Lonesome Crow


Lonesome Crow is the debut album by German hard 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 9 February 1972 in the United States and West Germany as the soundtrack to the German anti-drug movie Das Kalte Paradies, and May 1973 in the United States. The album's style is darkly melodic, typical for early Scorpions but unlike their later work.

Background

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. 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.
Apart from 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.
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, and The Original Scorpions, with a different running order, for a Japanese release in 1981 and its first-ever CD issue in 1986. The 1982 German reissue cover art was created by the artist Rodney Matthews.
"My biggest skeleton in the closet is my Scorpions collection," confessed Uffe Cederlund of Swedish death metal band Entombed. "Actually, I have four different pressings of the first album, Lonesome Crow. In fact – and I've got to admit this, really – I still like them, too."

Track listing

Personnel

Credits for Lonesome Crow adapted from Allmusic.
Scorpions
Production