Crazy World

After nearly two decades of albums with Dieter Dierks, Scorpions switched producers for 1990’s Crazy World. Keith Olsen, who'd collaborated with The Grateful Dead and Fleetwood Mac in the '70s, brought the album a beefier, more organic sound—a conscious departure from the group’s heyday. The nostalgic ballad “Wind of Change” (with music and lyrics written entirely by vocalist Klaus Meine) redefined the band for a new decade, just as Lovedrive had redefined Scorpions for the '80s. The song addressed the initiation of Glasnost and the Cold War's end; its message resonated so deeply that Scorpions recorded versions in Spanish and Russian. While the song felt like the capstone of a storied career, the rest of Crazy World featured some of the band’s toughest hard rock songs, including “Tease Me, Please Me,” “Don’t Believe Her,” and “Crazy World.” While by this point the older band was borrowing ideas from younger competitors like Mötley Crüe and Bon Jovi, Scorpions' world-weary disposition gave their version of hair metal an authenticity and sincerity lacking in many of the genre’s most popular acts.