Taken by Force | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | December 1977 | |||
Recorded | June–October 1977 | |||
Studio | Dierks Studios, Stommeln, West Germany | |||
Genre | Hard rock, heavy metal | |||
Length | 39:05 | |||
Label | RCA Records | |||
Producer | Dieter Dierks | |||
Scorpions chronology | ||||
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Singles from Taken by Force | ||||
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Alternative cover | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Taken by Force is the fifth studio album by German band Scorpions,released by RCA Records in 1977. This was the first Scorpions album to feature drummer Herman Rarebell and the final studio album to feature guitarist Uli Jon Roth. Roth left the band in 1978 following the end of the album's tour,and was at first replaced by Michael Schenker and later by Matthias Jabs.
The lyrics to "We'll Burn the Sky" were initially a poem written by Monika Dannemann,the last girlfriend of Jimi Hendrix [ citation needed ],as a tribute to him after he died.
The album cover photography was taken by Michael von Gimbut; [2] his third Scorpions album cover commission. Like their previous two albums,Taken by Force caused controversy with its cover art which again resulted in the artwork being replaced in most markets with an alternative cover using photographs of the band members. The band's former lead guitarist Uli Jon Roth defended the original artwork in a 2008 interview,stating:
I think the original idea was children playing with guns at a military cemetery in France and some people found that offensive. I don't think it's offensive because I think it was actually a quite a good image because it puts war totally into perspective;very often it is young people,eighteen,nineteen,going to war that don't fully understand life. When you're fifteen you don't fully understand life,but these guys then have to shoot other people simply because someone tells them to do it for their country. Politicians are sometimes also children with guns,in all periods of time a lot of politicians are far too trigger happy and war too easily becomes an "easy solution",whereas for me it should never be a solution,there should be no war in the first place. Maybe every once in a while a country may need to defend itself,I understand that,but in general if you consider that there are over a hundred wars raging in the present day on this planet alone then it's just sheer lunacy and always the tool of the Dark Side. Usually bad things come from war,very few good things,but sometimes good things come from bad things,that's true,nothing's that black and white. It's always the wrong solution to kill people. [3]
All music composed by Rudolf Schenker except where noted
No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Length |
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1. | "Steamrock Fever" | Klaus Meine | 3:37 | |
2. | "We'll Burn the Sky" | Monika Dannemann | 6:26 | |
3. | "I've Got to Be Free" | Ulrich Roth | Roth | 4:00 |
4. | "The Riot of Your Time" | Meine | 4:09 |
No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Length |
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5. | "The Sails of Charon" (most copies have a 4:23 edited version) | Roth | Roth | 5:16 |
6. | "Your Light" | Roth | Roth | 4:31 |
7. | "He's a Woman – She's a Man" | Meine, Herman Rarebell | 3:15 | |
8. | "Born to Touch Your Feelings" | Meine | 7:40 |
No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
9. | "Suspender Love" | Meine | 3:20 | |
10. | "Polar Nights" (live version from Tokyo Tapes ) | Roth | Roth | 6:56 |
Notes
Scorpions are a German hard rock band formed in Hanover in 1965 by guitarist Rudolf Schenker. The longest-existing, 1978–1992, and most successful line-up of the band included Schenker, Klaus Meine (vocals), Matthias Jabs, Francis Buchholz (bass), and Herman Rarebell (drums). The band's only continuous member has been Schenker, although Meine has been with the band continuously since their first album Lonesome Crow (1972). Jabs has been a consistent member since 1978, while bassist Paweł Mąciwoda and drummer Mikkey Dee have been in the band since 2003 and 2016, respectively.
Michael Schenker is a German guitarist. He played in the rock band UFO and leads the Michael Schenker Group (MSG). He was an early member of the hard rock band Scorpions, a band co-founded by his elder brother Rudolf Schenker. In the mid-1970s, Schenker joined UFO, playing lead and rhythm guitar. He left the band in 1978 to briefly rejoin Scorpions for the recording of Lovedrive, and then to form MSG. He has rejoined UFO three times, producing an album each time. Schenker continues to perform and record. He has been called "a legendary figure in the history of metal guitar."
Love at First Sting is the ninth studio album by German rock band Scorpions. It was released in February 1984 by Harvest and EMI Records in Europe and Mercury Records in the US. The album contains "Rock You Like a Hurricane", "Still Loving You", and "Big City Nights", three of the band's most famous songs.
Lovedrive is the sixth studio album by the German rock band Scorpions, released in 1979. Considered by some critics to be the pinnacle of their career, Lovedrive was a major evolution of the band's sound, exhibiting their "classic style" that would be later developed over their next few albums. Lovedrive cemented the "Scorpions formula" of hard rock songs combined with melodic ballads.
Still Loving You is a compilation album by the German hard rock band Scorpions.
Fly to the Rainbow is the second studio album by the German rock band Scorpions, released on 1 November 1974 by RCA Records. This was the band's first release with guitarist Uli Jon Roth and bassist Francis Buchholz, and the only one to include drummer Jürgen Rosenthal.
Klaus Meine is a German singer, best known as the longtime frontman and primary lyricist of the hard rock band Scorpions. Meine and guitarist Rudolf Schenker are the only two members of the group to appear on every Scorpions album, though he did not join the band until 1969, four years after its founding. Meine placed at number 22 on Hit Parader's 'Top Heavy Metal Vocalists of All Time' list in 2006.
Francis Buchholz is a German musician best known as the bass guitarist of German rock band Scorpions from 1973 until 1992. Since leaving Scorpions, he has been a member of Michael Schenker's Temple of Rock.
In Trance is the third studio album by German rock band Scorpions, released by RCA Records in 1975. The music was a departure from the progressive rock of the two previous albums. Instead, the album has a hard rock sound of shorter and tighter arrangements with which the band would achieve their global success and fame. Extended suites in the vein of songs such as "Lonesome Crow" and "Fly to the Rainbow" are absent altogether. This was the first of two studio albums to feature drummer Rudy Lenners, and the first album by the band to contain the now-famous logo and controversial artwork.
Animal Magnetism is the seventh studio album by German rock band Scorpions, released in 1980. The RIAA certified the record as Gold on 8 March 1984, and Platinum on 28 October 1991.
Tokyo Tapes is the first live album by German rock band Scorpions and their last release by RCA Records. It was also the final release to feature Uli Jon Roth, who left after the 27 April taping session.
World Wide Live is a live album by German rock band Scorpions, released in 1985. The original audio recording was produced by Dieter Dierks. A VHS was released at the same time with footage of Scorpions' world tour.
Uli Jon Roth is a German guitarist who became famous for his work with the hard rock band Scorpions and is one of the earliest contributors to the neoclassical metal genre. He is also the founder of Sky Academy and designer of the Sky Guitar. He is the older brother of fellow guitarist and artist Zeno Roth (1956–2018).
Matthias Jabs is a German musician, best known as the lead/rhythm guitarist of the hard rock band Scorpions. He has played on all but the first five Scorpions studio albums starting with Lovedrive (1979). He owns a music store, MJ Guitars, in Munich.
"Still Loving You" is a power ballad by the German hard rock band Scorpions. It was released in June 1984 as the second single from their ninth studio album, Love at First Sting (1984). The song reached number 64 on the Billboard Hot 100. It was most successful in Europe, reaching the top 5 in several countries.
Live at Wacken Open Air 2006 is a live DVD released by the German heavy metal band Scorpions. It was supposed to be released on 18 December 2007 but was delayed till 12 February 2008 for reasons undisclosed to the public.
Virgin Killer is the fourth studio album by the German rock band Scorpions, released in 1976 by RCA Records. It was the band's first album to attract attention outside Europe. The title is described as being a reference to time as the killer of innocence. The original cover featured a nude prepubescent girl, which stirred controversy in the United Kingdom, the United States, and elsewhere. As a result, the album was re-issued with a different cover in some countries.
The Platinum Collection is a compilation album by German hard rock band Scorpions, released in 2005, in Europe, Australia and South Africa.
Dawn Road was a German hard rock band playing neoclassicism, formed in February 1972. All four members of Dawn Road ended up playing in Scorpions, with bassist Francis Buchholz staying for 12 albums throughout their most commercially successful era, leaving the band in 1992 and later playing with among others guitarist Uli Jon Roth who had a successful solo career after leaving Scorpions in 1978.
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