''Lonesome Crow'' is the debut studio album by the German

hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a loosely defined subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the garage, psychedelic and blues rock movements. Some of the earliest hard ...

band

Scorpions Scorpions are predatory arachnids of the order Scorpiones. They have eight legs, and are easily recognized by a pair of grasping pincers and a narrow, segmented tail, often carried in a characteristic forward curve over the back and always end ...

. It was recorded soon after Scorpions became a fully professional band under the production of

Conny Plank Konrad "Conny" Plank (3 May 1940 – 5 December 1987) was a German record producer and musician. He is known for his innovative work as a sound engineer and producer in Germany's krautrock and kosmische music scene in the 1970s. Plank was invo ...

, apparently in only six or seven days, and released 9 February 1972 in 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 Michael Schenker (born 10 January 1955) is a German guitarist. He played in the rock band UFO and leads the Michael Schenker Group. He was an early member of the hard rock band Scorpions, a band co-founded by his elder brother Rudolf Schenker. ...

– just 16 at the time of the recording – as a full-time member. He soon left to join

UFO An unidentified flying object (UFO), more recently renamed by US officials as a UAP (unidentified aerial phenomenon), is any perceived aerial phenomenon that cannot be immediately identified or explained. On investigation, most UFOs are id ...

and was replaced by

Ulrich Roth Uli Jon Roth (born Ulrich Roth; 18 December 1954) is a German guitarist who became famous for his work with the hard rock band Scorpions and is one of the earliest contributors to the neoclassical metal genre. He is also the founder of Sky A ...

. Schenker would, however, rejoin briefly during the recording and touring of 1979's ''

Lovedrive ''Lovedrive'' is the sixth studio album by German band Scorpions, released in 1979. Considered by some critics to be the pinnacle of their career, ''Lovedrive'' was a major evolution of the band's sound, exhibiting their "classic style" that wo ...

''. Michael Schenker in later years has spoken bitterly about not getting his proper writing credit, with a blanket "all songs by Scorpions" when in his mind many of the songs were written by himself and Klaus alone. In particular Michael cites "In Search of the Peace of Mind" remaining, unjustly, in the Scorpions set list for years when it's in reality, his song. Apart from these 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 recording

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 Rodney Matthews (born 6 July 1945) is a British illustrator and conceptual designer of fantasy and science-fiction. Career Trained at the West of England College of Art, Matthews worked in advertising for Plastic Dog Graphics before turning ...

Track listing

''The Original Scorpions'' 1981 Japanese reissue

Personnel

Credits for ''Lonesome Crow'' adapted from

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

. Credits: ''Lonesome Crow'' Allmusic. Retrieved on 2011-11-24. Scorpions *

Klaus Meine Klaus Meine (born 25 May 1948) is a German singer and songwriter, best known as the longtime frontman of the hard rock band Scorpions. Meine and guitarist Rudolf Schenker are the only two members of the group to appear on every Scorpions album, ...

– vocals *

Rudolf Schenker Rudolf Schenker (born 31 August 1948) is a German guitarist and founder of the hard rock band Scorpions. He is the rhythm guitarist, primary songwriter and longest-serving original member of the band. He is also the CEO/owner-manager of the Sco ...

– rhythm guitar *

– lead guitar *Wolfgang Dziony – drums *Lothar Heimberg – bass guitar Production *

– producer *Willem Makkee – mastering

References

{{Authority control 1972 debut albums Scorpions (band) albums Albums produced by Conny Plank Albums with cover art by Rodney Matthews Brain Records albums