๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ - ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ข๐ง ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐จ๐ย ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ & ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐โฆ
On this day (June 16) in 1986, Krokus released their polarizing ninth full-length studio album Change of Address via Arista Records.
Background:
Featuring a cover of the Alice Cooper classic School's Out, โChange of Addressโ earned Krokus criticism for capitalizing on the wave of success enjoyed by Heavy Metal in the mid-1980s. Many have claimed that the albums production was way too clean and polished for Krokus and it became a commercial failure.
In terms of what prompted Krokus to change their sound with โChange of Addressโ, Marc Storace indicated (with slight edits):
โWell, it was the whole changing-face of the business. You know, shifting sounds and bad advice, if you like. Because Chris von Rohr was right; he was fighting for that. He had his negative stuff happening at that time, too. That was mainly part of the reason why later on he was kicked out of the band; he was a founding member. But he was right in saying, โWe just sold platinum with โHeadhunterโ. Weโre successful with the way we are. Why do you want to change us? We donโt want to change.โ So then, there was a bit of a revolution happening there.โ
Largely seen to be their least successful release, the album has been described by AllMusic as "plainly one of the worst efforts" from Krokus.
The band's website claims that Krokusโ musical style was put under too much pressure from the label, Arista Records.
Singer Marc Storace didnโt like โChange of Addressโ at all once it was completed. Here are Marcโs thoughts on the album once it was completed;
โI didnโt like it. I didnโt like it at all. During The Blitz, it stayed in the back of my head that we had our biggest success with Headhunter, and now we were being changed into a band that was slightly more glam because the record company wanted us to attract more girls. We were writing differently; I was singing differently and using another dimension of my singing archive. I have a wide spectrum of singing possibilities; I can go from blues to jazz if you like. It goes that wide. And even classical. So, I have to really careful sometimes about where to go and stay aware of which shop Iโm in. What are we selling? What do our fans expect from us when they fork out their hard-earned money and buy a record? In those days, I took that really seriously. Then, we were at Bob Ketchumโs place โ the first time writing songs for โThe Blitzโ โ and I didnโt feel really comfortable. I thought the songs were too fast; there was no kick anymore in the guitar sound. But I had agreed, with Fernando von Arb, that we go in this different direction, so I couldnโt complain.โ
"And with โChange of Addressโ, it got worse. I thought maybe itโs because we had another producer now. During the recordings, the week before I have to go in and record my vocals, my father had this stroke, and I had to fly to Malta. I dropped everything at the drop of a hat and flew in to say farewell to my dad. So, I came back feeling real bluesy. So, you feel that in the way Iโm singing. But it wasnโt good for Krokus. The whole music wasnโt really good for Krokus; the arrangement; not enough distorted guitars and bombastic stuff. Although, when I look and listen sometimes today, I think if they were differently produced, a few of those songs would stand up next to some others if you gave them that bombastic sound. For example, take โRussian Winterโ on the โHeadhunterโ album; thereโs the classical side of me. If you take that and then take, say, โSay goodbye but never deny/All the love youโre leaving behind;โ thatโs another hymn. So, the instrumentation is all different, though. But it goes to show, you can take a melody and make it sound jazzy, classical, rocky, or bluesy; it depends on how you produce the thing.โ
Unsurprisingly, Krokus changed their record label for their next studio album, Heart Attack.
The album features drummer Jeff Klaven's former Cobra bandmate, Tommy Keiser joining on bass, enabling Mark Kohler to return to his original position on rhythm guitar.
Andrew T of N.Y. Metal band Blackout filled in for Kohler on select dates during this tour, including a stint replacing Bon Jovi as openers on Judas Priest's 1986 Fuel for Life Tour. Unusually, Krokus rarely played any songs from the then current album when opening for Priest.
This was the bands average setlist for the โChange of Addressโ tour:
1. Screaming in the Night
2. American Woman (the Guess Who cover)
3. Eat the Rich
4. Long Stick Goes Boom
5. Midnite Maniac
6. The Ballroom Blitz (The Sweet cover)
7. Headhunter
8. School's Out (Alice Cooper cover)
9. Rainy Day Women #12 & 35 (Bob Dylan cover)
10. Let This Love Begin
11. Our Love
12. Say Goodbye
As you can see, Krokus typically played three songs from โChange of Addressโ throughout the tour; โLet this Love Beginโ, โSay Goodbyeโ, and the bands rendition of the Alice Cooper classic, โSchoolโs Outโ.
Critical Reception:
โChange of Addressโ received scathing reviews from fans and critics alike, sighting the band had left behind their hard edged sound for a more polished Pop Metal aesthetic.
In retrospect, AllMusicโs Jason Anderson writes;
โArtists like Bon Jovi and Def Leppard were re-categorizing Metal during the mid-'80s, as the genre suddenly gained a huge mainstream audience thereby creating a commercial opportunity that caused many so-so metal acts to abandon their heavier musical roots. The resulting power-chord pop on records like โChange of Addressโ was consistently clichรฉ and worthless."
Links to Artists, Albums, and Music Videos:
Click this link to listen to โChange of Addressโ via Spotify: Change Of Address https://open.spotify.com/album/2Bsg8cztna2dOm5CgXmJGA
Click this link to watch the official music video for โSchoolโs Out (Alice Cooper coverโ: https://youtu.be/ubHUQEBnnwU
Click this link to follow Krokus on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KROKUSonline
Note: The reviews shared here are for historical reference. The views and opinions expressed within are not always supported (in full or in part) by Into the Wells. โ E.N. Wells
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