Scorpions Full Album

[Patricia]

Thefollowing is a comprehensive discography of Scorpions, a German rock band. The band have released 19 studio albums, six live albums, 13 video albums, 29 compilation albums, one cover album, 92 singles and 43 music videos. They have sold between 75 and 100 million records worldwide.[1][2]

.mw-parser-output .citationword-wrap:break-word.mw-parser-output .citation:targetbackground-color:rgba(0,127,255,0.133)^ In France compilation albums are not listed on the Top 200 Albums Chart, but instead on a separate chart for compilation albums only. The French chart positions here for the compilation albums are their peak positions on the French Compilation Albums Chart.

Scorpions are a German hard rock band formed in Hanover in 1965 by guitarist Rudolf Schenker.[3] The lineup from 1978 to 1992 was the most successful incarnation of the group, and included Klaus Meine (vocals), Rudolf Schenker (rhythm guitar), Matthias Jabs (lead guitar), 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.

During the mid-1970s, with guitarist Uli Jon Roth (who replaced Schenker's younger brother Michael) part of the lineup, the music of the Scorpions was defined as hard rock.[4][5] After Roth's departure in 1978, Schenker and Meine took control of the group, giving them almost all the power to compose music and write lyrics. Matthias Jabs joined in 1978, and with the melodic rock he played and the influence of producer Dieter Dierks in the band, the Scorpions changed their sound to melodic heavy metal mixed with lyrical "power rock ballads", which is evident in the album Lovedrive (1979), which began the evolution of the band's sound, with recording a developed later in several of their albums. Michael Schenker also played on the Lovedrive album. Over the next decade, the band achieved influence, approval from music critics, and significant commercial success with the albums Animal Magnetism (1980), Blackout (1982), Love at First Sting (1984), the live recording World Wide Live (1985), Savage Amusement (1988), their best-selling compilation Best of Rockers 'n' Ballads (1989), and Crazy World (1990), all awarded at least one platinum award in the United States.[6][7] The band has released thirteen consecutive studio albums that were in the top 10 in Germany, one of which reached No. 1, as well as three consecutive albums that were in the top 10 in the Billboard 200 in the United States. Their latest studio album, Rock Believer, was released in February 2022.

Scorpions are estimated to have sold over 100 million records around the world, making them one of the best-selling hard rock and heavy metal bands.[8] One of their most recognized hits is "Wind of Change" (from Crazy World), a symbolic anthem of the political changes in Eastern Europe in the late 1980s and early 1990s and the fall of the Berlin Wall, and it remains as one of the best-selling singles in the world with over 14 million copies.[9][10] Two of the songs on their ninth studio album Love at First Sting, "Rock You Like a Hurricane" and "Still Loving You", are regarded as some of the most influential and popular works, both in heavy metal music and among rock ballads, defined as "rock anthem"[11] and "a true hymn of love", respectively.[12]

Rudolf Schenker, the band's rhythm/lead guitarist, launched the band in 1965. At first, the band had Merseybeat influences and Schenker himself handled the vocals. He played in a band with Lothar Heimberg before he founded Scorpions. Karl Heinz Vollmer left the band in 1967 because of his military obligations, then he could not associate anymore with the concerts and the military life.[13] Things began to come together in 1970 when Schenker's younger brother Michael and vocalist Klaus Meine, who had played together in the Led Zeppelin and Taste cover band Copernicus,[14] joined the band. With this line-up they won a music contest in 1972 and recorded two songs for a single that was never released on the CCA label, but the songs, "Action" and "I'm Going Mad" were later released on different compilation albums including Psychedelic Gems 2.

In 1972, the group recorded and released their debut album Lonesome Crow, with Lothar Heimberg on bass and Wolfgang Dziony on drums and re-recorded versions of their CCA songs.[15] During the Lonesome Crow tour, the Scorpions opened for up-and-coming British band UFO. Near the end of the tour, guitarist Michael Schenker accepted an offer of lead guitar for UFO. Uli Jon Roth, a friend of Michael's, was then introduced to the band and he helped them to finish off the tour.

The departure of Michael Schenker led to the breakup of the band. In 1973, Uli Roth, who had helped the Scorpions complete the Lonesome Crow tour, was offered the role as lead guitarist, but turned the band down, preferring instead to remain in the band Dawn Road. Rudolf Schenker eventually decided he wanted to work with Roth, but did not want to resurrect the last Scorpions lineup. He attended some of Dawn Road's rehearsals and ultimately decided to join the band, which consisted of Roth, Francis Buchholz (bass), Achim Kirschning (keyboards) and Jrgen Rosenthal (drums). Uli Roth and Buchholz persuaded Rudolf Schenker to invite Klaus Meine to join on vocals, which he soon did. While there were more members of Dawn Road than Scorpions in the band, they decided to use the Scorpions name because it was well known in the German hard rock scene and an album had been released under that name.[2]

In 1974, the new line-up released Fly to the Rainbow. The album proved to be more successful than Lonesome Crow and songs such as "Speedy's Coming" and the title track established the band's sound. Achim Kirschning decided to leave after the recordings. Soon after, Jrgen Rosenthal had to leave as he was drafted into the army. In 1976, he joined German progressive rock band Eloy recording three albums. He was replaced in July 1974 by Jrgen Fechter. In 1975, Rudy Lenners from Belgium became the next drummer.

That year, the band released In Trance, which marked the beginning of their long collaboration with German producer Dieter Dierks. The album was a huge step forward for the Scorpions and established their heavy metal formula. It garnered a fan base at home and abroad with cuts such as "In Trance", "Dark Lady" and "Robot Man".

In 1976, the Scorpions released Virgin Killer, the album cover of which featured a nude prepubescent girl behind a broken pane of glass. The cover art was designed by Stefan Bohle, who was the product manager for the West German division of RCA Records,[17] their label at the time. The cover brought the band considerable market exposure but was subsequently pulled or replaced in other countries. The album itself garnered widespread praise for its music from select critics and fan base. In 2008, the cover art on the English Wikipedia was briefly blacklisted by the Internet Watch Foundation, before reversing their decision 4 days later.

For the follow-up Taken by Force, RCA Records made a determined effort to promote the album in stores and on the radio. The album's single, "Steamrock Fever", was added to some of RCA's radio promotional records. Roth was not happy with the commercial direction the band was taking. Although he performed on the band's Japan tour, he departed to form his own band, Electric Sun prior to the release of the resultant double live album Tokyo Tapes. Tokyo Tapes was released in the US and Europe six months after its Japanese release. By that time in mid-1978, after auditioning around 140 guitarists, the Scorpions recruited Matthias Jabs, a veteran of the German rock scene who had played in the bands Lady and Fargo.[1]

Following the addition of Jabs, Scorpions left RCA for Mercury Records in the United States and EMI Records worldwide to record their next album Lovedrive. Just weeks after quitting UFO, Michael Schenker returned to the group for a short period during the recordings for the album. This gave the band three guitarists. Lovedrive was an album that some critics consider to be the pinnacle of their career.[18] Containing such fan favourites as "Loving You Sunday Morning", "Always Somewhere", "Holiday" and the instrumental "Coast to Coast", it firmly cemented the "Scorpions formula" of hard rock songs mixed with melodic ballads. Although it had been widely believed for decades that Michael Schenker's contribution to the record was only limited to three songs, he vehemently maintained he appeared on the whole album during an interview with satellite radio host Eddie Trunk.[19] The album's provocative artwork was named "Best album sleeve of 1979" by Playboy magazine, yet ultimately changed for American release. Lovedrive reached No. 55 on the US charts, demonstrating that the band was gathering an international following. After the completion and release of the album the band decided to retain Michael in the band, forcing Jabs to leave. However, in April 1979, during their tour in France, Michael quit again and Jabs was brought in permanently to replace him.

In 1980, the band released Animal Magnetism, again with a provocative cover this time showing a girl kneeling and a Doberman Pinscher sitting in front of a man. Animal Magnetism contained classics such as "The Zoo" and "Make It Real". Soon after the album's release, Meine began experiencing throat problems. He required surgery on his vocal cords and doubts were raised[by whom?] about whether he would ever sing again.

Meanwhile, the band began working on their next album, Blackout in 1981. A then-unknown Don Dokken was brought in to provide guide and backing vocals while Meine recovered.[20] Meine eventually healed completely and was able to finish the album. Blackout was released in 1982 and quickly became the band's best selling album to date, eventually going platinum. Meine's voice showed no signs of weakness and fan response to the album was good. Blackout spawned two singles: "No One Like You" and "Can't Live Without You".

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