Fly to the Rainbow

Fly to the Rainbow is the second studio album by the German hard rock band Scorpions. It was released on 1 November 1974 through RCA Records. This was the band's first release with guitarist Uli Jon Roth and bassist Francis Buchholz, and the only one to include drummer Jürgen Rosenthal.

Fly to the Rainbow
Studio album by
Scorpions
Released1 November 1974
RecordedApril 1974
Studio
GenreHard rock[1][2]
Length40:47
LabelRCA
ProducerFrank Bornemann
Scorpions chronology
Lonesome Crow
(1972)		 Fly to the Rainbow
(1974)		 In Trance
(1975)
Singles from Fly to the Rainbow
  1. "Speedy's Coming"
    Released: 1975
  2. "Drifting Sun"
    Released: 1976
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[3]
Teraz Rock[4]

Background

In support of the Lonesome Crow album, Scorpions toured as the opening act for the British rock band UFO. At the end of the tour, Scorpions lead guitarist Michael Schenker was asked to fill an open position as UFO's guitarist and accepted the position.[5] Schenker's departure temporarily resulted in the breakup of the band but Rudolf Schenker and Klaus Meine ultimately merged with the band Dawn Road. The new band consisted of guitarist Uli Jon Roth replacing Michael as well as drummer Jürgen Rosenthal, keyboardist Achim Kirschnig and bass guitarist Francis Buchholz.[6] The new lineup assumed the Scorpions name and recorded Fly to the Rainbow. Three songs on Fly to the Rainbow were co-written with departing guitarist Michael Schenker as part of his agreement on leaving the band.

Artwork

When asked to comment on the cover art for the album, Uli Jon Roth said: "Don't ask me what that cover means… I disliked it from the beginning. It looked ludicrous to me back then and looks just as bad today. It was done by a firm of designers in Hamburg, who had actually done a good job on the Lonesome Crow album before, but I think that time they failed miserably. As for the meaning, I can only guess, but I'd rather not…"[7]

Live performances

Six songs from Fly to the Rainbow were regularly performed live by Scorpions: the title track, "Speedy's Coming", "They Need a Million", "This Is My Song", and "Drifting Sun". "Far Away" was already performed by early lineups with Michael Schenker, since at least 1973. The live versions of "Speedy's Coming" and the title track appear on the live album Tokyo Tapes, which was recorded in April 1978. Soon afterwards, Scorpions dropped these songs from their setlist. Between 1980 and 1999, nothing from Fly to the Rainbow appeared in Scorpions concerts.[8] Following a one-off performance of They Need a Million on 7 June 1999 at Patinoire de Kockelscheuer, Luxembourg,[9] the title tune and "Speedy's Coming" were performed a number of times between 2000 and 2008. "Speedy's Coming" was played with relative frequency from 2015 to 2019.[10]

Track listing
Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Speedy's Coming"Rudolf Schenker, Klaus Meine3:36
2."They Need a Million"R. Schenker, Meine4:50
3."Drifting Sun"Ulrich Roth7:42
4."Fly People Fly"Michael Schenker, Meine5:03
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
5."This Is My Song"R. Schenker, Meine4:18
6."Far Away"M. Schenker, R. Schenker, Meine5:38
7."Fly to the Rainbow"M. Schenker, Roth9:40

Personnel

Scorpions

Additional musician

  • Achim Kirschning – organ, Mellotron, synthesizers

Production

  • Mack – engineer
  • Horst Andritschke – engineer

Charts
Chart (1976) Peak
position
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[11] 83

References
  1. Heatley, Michael (1996). The Virgin Encyclopedia of Rock: The World's Most Comprehensive Illustrated Rock Reference. Virgin. p. 134. ISBN 9781852276669.
  2. Rivadavia, Eduardo. "Fly to the Rainbow Review". AllMusic. Retrieved 15 October 2021.
  3. Rivadavia, Eduardo (2011). "Fly to the Rainbow – Scorpions | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 2 July 2011.
  4. GAJEWSKI, MARCIN (2011). "Teraz Rock | jedyne pismo rockowe w Polsce". terazrock.pl. Retrieved 2 July 2011.
  5. Trunk, Russell A. "Scorpions: Yet Another Sting in the Tale!". Annecarlini.com. Retrieved 12 May 2008.
  6. Syrjälä, Marko. "Interview with Francis Buchholz". Metal-rules.com. Archived from the original on 18 June 2012. Retrieved 12 May 2008.
  7. Jeb Wright. "Uli Jon Roth: Surviving the Scorpions Sting". Archived from the original on 13 June 2007. Retrieved 14 July 2007.
  8. "Scorpions Album Statistics". Setlist.fm. Retrieved 30 November 2021.
  9. "They Need a Million by Scorpions Song Statistics". Setlist.fm. Retrieved 30 November 2021.
  10. "Scorpions Tour Statistics". Setlist.fm. Retrieved 30 November 2021.
  11. Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970–2005 (in Japanese). Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. 2006. ISBN 4-87131-077-9.
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