Scorpions: Rise to popularity (1974-1978)
In 1974 the new line-up of Scorpions 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 began to establish the band's sound. Soon after, Jurgen Rosenthal had to leave as he was being drafted into the army, and was replaced by a Belgian drummer, Rudy Lenners. It wasn't until the following year that the band hit their stride with the release of In Trance. In Trance marked the beginning of Scorpions' long collaboration with German producer Dieter Dierks. The album was a huge step forward for Scorpions and firmly established their hard rock formula, while at the same time garnering a substantial fan base, both at home and abroad. Cuts such as "Dark Lady", "Robot Man" and the title track are still considered classics by fans today.
In 1976, Scorpions released Virgin Killer. The album's cover, which featured a fully nude prepubescent girl, brought the band considerable criticism and was ultimately pulled or replaced in several countries. In spite of the controversy - lead singer Klaus Meine even expressed shock - the album garnered significant praise from critics and fans alike. The following year, Rudy Lenners resigned due to health reasons and was replaced by Herman Rarebell.
The follow-up to Virgin Killer, Taken by Force, was the first Scorpions record to be aggressively promoted in the United States. RCA Records, The band's label, made numerous efforts 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. RCA also supervised the album cover design avoiding any controversy by including introduction-type photographs that included the names of each member under individual photos. Roth was not happy with the label's efforts and 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, Scorpions recruited new guitarist Matthias Jabs.
In 1974 the new line-up of Scorpions 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 began to establish the band's sound. Soon after, Jurgen Rosenthal had to leave as he was being drafted into the army, and was replaced by a Belgian drummer, Rudy Lenners. It wasn't until the following year that the band hit their stride with the release of In Trance. In Trance marked the beginning of Scorpions' long collaboration with German producer Dieter Dierks. The album was a huge step forward for Scorpions and firmly established their hard rock formula, while at the same time garnering a substantial fan base, both at home and abroad. Cuts such as "Dark Lady", "Robot Man" and the title track are still considered classics by fans today.
In 1976, Scorpions released Virgin Killer. The album's cover, which featured a fully nude prepubescent girl, brought the band considerable criticism and was ultimately pulled or replaced in several countries. In spite of the controversy - lead singer Klaus Meine even expressed shock - the album garnered significant praise from critics and fans alike. The following year, Rudy Lenners resigned due to health reasons and was replaced by Herman Rarebell.
The follow-up to Virgin Killer, Taken by Force, was the first Scorpions record to be aggressively promoted in the United States. RCA Records, The band's label, made numerous efforts 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. RCA also supervised the album cover design avoiding any controversy by including introduction-type photographs that included the names of each member under individual photos. Roth was not happy with the label's efforts and 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, Scorpions recruited new guitarist Matthias Jabs.
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