Lonesome Crow

Artist: Scorpions
Label: Universal
Category: Music

Average customer rating:

Format: Import
Media: Audio CD
Number Of Discs: 1
EAN: 4988005389732
ASIN: B0007WZUU6

Release Date: 2005-06-28

Lonesome Crow

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| Rock | Styles | Music

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Hard Rock

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Tracks:

I'm Going Mad
It All Depends
Leave Me
In Search of the Peace of Mind
Inheritance
Action
Lonesome Crow

Album Description

Limited Japanese reissue of 1972 debut album, remastered and packaged in a miniature LP sleeve. Brain. 2005.

Customer Reviews:

The Scorpions - in the beginning.......2005-12-30

Lonesome Crow (1972.) The first Scorpions studio album.

INTRODUCTION:
The Scorpions are legends of classic hard rock and heavy metal. Formed in Hanover, Germany in 1965, it's not likely the young musicians knew the legendary status they would one day rise to. Vocalist Klaus Meine joined forces with rhythm guitarist Rudolf Schenker, and one of the most legendary rock collaborations began. When Rudolf's younger brother Michael left his old band, Copernicus, to work with his older brother, all the tools were in place to make hard rock history. Klaus Meine decided from the beginning to write all of his lyrics in English to make the music more accessible - a move that would certainly work well in years to come. The band's debut album, Lonesome Crow, was released in 1972. Unfortunately for the group, the debut achieved only modest success - true stardom was still a few years off. The Scorpions sound fans would one day knew and love didn't exist yet. Despite this, how is the band's first album? Read on and find out!

OVERVIEW:
The Scorpions released their first studio album, Lonesome Crow, in 1972. Conny Plank produced the record. The album featured vocalist Klaus Meine, rhythm guitarist Rudolf Schenker, lead guitarist Michael Schenker, bassist Lothar Heimberg, and drummer Wolfgang Dziony. This was the only album to feature Michael Schenker as a full-time member of the band - he would be replaced by Ulrich Jon Roth on the albums that followed. Likewise, after this album, Lothar Heimberg and Wolfgang Dziony would be replaced by Francis Buchholz and Jurgen Rosenthal, respectively. The tracklist for the band's debut album consisted of I'm Going Mad, It All Depends, Leave Me, In Search Of The Peace Of Mind, Inheritance, Action, and Lonesome Crow.

REVIEW:
If you're a part of the Rock You Like A Hurricane crowd, and you know only the popular material the Scorpions recorded, listening to Lonesome Crow will definitely come as a shock to you. The band, in their infancy was a totally different band from the one that has since gained worldwide fame. In their earlier days, rather than the arena-oriented classic hard rock sound that they would use in their eighties heyday, the group was a much darker-sounding one. In many ways, they resembled their British contemporaries Black Sabbath more than their later selves. Despite this, Lonesome Crow is an EXCELLENT debut album - definitely one of the finest rock records of its day. Keep reading for track information:

-SIDE A-

-I'm Going Mad: The band's first album starts strong - no questions asked. From this point forward, it will become obvious to the listener that this isn't the same band they are likely familiar with! The melodies here are catchy, and they, along with the chanting and occasional "spoken word" style vocal give the song a unique feel all its own. A great way to introduce the listener to this early phase of the band that is unfamiliar to most.

-It All Depends: This is the straightforward hard rock of the day, with that gloomy undertone that only adds to the charm of the listening experience. It sounds like a Black Sabbath clone in many aspects (I can totally picture Ozzy singing this!), but with the Klaus Meine vocals, it remains uniquely a Scorpions tune. Still, you can see the Tony Iommi influence in the Schenker Brothers' guitar playing all the way through. Definitely one of my favorite songs this early incarnation of the group served up.

-Leave Me: This is one of the slowest and gloomiest pieces on the album, and it introduces electronic background instrumentation. With electronic sounds usually being relegated to poppy, happy music, you'd think these two musical extremes would come back and explode in the band member's faces. The scary thing? The two sounds complement each other beautifully! Only the Scorpions could pull this off, and only in this day and age. Hard to believe the band that did this song would fall into the category of AOR only a decade later!

-In Search Of The Peace Of Mind: Once again, the band is slow and gloomy here. Acoustic guitars and loud bass are the primary form of instrumentation used in this piece. It's a shame that Lothar Heimberg didn't achieve any major fame with the band, because his bass playing on this song is EXCELLENT. It's one of those things you have to hear to appreciate. Even once the song becomes electric, it's still the acoustic guitar and Heimberg's bass that keep things together and interesting. Another interesting piece from this early phase of the band.

-SIDE B-

-Inheritance: From the beginning, this song starts exactly where the last one left off. But the sound gradually begins to differentiate from the previous song, and before long, the electric guitars of Michael Schenker reign supreme. This is an interesting transitional piece that combines the slower, gloomier sound of the band in this era with their harder, heavier sound of the same era. Definitely essential listening.

-Action: Once again, Lothar Heimberg steals the show with his bass playing - something that was definitely not prevalent enough on later Scorpions recordings. Combine this with equally-powerful contributions from the other members of the band, and the end result is definitely a worthwhile listen. From start to finish, the band rocks on this one.

-Lonesome Crow: The album's title track, also its finale, exceeds thirteen minutes in length! And from start to finish, the band keeps the experience fresh and enjoyable to listen to. For its length duration, the song's sound shifts dramatically on a number of occasions, which is excellent because it allows each member of the band to show off his skills. Michael Schenker's guitar playing here is particularly excellent - definitely a prelude to the successes he'd achieve with UFO, and later, with his own band. A strong, solid way to finish a great album.

OVERALL:
Overall, Lonesome Crow is definitely not the Scorpions that most of their mainstream fans know and love. And despite this, it is an excellent record - definitely one of the finest pieces of music to emerge from its era, and a prelude to the band's later successes. If you're a fan of the band and you want to experience their music from the very beginning, pick up Lonesome Crow. Although unappreciated and often jeered just because it "doesn't sound like the band's popular material," it is a solid release from start to finish. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

EDITION NOTES:
Sadly, most of the pre-Lovedrive Scorpions albums are long out of print in America, and are extremely hard to come by in the States. Fortunately, for most of them, imported reissues are readily available in stores that carry imports, as well as on most online stores. Although very difficult to find in stores in America, they aren't too tough to come by online. And in many cases, they have been reissued with expanded liner notes, and in some instances, bonus tracks. The standard American release of this album (which is becoming increasingly scarce) lacks these fancy bonuses, but if you can find it, you can usually get it for a good price.

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