Taken by Force

Taken by Force is the fifth studio album by German band Scorpions, released by RCA Records in 1977. This was the first Scorpions album to feature drummer Herman Rarebell and the final studio album to feature guitarist Uli Jon Roth. Roth left the band in 1978 following the end of the album's tour, and was at first replaced by Michael Schenker and later by Matthias Jabs.

Taken by Force
Studio album by
ReleasedDecember 1977
RecordedJune–October 1977
StudioDierks Studios, Stommeln, West Germany
GenreHard rock, heavy metal
Length39:05
LabelRCA
ProducerDieter Dierks
Scorpions chronology
Virgin Killer
(1976)
Taken by Force
(1977)
Lovedrive
(1979)
Singles from Taken by Force
  1. "He's a Woman – She's a Man"
    Released: 1977
  2. "The Sails of Charon"
    Released: 1978 (Japan)
Alternative cover
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]

The lyrics to "We'll Burn the Sky" were initially a poem written by Monika Dannemann, the last girlfriend of Jimi Hendrix , as a tribute to him after he died.

Artwork

The album cover photography was taken by Michael von Gimbut;[2] his third Scorpions album cover commission. Like their previous two albums, Taken by Force caused controversy with its cover art which again resulted in the artwork being replaced in most markets with an alternative cover using photographs of the band members. The band's former lead guitarist Uli Jon Roth defended the original artwork in a 2008 interview, stating:

I think the original idea was children playing with guns at a military cemetery in France and some people found that offensive. I don't think it's offensive because I think it was actually a quite a good image because it puts war totally into perspective; very often it is young people, eighteen, nineteen, going to war that don't fully understand life. When you're fifteen you don't fully understand life, but these guys then have to shoot other people simply because someone tells them to do it for their country. Politicians are sometimes also children with guns, in all periods of time a lot of politicians are far too trigger happy and war too easily becomes an "easy solution", whereas for me it should never be a solution, there should be no war in the first place. Maybe every once in a while a country may need to defend itself, I understand that, but in general if you consider that there are over a hundred wars raging in the present day on this planet alone then it's just sheer lunacy and always the tool of the Dark Side. Usually bad things come from war, very few good things, but sometimes good things come from bad things, that's true, nothing's that black and white. It's always the wrong solution to kill people.[3]

Track listing

Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Steamrock Fever"Rudolf Schenker, Klaus Meine3:37
2."We'll Burn the Sky"Schenker, Monika Dannemann6:26
3."I've Got to Be Free"Ulrich Roth4:00
4."The Riot of Your Time"Schenker, Meine4:09
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
5."The Sails of Charon" (most copies have a 4:23 edited version)Roth5:16
6."Your Light"Roth4:31
7."He's a Woman – She's a Man"Schenker, Meine, Herman Rarebell3:15
8."Born to Touch Your Feelings"Schenker, Meine7:40
2001 CD reissue bonus tracks
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
9."Suspender Love"Schenker, Meine3:20
10."Polar Nights" (live version from Tokyo Tapes)Roth6:56

Notes

  • Most versions feature an edited version of "The Sails of Charon". The editing removes an introduction of wind-like sound effects performed on guitar. Similar sound effects can be heard at the end of the song.
  • On "Born to Touch Your Feelings" guest women's voices can be heard. They are performed by some friends and fans: Junko and Mutsumi from Japan, Esther from Suriname, Rosa from Rome, Susan from L.A., and Leila from Tahiti.

Personnel

Scorpions

Production

Cover versions

References

  1. Hill, Gary. "Scorpions - Taken by Force review". AllMusic. Retrieved 28 September 2011.
  2. Taken By Force (Media notes). Scorpions. Japan: Breeze Music for Toshiba EMI Limited. 2001. TOCP-53202.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  3. Syrjälä, Marko. "Interview with Uli Jon Roth". Metal-rules.com. Archived from the original on 26 November 2010. Retrieved 12 May 2008.
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