Reissues feature 12 album highlights from throughout their career on a variety of colored vinyl
Saying that Scorpions can look back on an eventful history as a band would be an understatement. Their spectacular story is now becoming a new and very colorful experience: With Colours of Rock, BMG is announcing the reissue of 12 album highlights by the legendary German hard rock band who have shaped the music world – now appearing on colored vinyl. Alongside versions of Fly To The Rainbow, In Trance, Virgin Killer and Humanity (Hour 1), remastered for the first time ever, are further handpicked treasures including Savage Amusement, World Wide Live, Love at First Sting, Blackout, Animal Magnetism, Lovedrive, Tokyo Tapes and Taken By Force. The reissued albums can be pre-ordered exclusively via Art of the Album starting on March 2nd. They will be released on May 5th, only days before Scorpions embark on the European leg of their Rock Believer World Tour, which had previously taken them across South America – from El Salvador via Colombia, Brazil and Argentina to Chile – during the first months of the year.
Relentless success, constant musical evolution, and ass-kicking performances worldwide – as colorful and eclectic as the career path of the biggest German rock band has been and still is to this day, just as multifaceted are the vinyl colors of these 12 reissues. The colors chosen for the vinyl versions not only reflect the iridescent band history, they are also paired with the style of the original artwork of each individual album.
A particular treat for hard-core Scorpions fans, of course, must definitely be the four albums remastered for the first time in history:
Scorpions’ second studio album Fly To The Rainbow from 1974 differs style-wise considerably compared to their debut Lonesome Crow. Although it marked a departure into a more experimental direction, the album displayed deep influences from hard rock and gave us a first glimpse of where the band’s music would be taking us in the future. It is the first album by Scorpions on which they alone were responsible for production. For the reissue, it is being released on transparent violet vinyl.
With In Trance, their subsequent third studio album, Scorpions made their breakthrough in Japan. The eponymous hit is joined on the album by “Night Lights,” the band’s first instrumental piece. It is the first work by Scorpions recorded together with producer Dieter Dierks, a longtime companion and business associate. The transparent vinyl of the new version brings back memories of the legendary original artwork by photographer Michael von Gimbut.
A remastered version of Scorpions’ shortest album is also being reissued on powder blue vinyl – the 35-minute Virgin Killer. The fourth studio album by the band from Hannover was released in 1976. It is their first album to go Gold in Japan. This took the group one step further away from their psychedelic roots and deeper into the realm of hard rock.
The remastered treasures are complemented by Humanity (Hour 1) which was released in 2007. The concept album was produced in Los Angeles by legendary producer dream team Desmond Child and James Michael. Klaus Meine was looking for a very modern sound, without wanting to lose the slightest bit of Scorpions’ character in the process. To achieve this, he combined the early Scorpions sound on this album with that of their later productions. The 21st studio album by the hard rock legends was pressed on gold vinyl for the new version.
The four remastered albums are joined by eight further carefully selected classics: Taken By Force on white vinyl, Tokyo Tapes on yellow vinyl, Lovedrive on red vinyl, Animal Magnetism on red vinyl, Blackout on crystal-clear vinyl, Love at First Sting on silver vinyl, For World Wide Live on transparent orange vinyl, and Savage Amusement on transparent light-blue vinyl.
Next month, their Rock Believer World Tour kicks off in South America. The European leg of the tour, with a total of 20 concerts, starts on May 9th in Lille, France.
