Lonesome Crow [Original recording remastered]

Scorpions | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 29, 2002)
• Original Release Date: 1972
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Original recording remastered
• Label: Hip-O Records
• ASIN: B0000261N4
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (55 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #13,357 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Lonesome Crow is not just merely the first album from Germany's Number 1 Hard Rock export, but also the first ever Brain release, issued in 1972. Lonesome Crow is both highly coveted by record Collectors for the famous catalog number of Brain 1001 and also because it presents the Scorpions in a way we would never hear them again; rough and ready, with surprising twists and turns and unusual song structures. One can clearly hear the legendary talent and chemistry between Michael & Rudolf Schenker who were still "united in rock" at the time. Lonesome Crow certainly belongs in every music lovers' collection. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Early Scorpion's Masterpiece!, April 24, 2002

By 

highway_star (Hallandale, Florida United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Lonesome Crow (Audio CD)

First off let me repeat what another reviewer has said of this cd. This is not The Scorpions that put out songs such as "Rock You Like A Hurricane" or "No One Like You"! Granted several of the original members (Klause Meine, and Rudolf Schenker) remianed in the band but that's it. This cd represents a very young Scorpions. I hear some Black Sabbath influences from the then young guitarist extroardinaire Michael Schenker (16 years old). The drums and bass section in this band are the best that I've heard from The Scorpions. I agree with the above reviewer in that Wolfgang Dziony is a better drummer than Herman Rarebell and bassist Lothar Heimberg is a terrific bass player. Too bad these memebers didn't remain with The Scorpions throughout their RCA label days. I still prefer The 70's sounding Scorpions over the eighties rock they created. Albums such as "Fly To The Rainbow", "In Trance", and "Virgin Killer" are classics. Too bad RCA here in the U.S. doesn't get on the ball and remaster and re-issue those cd's. Now back to this cd. Songs such as the title track "Lonesome Crow"( at over 13 mins. long) are very guitar driven and the song itself is progressive in The Jethro Tull vein. Another standout cut is "In Search Of The Piece Of Mind". This is an acoustic guitar driven track with Klause Meine sounding topnotch as ever and Michael Schenker as usual adds his special guitar touch. The song "I'm Going Mad" has a nice chant at the beginning with Meine's vocals reduced somewhat. The chant continues through most of the song. And I can't help but hear that Tony Iommi (Black Sabbath) guitar influence in Schenker's playing. The remaining songs are also excellent but I repeat this cd is not for everyone. If you enjoy progressive and unusual sounding rock then pick this classic up before it becomes deleted. Highly recommended.

30 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Dark Industrial Masterpiece, April 24, 2002

By 

Tome Raider (California, United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Lonesome Crow (Audio CD)

There was an interesting book published a few years back entitled "Riff Kills Man." It was an exhaustive series of reviews for about a thousand hard rock/heavy metal albums. I agreed with the author on virtually every review. I then read his review of the Scorpions' first-ever album "Lonesome Crow." He royally ripped the album. I threw the book in the trash.

"Lonesome Crow" is a strange sort of musical madness. It has NO resemblance to anything else done by the Scorpions. Other than Meine's vocals, nothing will sound Scorpionsesque. And even the vocals are a different sort of primal angst.

I've often thought that so much of the monumental brilliance which can be attributed to the Beatles and the Stones has as its origin the post-World War II vibe which must have permeated England: a renewed sense of hope, optimism, a sense of thankfulness that they all survived Hitler and his menace. It was an environment of rebirth and expansion. The vibe and environment in Germany would have been the flip side: regret, dread, guilt, shame. Now, obviously, the members of the Scorpions would have been too young to have had any first-hand involvement in the War, but they grew up in a country which was getting re-oriented to its new role in the world. "Lonesome Crow" seems to capture some of the dark malaise and anger which must have consumed many young people who were born into all the turbulence.

I envision the album being recorded in some old warehouse which had twenty-some years earlier withstood the bombing as the manufacture of daggers and medals continued unabated within its thin corrugated steel walls. The Flying-V became an acceptable metaphor for rage and power and ambition as Germans with real weapons were anathema. The weird complex of emotions in a young German was something that could be best expressed in the sound of scorched-Earth electric guitar.

"Lonesome Crow" is--I fancy--the sixties devolution of what had previously been Soaring Eagle in the thirties. It is a sonic period-masterpiece. Sure, the later and more commercial Scorps is good nasty rock, but this is pure, historically significant music which is so distinct and penetrating that it ought to be on display at the Smithsonian. It is a post-War, Cold War, high-volume communique to the world that Germany would never put down her arms.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the most underrated albums of all time, October 5, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Lonesome Crow (Audio CD)

A far cry from the BLACKOUT and LOVEDRIVE sound, LONESOME CROW is definately an original on it's own. Some may even call it a masterpiece. This isn't for every Scorpions fan out there, it's an album that is dark, heavy, soulful, and down right bizarre. At the time of it's release, the Jimi Hendrix and the blues/jazz sound really dominated the airwaves and had a great effect on rock-n-roll. This is definately prevolent through out every track. This album showcases the incredible amount of talent each member possessed, especially Michael Schneker. Never on any UFO or MSG album have you heard Michael unleash his musical wizardry like this. The title track, "Action" and "It All Depends" highlights Michael's musical brilliance. Definately some of his best solos ever. The vocals of Klaus Meine are also something to behold. "I'm Goin' Mad" really shows off what Meine was made of before the commercial sound of the 80's. This album is a must have.