Lovedrive

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Lovedrive
File:Scorpions-album-lovedrive.jpg
Studio album by Scorpions
Released January 15, 1979
Recorded Dierks Studios, Cologne, Germany, September–December 1978
Genre Hard rock, heavy metal
Length 36:30
Label Harvest/EMI (Europe)
Mercury (US)
Producer Dieter Dierks
Scorpions chronology
Tokyo Tapes (live)
(1978)String Module Error: Match not found1978		 Lovedrive
(1979)		 Animal Magnetism
(1980)Animal Magnetism1980
Michael Schenker chronology
Strangers in the Night
(1979)		 Lovedrive
(1979)		 The Michael Schenker Group
(1980)
Singles from Lovedrive
  1. "Is There Anybody There? / Can't Get Enough"
    Released: 1979
  2. "Is There Anybody There? / Another Piece of Meat"
    Released: May 1979 (UK)
  3. "Lovedrive / Coast to Coast"
    Released: August 1979 (UK)
  4. "Another Piece of Meat / Always Somewhere"
    Released: 1979
  5. "Loving You Sunday Morning / Coast to Coast"
    Released: March 1979
  6. "Lovedrive / Holiday"
    Released: 1980
Alternative cover
Alternative cover
Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic 4.5/5 stars[1]
Forces Parallèles 4/5 stars[2]

Lovedrive is the sixth studio album by the German hard rock band Scorpions, released in 1979. Considered by some critics to be the pinnacle of their career,[3] Lovedrive was a major evolution of the band's sound, exhibiting their "classic style" that would be later developed over their next few albums. Lovedrive cemented the "Scorpions formula" of hard rock songs combined with melodic ballads.

Lovedrive was the band’s first album to be released by Harvest/EMI following the band's departure from label RCA, and proved a major commercial breakthrough, reaching number 55 on the Billboard Top 200, which none of their previous five albums had dented at all. The RIAA certified the record as Gold on 28 May 1986,[4] and the album also proved a breakthrough in the UK where it was the first Scorpions album to chart and peaked at number 36.[5]

Lovedrive ranked 25 on IGN's 2007 list of the top 25 metal albums.[6]

Matthias Jabs & Michael Schenker

This is the first album to feature Matthias Jabs on lead guitar, and by extension, the first record to feature the band's "classic" lineup. Jabs replaced Uli Jon Roth, who went on to form his own band, Electric Sun.

Michael Schenker, younger brother of rhythm guitarist Rudolf, who had just split from UFO, recorded lead guitars on "Another Piece Of Meat," "Coast To Coast" and "Lovedrive." At the beginning of their German tour in February 1979 it was announced that Michael had rejoined the band. Scorpions had reluctantly parted with Matthias Jabs again. However, during the tour Michael once again informed his bandmates of his impending departure, which led to Jabs' return.

Cover art

The cover depicted a well dressed man and woman seated in the back of a car, with one of the woman's breasts exposed and connected to the man's hand by stretched bubblegum. The back cover featured the same man and woman, but holding a photograph of the band, and her left breast completely exposed (without the gum). It was created by Storm Thorgerson of the design firm Hipgnosis. It caused some controversy upon the album's release and was subsequently banned,[7] with later pressings of the album bearing a simple design of a blue scorpion on a black background.[8][9] The album's artwork was named "Best album sleeve of 1979" by Playboy magazine.[citation needed]

Recalling the cover photo with the woman and the car, Thorgerson remarked: "Not exactly the most politically correct scene you've ever seen. I thought it was funny, but women read a different inflection into it now."[9]

In a 2010 interview, singer Klaus Meine commented on the album cover, stating: "We just did not know it would be a problem in America, it was just sex and rock 'n' roll. It is odd that in America some of these covers were a problem, because in the 80's when we would tour here, we always had boobs flashed to us at the front of the stage. Nowhere else in the world, just here. We just did not think it would be a problem to put out a record like Lovedrive in America. Deadly Sting: The Mercury Years was banned at Wal Mart and Pure Instinct was banned as well."[7]

This is one of the few Scorpions album covers that was initially edited upon release in many places because of its controversial nature, only to have the original uncensored art restored for the remaster series.

Track listing

Side one
No. Title Writer(s) Length
1. "Loving You Sunday Morning"   Rudolf Schenker, Klaus Meine, Herman Rarebell 5:36
2. "Another Piece of Meat"   R. Schenker, Rarebell 3:30
3. "Always Somewhere"   R. Schenker, Meine 4:56
4. "Coast to Coast"   R. Schenker 4:42
Side two
No. Title Writer(s) Length
5. "Can't Get Enough"   R. Schenker, Meine 2:36
6. "Is There Anybody There?"   R. Schenker, Meine, Rarebell 3:58
7. "Lovedrive"   R. Schenker, Meine 4:49
8. "Holiday"   R. Schenker, Meine 6:32

Personnel

Band members
Production
  • Dieter Dierks - producer, engineer, mixing
  • Steve Fallone - mastering

Charts

Album

Year Chart Position
1979 German Albums Chart[10] 11
Swedish Albums Chart[11] 32
UK Albums Chart[12] 36
Billboard 200 (North America)[13] 55

Singles

Year Title Chart Position
1979 "Is There Anybody There / Another Piece of Meat"[14] UK Singles Chart 39
"Lovedrive"[15] 69

Certifications

Country Organization Year Sales
Germany BVMI 1984 Gold (+ 250,000)[16]
USA RIAA 1986 Gold (+ 500,000)[4]
France SNEP 1993 Gold (+ 100,000)[17]

References

  1. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 RIAA Gold and Platinum Search for albums by Scorpions. Retrieved on 2011-02-22.
  5. ↑ UK Album Charts: Scorpions
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  15. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  16. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  17. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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