vintage '80s melodic hard rock sound
  2. ^ Begrand, Adrien. "Scorpions: Box of Scorpions". PopMatters. Retrieved 30 May 2021. 1990's Crazy World was more pop metal by numbers
  3. ^ Weber, Barry. "Scorpions Crazy World review". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 18 November 2012.
  4. ^ Dalton, Stephen (January 2014). "Scorpions - Crazy World Deluxe Edition". Classic Rock (192): 120.
  5. ^ Popoff, Martin (1 August 2007). The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal: Volume 3: The Nineties. Burlington, Ontario, Canada: Collector's Guide Publishing. p. 387. ISBN 978-1-894959-62-9.
  6. ^ Gaguet, Guillaume. "Scorpion Crazy World review". Forces Parallèles. Forces Parallèles. Retrieved 28 October 2014.
  7. ^ Kühnemund, Götz (1990). "Review Album: Scorpions - Crazy World". Rock Hard (in German). No. 45. Retrieved 18 June 2017.
  8. ^ "RIAA Certification". Retrieved 6 November 2023.
  9. ^ a b c "Crazy World Billboard Albums". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Archived from the original on 25 November 2013. Retrieved 20 November 2012.
  10. ^ "Album – Scorpions, Crazy World". Charts.de (in German). Media Control Charts. Retrieved 20 November 2012.
  11. ^ "BPI Certified Awards Database: search for Artist Scorpions". British Phonographic Industry. Archived from the original on 1 August 2017. Retrieved 12 June 2017.
  12. ^ "Gold & Platinum - RIAA". RIAA.com. Retrieved 16 August 2018.
  13. ^ Begrand, Adrien (27 May 2004). "Scorpions: Box of Scorpions, PopMatters". PopMatters. Retrieved 30 May 2021. 1990's Crazy World was more pop metal by numbers
  14. ^ "Australiancharts.com – Scorpions – Crazy World". Hung Medien. Retrieved March 25, 2024.
  15. ^ "Austriancharts.at – Scorpions – Crazy World" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved March 25, 2024.
  16. ^ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 1587". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved March 25, 2024.
  17. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Scorpions – Crazy World" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved March 25, 2024.
  18. ^ "Scorpions – Crazy World (album)". Pomus.net. The Official Finnish Charts. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
  19. ^ "Le Détail des Albums de chaque Artiste – S". Infodisc.fr (in French). Archived from the original on 22 October 2014. Retrieved 25 March 2024. Select Scorpions from the menu, then press OK.
  20. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Scorpions – Crazy World" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved March 25, 2024.
  21. ^ "Album Top 40 slágerlista – 1991. 24. hét" (in Hungarian). MAHASZ. Retrieved March 25, 2024.
  22. ^ "Classifiche". Musica e Dischi (in Italian). Retrieved 25 March 2024. Set "Tipo" on "Album". Then, in the "Artista" field, search "Scorpions".
  23. ^ Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970–2005 (in Japanese). Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. 2006. ISBN 4-87131-077-9.
  24. ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – Scorpions – Crazy World". Hung Medien. Retrieved March 25, 2024.
  25. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Scorpions – Crazy World". Hung Medien. Retrieved March 25, 2024.
  26. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Scorpions – Crazy World". Hung Medien. Retrieved March 25, 2024.
  27. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved March 25, 2024.
  28. ^ "Scorpions Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved March 25, 2024.
  29. ^ "Austrian album certifications – Scorpions – Crazy World" (in German). IFPI Austria.
  30. ^ "Canadian album certifications – Scorpions – Crazy World". Music Canada.
  31. ^ a b "Scorpions" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland.
  32. ^ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Scorpions; 'Crazy World')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie.
  33. ^ a b "No Sting In This Tale" (PDF). Music & Media. 30 November 1991. p. 9. Retrieved 14 October 2019.
  34. ^ "Certificaciones" (in Spanish). Asociación Mexicana de Productores de Fonogramas y Videogramas. Retrieved 20 May 2019. Type Scorpions in the box under the ARTISTA column heading and Crazy World in the box under the TÍTULO column heading.
  35. ^ "Dutch album certifications – Scorpions – Crazy World" (in Dutch). Nederlandse Vereniging van Producenten en Importeurs van beeld- en geluidsdragers. Retrieved 20 May 2019. Enter Crazy World in the "Artiest of titel" box. Select 1991 in the drop-down menu saying "Alle jaargangen".
  36. ^ "IFPI Norsk platebransje Trofeer 1993–2011" (in Norwegian). IFPI Norway. Retrieved 20 May 2019.
  37. ^ "Scorpions Crazy World 3 X Platinum Award for 150,000 units in Switzerland". Ebay. Archived from the original on 6 December 2020. Retrieved 12 March 2022.
  38. ^ "British album certifications – Scorpions – Crazy World". British Phonographic Industry.
  39. ^ "American album certifications – Scorpions – Crazy World". Recording Industry Association of America.
  40. ^ Ebert, Hans (22 August 1992). "Billboard Spotlight - Southeast Asia" (PDF). American Radio History (Billboard Archive). p. S-2. Retrieved 12 June 2019.
  41. ^ Flick, Larry (9 October 1993). "Scorpions Haven't Lost Their Sting" (PDF). Billboard. p. 14. Retrieved 7 November 2019.