Love at First Sting
| Love at First Sting | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
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| Studio album by Scorpions | ||||
| Released | March 27, 1984 | |||
| Recorded | 1983–1984, Dierks Studio, Stommeln-Cologne, Germany | |||
| Genre | Heavy metal | |||
| Length | 40:55 | |||
| Label | EMI (Europe) Mercury (US) |
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| Producer | Dieter Dierks | |||
| Scorpions chronology | ||||
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| Alternate "clean" cover | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [1] |
| Rolling Stone |  |
Love at First Sting is the ninth studio album by the German heavy metal band Scorpions, released in 1984 (see 1984 in music). Love at First Sting became the most successful album of the band in the USA where it peaked at number 6 on the Billboard 200 chart in 1984 and went triple platinum. The song "Rock You Like a Hurricane" reached number 25 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the same year, "Still Loving You" reached number 64 on the same chart, number 14 in Germany, number 2 in the French and Swiss Top 50. This album is notable in that it was one of the first digitally recorded heavy metal albums ever released.
Contents |
[edit] Cover art
The original cover art created by Helmut Newton[2] features a man and a partially nude woman locked in an embrace, with the man giving the woman a tattoo on her thigh. Despite the record company having shown the original cover art to retailers without any concerns, a complaint by Wal-Mart after the album was released resulted in PolyGram Records issuing a "clean" cover for use in several department store chains. The alternative cover was designed to be less controversial by simply showing a photo of the band members, which was the same photo on the inner sleeve.[2][3][4]
[edit] Recording sessions
The album was recorded in 1983 and 1984 at Dierks Studios near Cologne Germany.
[edit] Track listing
All lyrics written by Klaus Meine except where noted, all music composed by Rudolf Schenker.
| Side One | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Length | ||||||
| 1. | "Bad Boys Running Wild" | Meine, Herman Rarebell | 3:56 | ||||||
| 2. | "Rock You Like a Hurricane" | Meine, Rarebell | 4:12 | ||||||
| 3. | "I'm Leaving You" | 4:17 | |||||||
| 4. | "Coming Home" | 4:59 | |||||||
| 5. | "The Same Thrill" | 3:31 | |||||||
| Side Two | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Length | |||||||
| 1. | "Big City Nights" | 4:09 | |||||||
| 2. | "As Soon as the Good Times Roll" | 5:03 | |||||||
| 3. | "Crossfire" | 4:36 | |||||||
| 4. | "Still Loving You" | 6:27 | |||||||
[edit] Personnel
- Klaus Meine – lead vocals
- Matthias Jabs – lead guitar, backing vocals, rhythm guitar on "Still Loving You" and "Big City Nights"
- Rudolf Schenker – rhythm guitar, backing vocals, lead guitar on "Still Loving You" and "Big City Nights"
- Francis Buchholz – bass, backing vocals
- Herman Rarebell – drums, percussion, backing vocals
Produced by Dieter Dierks.
Note
- Although the usual band line-up is credited on Love At First Sting, both Rarebell and Buchholz were temporarily out of the band at the time of the album's recording, with drum and bass track provided by Bobby Rondinelli (Rainbow) and Jimmy Bain (Dio, ex-Rainbow, Wild Horses), respectively.[citation needed]
[edit] Charts
[edit] Album
Billboard (North America)
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1984 | The Billboard 200 | #6 |
[edit] Singles
Billboard (North America)
| Year | Song | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | "Rock You Like a Hurricane" | Billboard Hot 100 | #25 |
| 1984 | "Still Loving You" | Billboard Hot 100 | #64 |
[edit] RIAA Certification
| Certification | Date |
|---|---|
| Gold | April 30, 1984 |
| Platinum | April 30, 1984 |
| Double-platinum | October 25, 1984 |
| Triple-platinum | July 8, 1995 |
[edit] References
- ^ Love at First Sting at Allmusic
- ^ a b Jeffrey Easton. "Metal Exiles interview with Klaus Meine'". metalexiles.com. Archived from the original on April 21, 2010. http://web.archive.org/web/20100421000657/http://www.metalexiles.com/_mgxroot/page_11070.html. Retrieved April 21, 2010.
- ^ Nuzum, Eric (2001). Parental Advisory: Music Censorship in America. pp. 78, 245. ISBN 0-688-16772-1.
- ^ Nuzum, Eric. "1980's Censorship Incidents". http://www.ericnuzum.com/banned/incidents/80s.html. Retrieved Jan 19 2009.
