In Trance

In Trance
Studio album by
Released17 September 1975
Recorded1975
StudioDierks Studios, Stommeln, West Germany
GenreHard rock, heavy metal
Length37:17
LabelRCA
ProducerDieter Dierks
Scorpions chronology
Fly to the Rainbow
(1974)
In Trance
(1975)
Virgin Killer
(1976)
Singles from In Trance
  1. "In Trance"
    Released: November 1976[1]
Alternative cover
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
Rock Hard7.0/10[3]
Teraz Rock[4]

In Trance is the third studio album by German rock band Scorpions, released by RCA Records in 1975. The music was a departure from the progressive rock of the two previous albums. Instead, the album has a hard rock sound of shorter and tighter arrangements with which the band would achieve their global success and fame. Extended suites in the vein of songs such as "Lonesome Crow" and "Fly to the Rainbow" are absent altogether. This was the first of two studio albums to feature drummer Rudy Lenners, and the first album by the band to contain the now-famous logo and controversial artwork.

Artwork

The original version of the album cover--photographed by Michael von Gimbut[5] was censored for clearly showing the cover model's exposed breast[6] hanging down towards the guitar. Later releases blacked out the breast so that it is not visible. This is the first of many Scorpions album covers to have been censored. The band's former lead guitarist Uli Jon Roth claimed he may have "come up with the idea to do the thing with the guitar for the cover of In Trance".[7]

However, in a 2008 interview Roth claimed that early Scorpions album covers in general were "the record company's idea-- but we certainly didn't object. And so shame on us. Those covers were probably the most embarrassing thing I've ever been involved with." He did, though, classify the In Trance cover as "borderline".[8]

The White Stratocaster shown on the cover belonged to Roth and he can be seen playing the same guitar on the cover of the Electric Sun album Fire Wind. This is the guitar that Roth used on all subsequent Scorpions and Electric Sun albums on which he played.[9]

This was the band's first album to feature the band's name written in the now-familiar font used on nearly all subsequent album covers--as well as their first collaboration with producer Dieter Dierks.

Track listing

Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Dark Lady"Ulrich Roth3:30
2."In Trance"Rudolf Schenker, Klaus Meine4:47
3."Life's Like a River"Roth, Schenker, Corina Fortmann3:54
4."Top of the Bill"Schenker, Meine3:26
5."Living and Dying"Schenker, Meine3:24
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
6."Robot Man"Schenker, Meine2:47
7."Evening Wind"Roth5:06
8."Sun in My Hand"Roth4:25
9."Longing for Fire"Schenker, Roth2:44
10."Night Lights" (Instrumental)Roth3:14

Personnel

Scorpions
Additional musician
  • Achim Kirschning – keyboards
Production

References

  1. ^ Strong, Martin Charles (1995). The Great Rock Discography. p. 721. ISBN 9780862415419.
  2. ^ Weber, Barry. "Allmusic review". AllMusic. Retrieved March 21, 2006.
  3. ^ Rensen, Michael (April 2010). "Review Album: Scorpions - In Trance". Rock Hard (in German). No. 275. Retrieved 18 June 2017.
  4. ^ "Teraz Rock review". Terazrock.pl. Archived from the original on July 23, 2011. Retrieved October 5, 2009.
  5. ^ In Trance Virgin Killer: The Back to Black Collection (Media notes). Scorpions. France: Axe Killer Music. 2000. 3056462.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  6. ^ Easton, Jeffrey. "Metal Exiles interview with Klaus Meine". Metalexiles.com. Archived from the original on April 21, 2010. Retrieved April 21, 2010.
  7. ^ Syrjälä, Marko. "Interview with Uli Jon Roth". Metal-rules.com. Archived from the original on November 26, 2010. Retrieved May 12, 2008.
  8. ^ Plakas, Argie. "Uli Jon Roth: 'Bridging Classical and Rock to Form Musical Bliss'". Ultimate-Guitar.com. Archived from the original on June 2, 2009. Retrieved January 20, 2009.
  9. ^ Wright, Jeb. "Uli Jon Roth: Surviving the Scorpions Sting". Archived from the original on June 13, 2007. Retrieved July 14, 2007.