Blackout (Scorpions album)
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| Scorpions studio album | ||||
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Publication |
March 29, 1982 |
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| Label (s) | EMI Records | |||
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Format (s) |
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Title (number) |
9 |
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running time |
36 min 44 s |
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Studio (s) |
March 1981 to February 1982 in the Villa San Pecaire in St. Jacques-Grasse, France |
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Blackout is the eighth studio album by the German hard rock band Scorpions , which was released in 1982. The production of this album, which singer Klaus Meine describes as one of the three most important of the band, was associated with a lot of time and problems. In the middle of the production, Meine lost his voice and was unable to work for the band for a whole year, half of which was not even certain that Meine would ever be able to sing again. This meant that the recording and the release of the album had to be postponed several times. After Meine recovered and finished production, he returned to the band with a "new voice" and completed the album with the spot-on title Blackout .
background
production
When the band met in March 1981, one year after the release of the album Animal Magnetism , to record a new album, the group was faced with a major problem: Even in the early phase of the album's recordings, singer Klaus Meine became more permanent due to the fact Overuse a cornea found on his vocal cords. So it was not possible for him to record the vocals for the work at first. At the request of the band, Dierks selected a house in southern France for the recordings - the Villa San Pecaire in a small town called St. Jacques-Grasse - for a "suitable studio in nice surroundings" . "There was a huge atmosphere, very relaxed, very open minded", Klaus Meine comments on the environment. But then the band got in the way of their singer's vocal cords. Later, Meine couldn't even speak to his bandmates and was forced to write down his messages. In order to give a sign of life in the meantime, the group recorded a single with Hey You , on which guitarist Rudolf Schenker can be heard as the singer, my voice is also represented in the background. Meanwhile, mine had to undergo two operations and numerous singing lessons to regain his voice. It was not until February 1982 that the recording of the song material could finally be finished. Mine in an interview with the New Musical Express : "Losing my voice was worse than losing a leg because I felt powerless, I had no more strength." After this incident, the singer's vocal range expanded.
Songwriting and characteristics of the lyrics
As on the previous album, all the songs were from the band members Scorpions written. An exception is the title track of the album, on the text of which Klaus Meine and Herman Rarebell also contributed to his girlfriend Sonja Kittelsen. The arrangements of the individual songs were all composed by guitarist Rudolf Schenker, while singer Klaus Meine contributed to all lyrics - with the exception of the two rarebell compositions You Give Me All I Need and Arizona . Blackout , Now! and Dynamite were created in collaboration with Rarebell. As on Animal Magnetism , some lyrics revolve around love ( No One Like You , You Give Me All I Need , Arizona ), but also a socially critical song ( China White ) and numerous "musical declarations of love" to the fans ( Can ' t Live Without You , Now! , Dynamite , When the Smoke is Going down ) are on the album Blackout included.
Album cover
The cover shows a self-portrait by the artist Gottfried Helnwein . Rudolf Schenker also depicts this in the music video No One Like You . Schenker on the cover: "We originally commissioned Hipgnosis for the artwork, but one morning I saw exactly this Helnwein painting in Stern . I called Klaus, we both were we immediately agreed: The picture is perfect for our new album! Helnwein added the motif according to our ideas and landed with it, just as we did with Blackout , a global success. "
tour
In 1982, the band embarked on a nine-month tour under the motto "Blackout". This tour was attended by 1.1 million viewers.
reception
The Melody Maker called my "new" voice as she had been "plated with the best stainless Krupp steel." In 2009 Christof Leim wrote in Metal Hammer that the album was "one of the highest quality hard rock works of all time, peppered with outstanding and multifaceted material." It is also "an album for the ages and the well-deserved breakthrough in the ranks of superstars."
The album has sold well over 6 million times worldwide. To date, around 3 million copies have been sold in the USA alone. It was the first of their albums back home to reach the top 10 at number 10 in Germany , after the two predecessors Lovedrive and Animal Magnetism only narrowly missed this target with number 11 and 12 respectively. It achieved the same position in the USA, where Blackout was certified platinum in 1984, and number 11 in Great Britain . It was also number 1 in France. Even in Mexico, the album was awarded gold. The song No One Like You was number 1 on the mainstream rock charts for a week and was the most played song on US radio in 1982. In 2011, Blackout was voted # 1 of the Best Guitar Albums of 1982 by Guitarworld magazine.
Track list
blackout
- 1. Blackout - 3:49
- 2. Can't Live Without You - 3:47
- 3. No One Like You - 3:57
- 4. You Give Me All I Need - 3:39
- 5. Now! - 2:35
- 6. Dynamite - 4:12
- 7. Arizona - 3:56
- 8. China White - 6:59
- 9. When the Smoke Is Going Down - 3:51
50th Anniversary Deluxe Edition bonus tracks
- 10. Blackout [Demo Version] - 4:03
- 11. Running For The Plane [Demo Song] - 4:07
- 12. Sugar Man [Demo Song] - 4:22
- 13. Searching For The Rainbow [Demo Song] - 3:56
Rock Pop in Concert DVD - 50th Anniversary Deluxe Edition bonus tracks
- 1. Blackout - 3:40
- 2. Loving You Sunday Morning - 4:46
- 3. Coming Home - 3:14 am
- 4. Always Somewhere - 4:11
- 5. Holiday - 3:04
- 6. Can't Live Without You - 6:34
- 7. Dynamite - 6:20
- 8. Can't Get Enough - 6:17
- 9. Make It Real - 3:33
- 10. The Zoo - 7:12 am
- 11. No One Like You - 3:53
- 12. Arizona - 3:47
- 13. The Story Of "Blackout" [Interviews with Klaus Meine, Rudolf Schenker, Matthias Jabs and Herman Rarebell] - 43:38
DVD:
- Track 1-10 Special Heavy Metal Night, December 17, 1983, Dortmund Westfalenhalle
- Track 11 & 12 Music Videos
Single releases
The album's first single was Can't Live Without You , titled China White as the B-side. Furthermore, Now! and No One Like You in 1982. The band made their first official music video for this song in 1983.
Other song versions and live recordings
Guitarist Rudolf Schenker could not decide on a specific guitar solo for the song China White , and so a different solo can be heard on the US version than on the European album version. The other version of the song was released in Europe. a. Released on the compilation Best of Rockers 'n' Ballads . On the remix album Still Loving You (1992) a new version of the song When the Smoke Is Going Down is included. The song Dynamite was instrumentally processed on the album Moment of Glory (2000) with the Berliner Philharmoniker in the title Deadly Sting Suite .
Live versions of the titles Blackout , Can't Live Without You , Dynamite and No One Like You were released on the live album World Wide Live in 1985 . The Live Bites album contains a live recording of When the Smoke Is Going Down . The USB stick A Night to Remember - Live in Essen , recorded in 2009, contains another live recording of the title track Blackout . The album Live 2011 also includes the tracks Blackout and When the Smoke is going down . The album Comeblack also contains the songs No on like you and Blackout .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Blackout Tour 1982 - 1983 on the band's official website ( Memento of the original April 15, 2013 Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link is automatically inserted and not yet tested. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ http://www.guitarworld.com/readers-poll-top-10-guitar-albums-1982#slide-9
- ↑ Overview of Scorpion's single Can't Live Without You on the band's official homepage ( Memento of the original from December 15, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Overview Scorpions Single Now! on the official band's homepage ( memento of the original from December 15, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Overview of Scorpion's single No One Like You on the band's official homepage ( memento of the original from December 15, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
