The Scorpions : Lovedrive (50th Anniversary Deluxe Edition)
GOLD AND MONEY
Lovedrive
is the sixth
studio album
by the
German
rock band
The Scorpions,
released in 1979.
Considered by
some critics
to be
the pinnacle
of their career,
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 Records
in Europe
and
Mercury Records
in the
United States
and Canada
following the band's
departure
from RCA.
It proved to be a
major
commercial breakthrough,
reaching No. 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
May28th 1986,
and the album
also proved a
breakthrough
in the
United Kingdom
where it was the
first Scorpions album
to chart and
peaked at
No. 36.
Lovedrive
ranked No. 25
on IGN's
2007 list
of the
Top 25
metal albums.
Line-up Changes
This is the first album
to feature
Matthias Jabs
on
lead guitar,
and thus
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,
had just split from
UFO.
He recorded
lead guitars on
"Another Piece of Meat",
"Coast to Coast",
"Holiday",
"Loving You Sunday Morning"
and
"Lovedrive".
At the beginning of
the Scorpions'
German tour in
February 1979,
Michael rejoined
the band
and the group
reluctantly parted ways
with
Matthias Jabs.
However,
in April 1979
while the band
was touring
in France,
Michael quit,
which led to
Jabs'
immediate return
after intense
negotiations.
Artwork
The original album cover
depicted a
well dressed man
and woman
seated in the
back of a car,
with the woman's
right breast 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 with the
woman's left breast
completely exposed
without any gum.
It was created by
Storm Thorgerson
of the design firm
Hipgnosis.
It caused
some controversy
in the US
upon the
album's release,
with later pressings
of the album
simple design
of a
blue scorpion
on a
black background.
The original
uncensored art
was restored for
the remaster series.
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