In the wake of the upcoming Scorpions & Alice Cooper show in Greece, we turn back the hands of time to remember and compare -just for the sheer fun of the whole thing- two classic albums by the two legendary artists. This is a celebration of two milestones in the hard rock genre…let’s check ‘em out, shall we?
“Crazy World”: There are quite a few people out there who consider this album to be the last real classic one by the mighty Scorpions. Some others think otherwise and go back a couple of years with “Savage Amusement”. Personally, I think that this characterization should apply up to 1993 and “Face The Heat”. Oh well…you know what they say about opinions. Honestly, though, “Crazy World” is a brilliant album with its own historical significance for the German mega-group. This is the first album with a new producer (Keith Olsen) after a successful strings of records with the legendary Dieter Dierks. It’s also the last official studio recording with Francis Bucholz on bass. The seemingly left turn to the American sound with the fitting lyrics (aided by Jim Vallance) prove to be ultra-successful and Scorpions deliver not yet another classic album but they put a permanent mark on pop culture with the timeless ballad “Wind of Change”. “Tease Me Please Me, “Lust or Love”, “Be With You In Heaven”, “Don’t Believe Her”, “Send Me An Angel”, “Hit Between The Eyes” are flawless and are rightfully considered classic tracks among the ranks of the fans. 10/10
“Hey Stoopid”: In 1991 Alice had a difficult and easy task at the same time. On the one hand, he was supposed to come up with a stellar album that could see eye to eye with the unbelievable “Trash” (that was the difficult part) but he had the momentum in order to keep up at the same pace and why not achieving equal success. And that’s exactly what Alice did or more accurately tried to do. He went down at the same musical path with the help of a stellar team of special guests and a perfect production. “Hey Stoopid” is a really good and powerful record but the truth is that it’s not at the same quality level as its predecessor. This is something that even his most die-hard fans acknowledge, too. But with such amazing songs as “Dangerous Tonight”, “Snakebite” “Love’s A Loaded Gun”, “Feed My Frankenstein”, “Little By Little” and the title track, Alice had no problem at all. He might not have set the charts on fire but it was a good business and artistic move after “Trash”.
Final Result: 1 (“Crazy World”)
Sakis Nikas
