“The Lost Boys: Hard-To-Find ’80s Albums” gives you exactly what the title implies: a rare or out-of-print album from the ’80s in its entirety. Some will be from CD, but most will have been lovingly transferred from pristine vinyl culled directly from the Analog Kid’s vast collection. Whatever album I choose, it will be one that you can’t easily find a physical copy for sale on Amazon or in your local record store (if you even have one anymore). Death…by stereo!
When Savage Amusement was released in April of 1988, it had been more than four years since the release of the last studio album from the Scorpions (1984’s Love At First Sting). Four years between records may not seem like a huge gap by today’s standards, but back then it was almost unheard of (unless your name was Boston). The long wait for new Scorpions music was exacerbated by my age– I went from being a junior in high school to a junior in college during that time, and my musical tastes had evolved more drastically than Dennis Miller’s political views. In 1984, the cassette collection in my car was made up mostly of Journey, Night Ranger, and Asia. I was still listening to cassettes in the car on 1988 (only my rich friend Wade could afford a car CD player at that time), but the labels now read Talking Heads, Smithereens, and Midnight Oil. Where did the Scorpions fit into that musical landscape after four long years off of my radar?
On the day Savage Amusement was released, I made a specific trip to Waterloo Records (the old location on Lamar next to the Taco Bell) to buy the CD. I couldn’t find a copy in the racks, so I had to ask for it at the counter. Hipster-ism was already alive and well in Austin in 1988, and I can still remember the condescending tone from the too-cool-for-Klaus Waterloo employee as he said this to one of his co-workers:
“Hey, this guy wants to buy the new Scorpions album (snicker snicker). Did we bother to order any?”
Remember the scene in The Last American Virgin when the guys had to embarrassingly ask the pharmacist for an ointment to cure their crabs? This felt kind of like that. Actually, it felt exactly like that.
Waterloo did have a copy of Savage Amusement, and I paid my $14.99 (plus tax and shame) and huried home to listen. At first, I was a little dismayed by the production. It was a lot slicker than Love At First Sting, but I suppose I should have expected that. Def Leppard and Aqua Net now ruled the hard rock world, and the Scorpions had to compete with the young guns (and their even younger hair follicles). Savage Amusement didn’t exactly floor me, but it did have some fantastic moments (“Believe In Love” and “Don’t Stop At The Top,” in particular, took me right back to 11th grade and I mean that in the best way possible). The album sold reasonably well, but overall it was considered a bit of a disappointment at the time.
Looking back now at Savage Amusement, it fits in wonderfully with the rest of the Scorps catalog and has even managed to become a fan favorite over the years. I cranked it at a very heavy volume this morning, and I can’t even remember the last time I listened to Midnight Oil. Klaus, it looks like I’m still loving you…
Scorpions: Savage Amusement
Mercury Records, 1988
1. “Don’t Stop At The Top” (Meine/Rarebell/Schenker)
2. “Rhythm Of Love” (Meine/Schenker)
3. “Passion Rules The Game” (Meine/Rarebell)
4. “Media Overkill” (Meine/Schenker)
5. “Walking On The Edge” (Meine/Schenker)
6. “We Let It Rock…You Let It Roll” (Meine/Schenker)
We Let It Rock…. You Let It Roll
7. “Every Minute Every Day” (Meine/Schenker)
8. “Love On The Run” (Meine/Rarebell/Schenker)
9. “Believe In Love” (Meine/Schenker)
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Bonus Tracks!
The first rule of The Analog Kid blog is that if you write about a song on the Analog Kid blog, you share the song on the Analog Kid blog.
Journey: “After The Fall” (Perry/Cain)
From the album Frontiers
Columbia Records, 1983
Night Ranger: “(You Can Still) Rock In America” (Blades/Gillis)
From the album Midnight Madness
MCA Records, 1983
(You Can Still) Rock In America
Asia: “Don’t Cry” (Wetton/Downes)
From the album Alpha
Geffen Records, 1983
Talking Heads: “Totally Nude” (Byrne/Frantz/Harrison/Weymouth)
From the album Naked
Warner Brothers Records, 1988
The Smithereens: “Only A Memory” (DiNizio)
From the album Green Thoughts
Enigma/Capitol Records, 1988
Midnight Oil: “The Dead Heart” (Hirst/Garrett/Moginie)
From the album Diesel And Dust
Columbia Records, 1987
Def Leppard: “Hysteria” (Clark/Collen/Elliott/Savage/Lange)
From the album Hysteria
Mercury Records, 1987
Scorpions: “Still Loving You” (Meine/Schenker)
From the album Love At First Sting
Mercury Records, 1984
The Analog Kid 
Please be advised, readers, the Analog Kid does an inspired impression of Klaus’ crowd bantering. There’s no MP3 of that, though.
Helllllooooooooo this is Klauuuuuusssss from Scorrpiooooooonnnnnnnnnns. We here to rooooock Analog Kid blog cause Texxxxxxxaaaassssssss reallyyyyyyy know how to parrrrrrrrrrrrr-taaaaaaaayyyyy!!