Lonesome Crow | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | 29 February 1972 [1] | |||
Recorded | October 1971 | |||
Studio | Star Studios (Hamburg, West Germany) | |||
Genre | Psychedelic rock | |||
Length | 40:37 | |||
Label | Brain | |||
Producer | Conny Plank | |||
Scorpions chronology | ||||
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Michael Schenker chronology | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [2] |
Forces Paralleles | [3] |
Lonesome Crow is the debut studio album by the German rock band Scorpions. It was recorded soon after Scorpions became a fully professional band under the production of Conny Plank, apparently in only six or seven days, and released on 29 February 1972 in West Germany as the soundtrack to the German anti-drug movie Das Kalte Paradies, [4] and May 1973 in the United States. The album's style is darkly melodic, typical for early Scorpions but unlike their later work. [2]
It is the band's only album with lead guitarist Michael Schenker – just 16 at the time of the recording – as a full-time member. [5] He soon left to join UFO and was replaced by Ulrich Roth. Schenker would, however, rejoin briefly during the recording and touring of 1979's Lovedrive .
With Lonesome Crow, we were just a young band trying to find our way, trying to shape an artistic style to find the Scorpions DNA. There was a ballad with "In Search of the Peace of Mind", and a psychedelic rocker with the title track, "I’m Goin' Mad", [which] was a great rocker with Michael Schenker playing great solos. We were just a young band with talented guys, with no idea on where to go from here. For the subsequent album, Fly to the Rainbow , we brought in Uli Roth, who had a Hendrix influence, and Rudolf and I became a songwriter team. When Matthias Jabs joined the band, we found our style, fast riffs but great melodies, along with the power ballads.
— Klaus Meine [6]
Michael Schenker in later years has spoken bitterly about not getting his proper writing credit, with a blanket "all songs by Scorpions" when in his mind many of the songs were written by himself and Klaus alone. In particular Michael cites "In Search of the Peace of Mind" remaining, unjustly, in the Scorpions set list for years when it's in reality, his song. Apart from these occasional performances of "In Search of the Peace of Mind" up to 1978 and between 1996 and 2006, Scorpions have played no song from Lonesome Crow since the tour in support of their third album In Trance. [7]
The songs "Action" and "I'm Goin' Mad" are re-recordings of the songs for their unreleased 1970 single on CCA label that were later released on the compilation Psychedelic Gems 2, making them the earliest released Scorpions recordings.
The album had several different sleeves and was re-titled Action for its initial release in Scandinavia, The Scorpions for one 1976 release, [8] and The Original Scorpions, with a different running order, for a Japanese release in 1981 and its first-ever CD issue in 1986. [9] The 1982 German reissue cover art was created by the artist Rodney Matthews.
All tracks are written by Scorpions (1972 Metronome Music)
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "I'm Goin' Mad" | 4:53 |
2. | "It All Depends" | 3:30 |
3. | "Leave Me" | 5:06 |
4. | "In Search of the Peace of Mind" | 4:59 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
5. | "Inheritance" | 4:41 |
6. | "Action" | 3:56 |
7. | "Lonesome Crow" | 13:31 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Action" | 3:56 |
2. | "It All Depends" | 3:30 |
3. | "Lonesome Crow" | 13:31 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
4. | "I'm Goin' Mad" | 4:53 |
5. | "Leave Me" | 5:06 |
6. | "In Search of the Peace of Mind" | 4:59 |
7. | "Inheritance" | 4:41 |
Credits for Lonesome Crow adapted from Allmusic. [10]
Scorpions are a German hard rock band formed in Hanover in 1965 by guitarist Rudolf Schenker. The lineup from 1978 to 1992 was the most successful incarnation of the group, and included Klaus Meine (vocals), Rudolf Schenker, Matthias Jabs, Francis Buchholz (bass), and Herman Rarebell (drums). The band's only continuous member has been Schenker, although Meine has appeared on all of Scorpions' studio albums, while Jabs has been a consistent member since 1978, and bassist Paweł Mąciwoda and drummer Mikkey Dee have been in the band since 2003 and 2016 respectively.
Unbreakable is the fifteenth studio album by German hard rock band Scorpions, released in 2004. In this release, Scorpions return to the style of music of their most successful albums, after experimenting with many different concepts and influences in the 1990s. This was the first album with Paweł Mąciwoda on bass guitar. Despite critical acclaim and extensive touring of the album, Unbreakable was not a big hit on the charts.
Blackout is the eighth studio album by the German rock band Scorpions. It was released in 1982 by Harvest and EMI Records.
Love at First Sting is the ninth studio album by German rock band Scorpions. It was released in March 1984 on Harvest/EMI in Europe and Mercury 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 hard 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.
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.
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.
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.
Humanity: Hour I is the sixteenth studio album by German hard rock band Scorpions, which was released in Europe on 14 May 2007 and in the United States and Canada on 28 August 2007. Humanity: Hour 1 is a concept album based on a loose storyline by Desmond Child and futurist Liam Carl, which predicts a world torn apart by a civil war between humans and robots. This apocalyptic nightmare serves as a warning shot to all humanity, whose only hope of survival is to reclaim our humanity.
Gold is a compilation album by German hard rock band Scorpions. It was released in 2006 on Hip-O Records.
Bad for Good: The Very Best of Scorpions is a compilation album by the German heavy metal band Scorpions, released in 2002 by Hip-O Records. The final two songs, "Cause I Love You" and the title track are new tracks and were written for the compilation.
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.
Sting in the Tail is the seventeenth studio album by German hard rock band Scorpions. It was released on 19 March 2010 in Europe and on 23 March in North America. At the time it was intended to be a farewell album, released prior to their farewell tour.
Return to Forever is the eighteenth studio album by German rock band Scorpions. It was released in Europe on 20 February 2015. The album marks the final release of the band to feature the Unbreakable-era lineup with longtime drummer James Kottak leaving the band in September 2016, being replaced by former Motörhead drummer Mikkey Dee.
Born to Touch Your Feelings: Best of Rock Ballads is a compilation album by German rock band Scorpions. It includes the most popular Scorpions ballads, with a brand new acoustic studio version of the song "Send Me an Angel", a new full band studio version of the song "Follow Your Heart" and two brand new songs "Melrose Avenue" and "Always Be with You" that were written specifically for this compilation.