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7474 - SCORPIONS - Tokyo Tapes, Disc One (1978)

SCORPIONS
''TOKYO TAPES, DISC ONE''
1978
85:07

DISC ONE
1 All Night Long
Klaus Meine / Uli Jon Roth 3:43
2 Pictured Life
Klaus Meine / Uli Jon Roth / Rudolf Schenker 3:15
3 Backstage Queen
Klaus Meine / Rudolf Schenker 3:40
4 Polar Nights
Uli Jon Roth 6:55
5 In Trance
Klaus Meine / Rudolf Schenker 5:31
6 We'll Burn the Sky
Mabel Dannemann / Rudolf Schenker 8:12
7 Suspender Love
Klaus Meine / Rudolf Schenker 3:39
8 In Search of the Peace of Mind
Wolfgang Dziony / Lothar Heimberg / Michael Schenker / Rudolf Schenker 3:07
9 Fly to the Rainbow
Uli Jon Roth / Michael Schenker 9:45

DISC TWO
1 He's a Woman, She's a Man
Klaus Meine / Herman Rarebell / Rudolf Schenker 5:28
2 Speedy's Coming
Klaus Meine / Rudolf Schenker 3:37
3 Top of the Bill
Klaus Meine / Rudolf Schenker 6:44
4 Hound Dog
Jerry Leiber / Mike Stoller 1:22
5 Long Tall Sally
Robert "Bumps" Blackwell / Enotris Johnson / Little Richard 2:30
6 Steamrock Fever
Klaus Meine / Rudolf Schenker 3:52
7 Dark Lady
Uli Jon Roth 4:09
8 Kojo No Tsuki
Rentaro Taki 3:46
9 Robot Man
Klaus Meine / Rudolf Schenker 5:52

Francis Buchholz /Bass, Guitar (Bass)
Klaus Meine /Composer, Vocals
Herman Rarebell /Composer, Drums, Percussion
Uli Jon Roth /Composer, Guitar, Vocals
Rudolf Schenker /Composer, Guitar, Guitar (Rhythm), Vocals

REVIEW
by Eduardo Rivadavia
If you played in a hard rock band during the '70s, what were you likely to be doing circa 1978? Why, recording a live album, of course. Preferably a double vinyl set, and in Japan to boot. The Scorpions were no exception, and in fact, their Tokyo Tapes were captured only days after Cheap Trick's At Budokan in April 1978. Though hardly as inspired or successful, the Tokyo Tapes set still serves as an ideal greatest-hits collection of The Scorpions' first decade. This recording also showcases the spectacular playing (and occasionally, the dreadful singing) of guitarist Uli Jon Roth, who would soon leave the band for a misguided solo career, but displays some jaw-dropping technique here, most notably on the epic "We'll Burn the Sky." The rest of the band also puts in competent performances on such early standards as "In Trance," "Fly to the Rainbow," and "Speedy's Coming." The material on disc one is consistently strong, and though a number of pointless covers ("Houng Dog," "Long Tall Sally") and that most dreaded concert spectacle -- the drum solo -- break the flow on disc two, the band still closes strong with the crowd-pleasing Japanese folk song "Kojo No Tsuki" and frenetic versions of "Dark Lady" and "Robot Man." Ultimately, if you have any curiosity about The Scorpions' early material, Tokyo Tapes provides the perfect introduction.

BIOGRAPHY