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CD reviews

Fly to the Rainbow

Scorpions - Fly to the Rainbow Audio CD

A fair review of the Scorpions "Fly to the Rainbow" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all Scorpions reviews here, or go back to the Scorpions tabs.

Band: Scorpions
Title: Fly to the Rainbow
Rating:

Release Date: 1988-02-22
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: Speedy's Coming 2: They Need a Million 3: Drifting Sun 4: Fly People Fly 5: This Is My Song 6: Far Away 7: Fly to the Rainbow

Scorpions unsurpassed ever since!
Probably just as well; the minute the rock aristocracy journos get their hands on something they run it into the ground and make it boring. Clearly this doesn't get enough attention in the Scorpions catalouge or in the hard rock lists. They can keep their The Wall and Sgt Pepper, I'll listen to masterpieces like this one. Fly to the rainbow, easily one of the best songs ever. . . Far away, They need a million. . . two other brilliant tracks. This is the best, most consistent thing the Scorps ever did.

Scorpions - Fly to the Rainbow
This album opens with arguably the best Scorpions song ever recorded in 'Speedy's Coming' and closes with hypnotic 'Fly to the Rainbow'. Another great early Scorpions album.

If you are a fan of the band you probably already owned this album on record or cassette tape growing up. It is definately worth the price to purchase on CD as the band sounds even cleaner than they already did on vinyl.

Scorpions get trippy...
They think of the MTV party rock they made in the 80s. When People think Scorpions they think "Rock You Like A Hurricane", they think "No One Like You", they think that german band that helped make the Berlin Wall collapse. Well forget about all of that and lets go back to 1974.

Most people don't even realize that Scorpions existed long before the 1980s, way before MTV and all of that hair metal garbage they have been oh so inaccuratly accused of spearheading. Infact the good ol' Scorps have been around since 65'. "Fly To The Rainbow" was their second LP that was released in 1974 and featured new axe wizard Uli Jon Roth and future prog rock drummer Jurgen Rothensal. This might just be the weirdest, freakiest and downright most bizzare music Scorpions have ever commited to wax, and wouldn't you know this prehaps is the most mindblowingly creative effort of the band and prehaps of the early 70s. This is nothing like the Scorpions that would gain fame post 79, with big hooks and lyrics paying ode to sex, no, this is Scorpions in a full-blown psychedelic prog-fest. "Fly To The Rainbow", much like the first record "Lonesome Crow", has much in common with the burgeoning ambient Kraut Rock genre, with element of Hendrix-like psychedelia mixed in. And to top it all off, the record is concept, with all 7 tracks laying out one's struggle to "fly over the rainbow to freedom", which is an allegory of escaping into West Germany. Lets look at the tracks. . . .

SPEEDY'S COMING
It all kicks off with this cool early Scorpions rocker about a female rock fan. Lyrics like "She likes Alice Cooper, She likes Ringo Star, She likes David Bowie & Freinds. . " are a hoot.

THEY NEED A MILLION
A lovely song. Starts off with some beautiful classical guitar melodies and then out of no where punches the listener with a churning electric guitar from Rudy. Rudolf Schenker also sings lead on this one.

DRIFTING SUN
The most psychedelic sounding song right here. It is a Roth penned tune, and he also sings lead. People slag his voice but I think it's great for this music. Klause sings back up on the chorus. The strange voices in the middle are Rudolf talking through a Leslie speaker cabinet. Awesome solo by Roth.

FLY PEOPLE FLY
A slow, mellow burner. Very peaceful with sweet vocals from Klause, and more of Roth's Hendrix styled guitar solos.

THIS IS MY SONG
This is another rocker, albiet with a strong progressive edge to it simular to old school Rush. The bass and drum playing from Bucholz and Rothensal is phenomenal.

FAR AWAY
Another peaceful song. I don't like it as much as the rest of the album but it is still a very well crafted song with nice vocal melodies from Klausie.

FLY TO THE RAINBOW
Here it is, the title track and best song on the album. This song is the mother of all Scorpions songs. It's a 9 minute epic on par with anything by bands like YES, GENESIS or ELP have ever done. It begins with a Dlyan-esque type folk deal, with Roth singing like one of Robin Hood's merry men. It then morphs into a monster, with daul harmonized guitars and galloping bass strait from h%ll, and you can see where Iron Maiden ripped it's entire sound off-of. Then it changes too slow,psychedelic introspection with Roth seducing the listener. Jon Uli Roth is the greatest lead guitarist on the planet, and he shows you why on this song. Amazing!

This is great. If you are wondering what this sounds like, don't wonder, just go out and get this. If you enjoy alot of Woodstock-era music, you will like this. If you like Scorpions, you will like this. If you enjoy anything with even an ounce of creativity poured into it you will like this. I love "Fly To The Rainbow", and it is my favorite Scorpions record by far. Future Scorpions is great aswell, but they were never this artistic ever again. Highly recommended!

.

real Scorpions
The songwriting was also much better back in the 70's. Before the Scorpions turned into another faceless hard rock 80's rock band, they were quite unique in the mid 70's the way they combined psychedelic, hippie and hard rock/heavy metal musical ideas. Hard rock that didn't sound cheesy but instead sounded really exciting and powerful.

The title song has some progressive rock elements, because the song builds to other musical themes, each one immediately fantastic upon hearing them. I love the lead singers voice on this track. "Speedy's Coming" is a really speedy metal song. This was before heavy metal became very ordinary and overstayed its welcome.

"This Is My Song" is probably the Scorpions idea of a pop/rock melody, and you know what, it works really well. The verse melody and chorus rules, and no one has mentioned it yet, but the guitar solo is REALLY melodic. "Far Away" truly rules. It's a very dreamy and psychedelic track that everyone should appreciate. I love the song.

Overall, the Scorpions of old are long gone, but the fantastic music remains available on compact disc all these years later.

A Scorpion is Born
" It is not as commercially known as their 1980's releases, but it is nonetheless packed full of great music driven by intricately woven guitar work around great drumming and vocals. You can hear the early talent of the Scorpions shining through on "Rainbow. I began listening to the music on Fly to the Rainbow as far back as 1983. . . and continue to play it today. It is definitely a keeper! .

You can see a complete list of all Scorpions discography, or go back to the Scorpions tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.