SCORPIONS – Fly To The Rainbow / In Trance / Virgin Killer / Taken By Force / Tokyo Tapes
June 20, 2023, a year ago
(BMG)
Although the Scorpions enjoyed their most commercial success throughout the ‘80s (and up to/including the early ‘90s), the ‘70s saw the arrival of their heaviest albums – featuring the supreme guitar skills of Uli Jon Roth. And as part of a new reissue campaign dubbed “Colours Of Rock,” all five Uli-era Scorps albums have been re-released individually on colored (or ‘coloured,’ for non-North Americans) vinyl.
The albums that are part of the series include the studio efforts Fly To The Rainbow (1974), In Trance (1975), Virgin Killer (1976) [note: it is the ‘band photo’ used for the reissue’s cover, not the controversial original image], and Taken By Force (1977), as well as the live double-disc Tokyo Tapes (1978). And sonically, all have been remastered for the first time from original master tapes.
With Roth’s songwriting and soloing contributions, an unmistakable Jimi Hendrix-y vibe is detected – especially on such standout tracks as “Dark Lady,” “Hell Cat,” and “I’ve Got to Be Free.” But the best tune of all remains “The Sails Of Charon,” which sounds unmistakably similar to Yngwie Malmsteen years before the Swedish guitarist and his Strat arrived on the scene.
And with seemingly every rock band issuing a now-classic live set during the ‘70s, the Scorpions’ contribution, Tokyo Tapes, measured up well to other classic concert recordings from the era (UFO’s Strangers in the Night, Thin Lizzy’s Live And Dangerous, Judas Priest’s Unleased In The East, etc.).
