Scorpions – “In Trance” (1975)
Will get around to completing the Infected video commentary/review at some point, but wanted to tackle a band that I’ve been listening to for a while, but only more recently got into their early material.
For at least a year or so now I’ve had and listened to the more familiar and more commercial Scorpions albums – “Lovedrive”, “Animal Magnetism”, “Blackout”, and “Love At First Sting” – but a week ago I got their “In Trance” and “Virgin Killer” albums, with their second lead guitarist/sometimes vocalist Uli Jon Roth. I had gotten their fifth and final album with Roth, “Taken By Force” prior to this, and loved it, so I figured I’d get the other Roth era Scorpions albums. I really lucked out in getting this Axe Killer mini-box set on Amazon – it’s got “In Trance” and “Virgin Killer” (with the latter having the controversial original album cover) with the bonus tracks on each being the songs from their second album “Fly to the Rainbow”.
Uli Jon Roth is a really great guitarist, combining both speed and emotion into his playing style, and his presence and songwriting give the whole band this experimental almost metal sound. Comparing the two albums, I feel that Roth’s solos are a tad better on “In Trance” than “Virgin Killer” (mostly “Sun In My Hand”), with the exception of the solo on “Polar Nights”, while the riffs on “Virgin Killer” are better than those on “In Trance”. “In Trance” has a more hard rock with a slight Gothic feel to it, whereas “Virgin Killer” has killer riffs that are close to metal, namely the title song and “Pictured Life”. At this point, I feel that I like “In Trance” a tad better due to the overall songwriting being a better imo.
On to some select songs…
First on the list is the opener of “In Trance” – Dark Lady
Great opening song here – the beginning is explosive, then the main riff comes in and carries the song. Lyrics are traded off between Roth and the lead singer, Klaus Meine (Meine does the screams and sings the title of the song, to great effect too), and although Roth isn’t the greatest singer, this song suits his vocals well and he doesn’t overdo it. The solo in the middle is brief but executed very well, and the ending speeds up to a finale (using the guitar part that follows Meine singing “Dark lady”, but faster) that ultimately sounds like the beginning .
The title song is another one of the best songs on the album, although it’s more simple compared to the rest of the songs. Nice, slow beginning with some gentle guitar before Meine’s excellent falsetto kicks in, before jumping to a heavy riff complete with some nice vibrato by Meine when singing “I’m in a trance”. Great use of the loud-soft-loud song dynamic here – the heavy chorus and light verses repeat throughout the song, but it’s quite catchy and doesn’t bore. Another sweet solo by Roth in the middle of the song, followed by a different riff than the one used during the chorus. This is one of the songs that makes use of some keyboards, which suits this song perfectly.
“Top of The Bill”, one of the rockers on the album, is definitely worth mentioning. Plodding, heavy riff kicks it off, with some great lead guitar lines thrown in before the lyrics kick in. Roth adds in some frantic, mini lead breaks at the beginning and end of some of verses, to good effect. Meine performs well here again, breaking out some screaming about halfway through, which leads into the song breaking down to some frantic drumming and a drawn out Roth guitar solo to finish the song (with some noises that sound like a dying animal or something)
This Roth-sung number, “Sun In My Hand” kicks off with some quick guitar work before the drums kick in, then the song throws on a blues influence. The great bass and drum work carries this song along, with Roth throwing in some sweet lead guitar lines during the verses, and Roth’s singing style suits the song quite well. About halfway through the song, the guitar solo kicks off with a slow start that turns into a frenzied race to the end about 3:15, reaching its peak about 3:32-3:36. In my opinion, “Sun In My Hand” has the best guitar solo on the album.
