Warthur On their second album Scorpions step away from the krautrock influences that had characterised their debut Lonesome Crow and adopted a hard rock style replete with proto-metal influences. Particularly when the vocal harmonies kick in, I am inclined to see this album as an example of Scorpions taking the most hard rock aspects of the classic-era Uriah Heep sound, dialling down on the more progressive rock stylings, replacing the organ with raucous lead guitar, and generally having a grand old time with it. Don't judge this one by the cover, which suggests some sort of bizarre prog nonsense - here we find Scorpions marching directly away from their art rock origins into harder territory, and it's weirdly compelling with it.

siLLy puPPy Alright ladies and gents. Step right up and see today’s genre death match. In this corner we have Krautrock! Lysergically trippin’ right now and recently seen piling in the Bratwurst and Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte at their local Hannover buffet after an apparent pot brownie overdose. On the other side we have heavy metal! The new kid in town who was vying for control on “Lonesome Crow” but was constantly distracted by loose skirts, cheap Schwarzbier at happy hour and blowing out too many amps at rehearsals following whiskey fueled bar fights. The two genres coincided side by side for a single album creating one weird little musical hybrid but trouble was afoot as they just can’t get along another day. They can’t take it anymore! The tensions have reached the breaking point to heights not even the Odd Couple could resolve and we are gathered here today to watch one of these genres meet its maker. Let the best genre win! Ding ding! And they’re at it! Bonk! Crrraaack! Ker-sploosh! Splatt! Whamm! OMG! That’s so gotta hurt…….

- insert dramatic pause here -

Ladies and gents! We have a winner! HEAVY FUCKING METAAAAAALLLLL! Now seriously. Did you think Krautrock had a chance here? For those who care, Krautrock was gravely injured but lived to carry on in more appropriate venues around the Berlin scene and lived happily ever after following this painful divorce.

Fast forward to album number two for the SCORPIONS and we get their first truly hard rockin’ heavy hittin’ metal album FLY TO THE RAINBOW. Gone are all the psychedelic jams, freaked out ambience and electronic experiments that personally i liked quite a bit but it was like being torn between two lovers and feeling like a fool and a little obvious that just because these guys were German didn’t mean they quite had the temperaments for such drawn out and intricate mechanical meanderings. These guys wanted to fuckin’ rock! And loud! And it didn’t help that when they were on tour opening for hard rockers UFO, Michael Schenker jumped ship and joined the other team leaving the band more dry than high. This lightning bolt from the sky forced them to do some serious soul searching and they found their new lease on life as a heavy rock band after they serendipitously met another band named Dawn Road which hosted none other than Ulrich Roth (guitars), Jürgen Rosenthal (drums) and Francis Buchholz (bass). The two bands merged like a fleet of BMWs to the Autobahn and it became a major win win situation ushering in the newly born SCORPIONS ready and willing to rock the world to kingdom come. And NOTHING says i’m a new band more than the the most anti-Krautrock song possible namely the sizzling hot bluesy hard rockin’ opener “Speedy’s Coming.” A prescient track title indeed as the band would only gain momentum and heaviness over the following years and become one of Germany’s biggest exports (sorry Volkswagen).

FLY TO THE RAINBOW is one impressive powerhouse of excellent songwriting skills, heavy rockin’ guitar riffs, pummeling bass and drum drives as well as the first album to really showcase Klaus Meine’s incredible vocal range that suits his true skill set. All of the tracks on this one pack a punch of some of the tastiest rock melodies combined with an energetic and passionate delivery whether it be Meine’s excellent vocal performances or the bedazzling dual guitar assault action of Ulrich Roth’s Hendrix inspired guitar acrobatics teamed up with founder Rudolph Schenker’s power riffs. Rosenthal equally delivers his unique drumming skills that accent Buchholz’ groovy bass abuse. While hardly noticeable there’s a touch of organ and Mellotron providing the rare atmospheric enhancer most notably on the title track. Another interesting feature of the earlier SCORPIONS albums is the sharing of vocal duties. Ulrich Roth takes up the lead on “Drifting Sun” and co-leads on the title track. While Hendrix fueled guitar god worship is clearly the star on FLY TO THE RAINBOW, there are also beautiful flamenco type rhythms like on “They Need A Million,” the beginning of their famous power ballads on “Fly People Fly” as well as the outstanding arpeggiated acoustic techniques in addition to the propensity of writing high quality songs that stand the test of time.

All in all, FLY TO THE RAINBOW is an outstanding little gem that found the SCORPIONS struttin’ their stuff like a proud peacock in a peahen harem. So if this is so friggin’ rockin’ then what’s up with that album cover? I mean Herr Tripper gettin’ all Icarus on us with his little propeller feet hoisting a rainbow flag and wearing a welder’s mask and upside down movie popcorn bag on his head? Whaaaaat?!!! I guess nobody told the record company who was the winner of the death match, but just for the record, the band hated the cover from the get go and it has been voted one of the worst in rock history. Personally i think it’s a pretty whacked out bizarre yet interesting concept but maybe a better choice for Achim Reichel or Amon Düül II. Anyhoo, it’s the music that ultimately matters and this album delivers some of the hardest hittin’ melodic bluesy rockers like few others did all the way back in 1974. One of the top tier SCORPIONS albums in my world and an excellent debut of their second major lineup. And if you can’t stand the debut album then start here. It only gets better as the good times roll.

progshine OK, ok, I admit, I was just curious cause I knew their background on the 70's was kinda Progressive Rock influenced.

And ok, ok, I admit again, I never liked Scorpions, they always seemd to me too much 'fake' as a Hard Rock/Heavy Metal band, and even more on the late 90's/00's.

I didn't liked Lonesome Crow (from 1972), so I was kinda worried when I first start listening this 1974 Fly To The Rainbow, to begin with, the cover, a very bad one.

The sound here, it's hard rock driven, with a lot of space rock influence (specially on the final track 'Fly To The Rainbow' a rip off Pink Floyd 70's era), and all in all, not bad. But of course, wasn't the 'Progressive Rock' album I was looking for, even knowing was just a little influence.

'Fly People Fly' is another good track, and 'Speed's Coming' is a great Rock n Roll. 'They Need A Million' brings some latin rhythms, not with percussion and etc, but on the tempo. 'Drifting Sun' is the Hard Prog of the album, a good track as well.

All in all we have a ok album, above the medium, but not that high, so 3,5 stars is the note for me.

bonnek One of the great things about Metal is the shocked faces you get from people when you mention you're a fan of the genre. It gets even better when you add "and oh yes I even like the Scorpions", guaranteed to be met with nothing short of horror and reactions like "foul taste in music man". Actually, I don't hold these German metallers in that high regards, but they have their qualities and on their second album they amply show them.

In short, "Fly To The Rainbow" is a fun and feel-good early metal album with slight prog rock leanings, a bit indebted to Uriah Heep and Budgie sometimes but with a quite original metallic sound (often with twin rhythm and lead guitars) that Judas Priest would take a lot of inspiration from on "Sad Wings of Destiny". Fans of that JP album are sure recommended to check this one out if they haven't already.

The best sits at the front and the album could be called a masterpiece judging by the first half of the original LP. But ater the happily rocking "Speedy's Coming" and the 2 epics "They Need a Million" and "Drifting Sun", the pace slows down to more ballad-based songwriting. "Fly People Fly" is a deserving one, nicely smooth and mellow, but not their best, "Far away" gets a bit heavier but is hardly memorable, "Fly to the Rainbow" is fairly ambitious, with faster sections breaking up the slow pace, but it is too long, ending with a drawn out spacey guitar soloing and spoken word vocals that might gets you fooled into thinking this is an Eloy album. Lost inbetween the ballads sits an awkward hippie-rock song "This is My Song".

An album split between a 4.5 star first half and a more pedestrian 3 star second half. That's like 4 flower-metal daisies.

1967/ 1976 Great album by a great band!

"Fly To The Rainbow" is the 2nd album by Teutonic Heavy metal act Scorpions and it's published in 1974. The line-up Uli John Roth is still one of my favorite axemen.

If "Speedy's Coming" is a pure Rock, without sort of feeling (if not for power), the first album masterpiece is "They Need A Million" with a great acoustic intro. Musically this song is pure dynamite, although close to some Progressive Rock, at the end is an honest and very airy melodic heavy metal, though peppered with technical but banal riffs (today) but supported by a unique feeling, thanks to the guest synth of Achim Kirschning. This song is, also today, a true masterpiece. But "Drifting Sun", a song by (and sung) Uli John Roth is a great piece of Heavy Metal. Ok, this song is more in Psychedelic Rock field but "Drifting Sun" remain a great piece of Heavy Metal that, as "They Need A Million", kidnaps you and torment your mind like a worm! A good Psychedelic part is great as middle section and guitar riffs are are from textbook of heavy metal! Sure this song has more Metal spirit of many metal songs of 70's and, for me, it's one of the more sincere and fundamental Heavy metal songs of all time. "Fly People Fly" is a melancholy and symphonic Folk ballad. A great Soul/ Blues arrangement (more for feeling role) is the winning element of this ballad, a great weepy ballad. Other words are wasted! (P.s.: ballad is synonym Scrpions!). "This Is My Song" is a ride, epic and symphonic, with a distorted guitar riff really simple from textbook of Heavy Metal and an undistorted guitar riff that accompanies the voice really excellent (it will be the voice of Klaus Meine is truly Blues in style but symphonic for the final result?). Also the guitar solo is excellent. "Far Away" is the typical Scorpions song, a Symphonic Blues Rock, melodic, pissed, sweet and cursed, here masked by Rock, strangely dry and strangely symphonic (without being what I described). Certainly without Klaus Meine no song of Scorpions would at least spell (if not the songs written and sung by Uli John Roth, but these have a different style). "fly To The Rainbow" is another song with acoustic intro. But this Rock song is, at the end, the summary of Scorpions style: melodic and pissed sound, Blues, Rock and Symphonic style, amplified by 70's mentality.

"Fly To The Rainbow" as Prog Metal album? Well, it's difficult to judge "Fly To The Rainbow" a Prog Metal album. Sure "Fly To The Rainbow" is a masterpiece of traditional Metal and for me "Sad Wings Of Destiny" (Judas Priest) pays many debts to this album. That words can not be described as deserve. An immortal album. For the history of XXth Century. In absolute sense!