Scorpions: Classic Or Dud?

The other two are a bit troublesome.

(also, the song "virgin killer" - which appears on my weird, cheap-ass copy of "lonesome crow" - more than makes up for all of the evil they did in the 80s and 90s.)

They also get credit for the most un-PC album covers you can imagine. I was gonna post the Virgin Killer cover but it might get people fired or arrested. Instead, two oddball ones.

http://www.sleazeroxx.com/censored/lovedrive1.jpg

http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B0000076KY.03.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

It was through growing up with the Scorpions that I came to understand that businessmen used bubblegum when fondling girls in their limos and that if you hypnotised a woman she would want to fuck a guitar - the big end of it, even.

First Scorpions album: Total amazing classic psych. Stands up well against anything else of that era. Truly worth seeking out if you love early 70s song-driven guitar psych.

True.

I also fucking love these Scorpions tracks: Steamrock Fever (where they invent a whole new genre) and the balearic-metal greatness of Coast to Coast.

What genre is that?

http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/blog/2008/dec/08/internet

Wikipedia page censored in the UK for 'child pornography'

The Internet Watch Foundation has propelled the UK into the forefront of the Internet censorship debate by blacklisting an image on Wikipedia as "a potentially illegal indecent image of a child under the age of 18." You may already have this one. It's a 1976 Scorpions album cover….
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Wikinews reports that British ISPs restrict access to Wikipedia amid child pornography allegations. The story says:

Wikinews has learned that at least six of the United Kingdom's main Internet Service Providers (ISPs) have implemented monitoring and filtering mechanisms that are causing major problems for UK contributors on websites operated by the Wikimedia Foundation, amongst up to 1200 other websites. The filters appear to be applied because Wikimedia sites are hosting a Scorpions album cover which some call child pornography. The Scorpions are a German rock band who have used several controversial album covers and are perhaps best known for their song, "Rock You Like a Hurricane".

The story says that the "major UK ISPs" are thought to be O2/Be Unlimited, Virgin Media, Easynet, Plusnet, Demon, and Opal Telecommunications (TalkTalk).

The blocking has been prompted by the UK's Internet Watch Foundation, which has put out a statement today (Sunday). It says:

A Wikipedia web page, was reported through the IWF's online reporting mechanism in December 2008. As with all child sexual abuse reports received by our Hotline analysts, the image was assessed according to the UK Sentencing Guidelines Council (page 109). The content was considered to be a potentially illegal indecent image of a child under the age of 18, but hosted outside the UK. The IWF does not issue takedown notices to ISPs or hosting companies outside the UK, but we did advise one of our partner Hotlines abroad and our law enforcement partner agency of our assessment. The specific URL (individual webpage) was then added to the list provided to ISPs and other companies in the online sector to protect their customers from inadvertent exposure to a potentially illegal indecent image of a child.

The Scorpions album was released in 1976, so it's amazing to think that civilisation has managed to survive for more than 30 years (corrected), in spite of this evil in our midst.

The IWF has not acted against Amazon.com or other sites that carry images of the original album cover (which has apparently been replaced by something much uglier), such as Google. Also, there are several other album covers to censor, not to mention paintings, books, movies and Shakespeare plays. Presumably it's just a matter of time….

It should be noted that the cover in question is no stranger to controversy, and its use on Wikipedia has been under debate for some time. Gawker ran the story, Wikipedia Is Arguing Whether This Album Cover Is Child Porn, seven months ago, on May 9. But I didn't notice any American ISP's blocking access to Wikipedia.

Of course, this IWF action has done nothing to stop real child pornography, which we all abhor. Also, even the people whose access to Wikipedia has been restricted will be able to find ways round it, if they can be bothered. What it has actually done is ensure that millions of people will go and look at the cover to see what all the fuss is about, when otherwise they'd never have suffered from "inadvertent exposure" to it.

But it will be interesting to see the response. Has the IWF done the right thing, or has it merely damaged its own credibility? What else is being blocked because the IWF thinks it might be "potentially illegal"? What do you think?

Lonesome Crow slays.

I can't imagine doing a Dj gig without including some Scorps.

All my friends in California saw Uli a few months ago. Sadly, he did not come to the NW :(

I have everything essential except Taken By Force. This needs to be corrected.

Uli era Scorpions is totally underrated.

steamrock fever is a jam

The Sails Of Charon is one killer fucking song, and I have a soft spot for We'll Burn The Sky too. I find Monika Danneman's lyrics heartfelt and emotionally resonant, plus she ended up topping herself for added authenticity. Am I the only person on ilx who rates Uli's solo album "Beyond The Astral Skies"?

man, Taken By Force rules so fucking hard

In Trace is my afternoon jam today

that song kicks ass

i wish i had $ to buy more scorpion discs to blast in the car

Is it true that Kalus Meine is a tranny chaser?

Taken By Force is the only important one I'm still missing. Need it!

"Important" seems like an odd choice of adjectives with which to describe a Scorpions album.

Well Alex, in the heavy metal community, Uli John Roth is often considered part of the holy trinity of guitar gods along-side Jimi Hendrix and Eddie Van Halen. That makes his last record with the Scorps pretty important.

Lots of folks only know their 80s ballads and will scoff at the idea that Scorpions were an incredible rock band in the 70s. The same is true of ZZ Top and Judas Priest. Arenas and synthesizers and $$ made them into entirely different beasts in their second decades.

This is a dark day for everyone at ILM.

http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=133950

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!

Guess I'm gonna have to go see 'em when they tour.

We finish our career with an album we consider to be one of the best we have ever recorded and with a tour that will start in our home country Germany and take us to five different continents over the next few years.

This is going to be like the Kiss farewell tour isn't it? i.e. never-ending

Yeah I was thinking Sinatra retirement.

The new album is pretty good, actually.

I mean, as far as Scorpions albums go. It isn't like album of the year or anything.

never saw this cool japanese cover for tokyo tapes, not sure it survived past the original issue: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/e/ec/Tokyotapesalternate.jpg

steamrock fever
screaming rock believers
steamrock fever
in L.A.

it's disgraceful that the only song in the steamrock canon is that song. i want more

steamrock >> steampunk

So, steamrockers, is there a live version of "Virgin Killer" ANYWHERE?! Like recorded in the 1970s. Bootlegs preferred.

this is a dead link anyway but apparently they weren't playing the song on the Virgin Killer tour, so I don't like your chances :(

http://www.guitars101.com/forums/f90/scorpions-may-1976-virgin-killer-tour-live-in-baden-baden-germany-109174.html

Man, that's CRAZY. It's an amazing song.

Seems bizarre to not have the title track of your new album in the setlist

maybe they forgot how to play it after they recorded it

Maybe Klaus couldn't hit those notes

Great Real Names

Herby Spamfritter – lead vocals (1968–1969)

that's even better than herman rarebell

https://playitloudforever.files.wordpress.com/2012/09/herman-ze-german-and-friends.jpg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8nTGTCSGj30&feature=share

klaus looks like a sacha baron cohen character

Great Real Names

Herby Spamfritter – lead vocals (1968–1969)
― new noise, Saturday, April 2, 2016 8:01 PM (two years ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Herby Spamfritter is my favorite minor character in Gravity's Rainbow

Early Scorpions with teenaged Michael Schenker and some bricklayer playing bass

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LgD12JZuKNk

you reckon those guys knew about Can? one almost thinks they did based on the above…

yep, there's an interview clip on youtube where either Rudy or Klaus talks (in German) about their early days and he namedrops all the big Krautrock bands

Is there a decent sounding remastered cd of Fly To The Rainbow from anytime in the last 20 years.
Or at least one taht's affordable.
Is it just an lp that's intentionally neglected?
Sounded quite good on Spotify but I was just reallising I didn't have a copy and thought I might remedy that but not seeing anything that seems to be a reasonable price.

Lonesome Crow is pretty good but I don't think it's the archetypal krautrock I once saw it described as. Nice in terms of stoner rock influence or heavy psych or whatever anyway.

I just happened to order a cd of Fly to the Rainbow last week, so I will let you know. It was <$10

Do you know when it was from, which release.
Seemed to be several releases that were around at rising prices and one that says it was from 1980.
& only remasters I could see were from Japan or Russia, not sure if the latter of those was legit.

That list of songtitles actually reads like a Scorpions lyric.

"Rock believers" is actually a lyric from "Steamrock Fever" from back in 1977, could the endless well from which the Scorpions draw their lyrics be running dry?

That list of songtitles actually reads like a Scorpions lyric.

― chip? (Matt #2), Monday 14 February 2022 21:36 (one hour ago)

I’ve got roots in my boots, got gas in the tank
I knock ‘em dead, I shoot for your heart
I unleash the beast, it’s the call of the wild
I’m crossing borders, this scorpion stings hard

When you know where you come from
The shining of your soul is the seventh sun
When tomorrow comes, when I lay my bones to rest
I’m a rock believer, a hot and cold peacemaker
An undercover agent for the wind of change

*guitar solo*

I love this band

like the cover, feels more classic Scorps than the graphic design is my passion photoshop shit they've had

"Rock Believer" is pretty good, I'm reasonably optimistic

I love that they show up in the Connie Plank doc, I forgot he produced their first stuff, but they weren't really as far from krautrock back then and I suppose there were only so many long-haired weirdos in Germany at the time

overall in general, I think Gen X always had a sort of fascination/condescending thing towards these old bands like ugh when are they gonna give it up? so corny blah blah blah

but now it's like in 10 years they'll be no one left, I think I see an average of about 2 notable musicians die every day

there will never be this again, no one will ever do this without massive ironic quotation marks around it a la the darkness or steel panther...or just be pathetic rock fantasy camp nerds like greta van fleet

these guys traveled the entire globe, played a very significant role in bringing western music to the soviet block, seen a million faces and they rocked 'em all like a hurricane

My wife is not a hard rock/metal person in general at all but she absolutely loves the Virgin Killer album. The other day she told me she'd listened to it three times in 24 hours.

I tried the new album — I love the cover art — but there's just something missing. The songs all feel nine minutes long, somehow.

Do NOT show her (or anyone) the original artwork for that one is my advice.

I came to appreciate Scorpions through their Gold compilation, but there were zero good songs on that from post-1984 (although they were well-crafted). The compilation ends in 1993, and I assumed their stuff from then to now was just as uninspired.

zero good songs on that from post-1984

um three words
WINDS OF CHANGE

also ums otm, scorps the best to do it

zero good songs on that from post-1984

Yeah, Love at First Sting is a hard cutoff.

love the uli era immensely, in trance and virgin killer are insanely classic

um three words
WINDS OF CHANGE

I was working in a van that only had an AM radio the summer of 1991, that was enough of that whistling for a lifetime.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kkYksNzvspg

the chorus of "In Trance" is so majestic

, in trance and virgin killer are insanely classic

Yeah, I like these + Taken by Force, which is probably the one I've listened to most.

Layered guitars on "Sails of Charon" are huge. I sometimes think that record is like an object lesson o how to record a rock band.

*on

highly recommend seeing Uli John if you can, he's still got it

Uli's solo at the beginning is next level of human existence

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zs5NOrYYV2s

Are they and Judas Priest generally regarded as the "heaviest" bands recording in 1976 and 77? Rainbow was around and Motorhead were starting, I suppose...

UFO was pretty influential I think

Maiden and some of the NWOBHM bands were in their beginning club stages

Sabotage was 75 so I'd imagine Sabbath was still relevant

Wow:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Scco-tm2OwU

the front and then back cover of Animal magnetism knocked me on my lil 11 year old ass when I discovered it in the cutout bin… and that records "don't make no promises" is very funny, if the way it conveys confusion over gender shows the guys, or at least only Rarebell, who wrote the words, to be pretty dopey… I think you can love the band and acknowledge that they are cretinous in ways that non metal people liked to characterize metal people… like I don't think there is a self aware Rob Halford or Bruce Dickinson kinda or person in Scorpions…

I dunno, they never seemed to take themselves that seriously in a lot of ways. Always a lot of showbiz razzmatazz rather than the po-faced pretension the likes of Led Zep could sink into.

i was today years old when i learned of uli john roth era Scorpions :D
omg so good where have i been

weee as i go down this rabbithole
mr veg is wincing in anticipation

The Wire just reviewed solo Uli Jon Roth band Electric Sun l.p. Earthquake whichvi wasn't aware was in the area they covered.seems a pretty positive review too talking about sludge and improvisation and things.

it's so good! In Trance is a classic album

So classic!! In Trance is my favorite definitely. Robot Man! LONGING FOR FIRE!

All those Uli albums are great, but oh my he has a commanding presence on Taken By Force. Sails of Charon! We'll Burn the Sky! The Hendrix worship on Your Light!

Well goddamn! Lonesome Crow is a groovy hippy freakout maaaan. I dig!

& michael schenker was only 16?
christ

yeah he was a crazy kid

produced by Conny Plank!

yes!! very cool. Quite a groovy little record overall but I dunno if i’ll return to it much? idk

am now onto Fly To The Rainbow
We are starting to go harder now.
Drifting Sun? RIPS.

Far Away???? wow <3

Yeah I love how far out that album goes! Truly epic

I get that Klaus is kind of a goofy (imo very loveable) character, and and the lyrics can be a little awkward or o_O at times but I really love his voice, and he's such a great a melodicist, and has such a natural feel for hooky/memorable melodies.

I love the Uli stuff but also the 80s pop metal period I think they were really an exceptional band in that era as well.

this TV show is split up into individual songs on YT, Uli got the trap goin ham

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bV3asqGVTek

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vy7mBEpBpOY

klaus has an awesome voice, 100% agree