"Rhythm of Love" by Scorpions

Song#:  3538

Date:  06/04/1988

Debut:  89

Peak:  75

Weeks:  6

Genre:  Hard Rock, Glam Metal

Pop Bits:  Partly due to extensive touring, it would take the Scorpions four years to follow up their most successful album to-date in the US, 1984's Love at First Sting. It was a #6 triple-platinum seller that featured the #5 Rock/#25 Pop hit "Rock You Like a Hurricane." For their next studio album, Savage Amusement, the band and long time producer Dieter Dierks would try to stay in step with other glam bands having success, such as Def Leppard, and adopt a more polished, commercial-leaning sound. This first single was pushed out and it was greeted well at Rock where the track got to #6, however it couldn't make an impact at Pop and stalled in the bottom quarter of the chart. A second single, "Believe in Love," got to #12 at Rock, but failed to make the Pop chart. Although there was little to promote the album in a more mainstream way, the LP still managed to reach #5 and go platinum.

ReduxReview:  This mid-tempo rocker was a good track with a solid chorus, but I just don't think it was quite in-line with other glam metal hits happening at the time. This was a more serious tune whereas some of the other glam hits were party/arena style anthems or big power ballads. Obviously, this track worked well for rock radio, but it wasn't quite the polished crossover tune that they perhaps thought they had or wanted. Still, their popularity kept them afloat with a platinum album, but that was quite a drop from the three-plus million sales of the superior Love at First Sting.

ReduxRating:  5/10

Trivia:  The band's next album, 1990's Crazy World, would spawn their most successful single. The power ballad "Winds of Change" would be released as the third single from the LP. Written by lead singer Klaus Meine, the song was inspired by the band's participation in the '89 Moscow Music Peace Festival along with "glasnost," the new shared openness expressed by the Soviet Union, which was on the verge of collapse. The message of the song resonated worldwide and the single became a Top 10 or #1 hit in many countries. In the US, the song got to #4 Pop and #2 Rock. Sales were strong with the single going gold. While the album would only reach #21, it would end up being a double-platinum seller. The band's success on the charts would dwindle after the album, but they remained a top concert draw over the years and continue to record and release albums.

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