Tokyo Tapes (album)

Tokyo Tapes is the first live album by German hard rock band Scorpions and their final album released by RCA Records.

Tokyo Tapes
Live album by
Scorpions
ReleasedAugust 1978 (Japan)
Late 1978 (Europe)
January 1979 (US)
Recorded24 & 27 April 1978
VenueNakano Sun Plaza, Tokyo, Japan
GenreHard rock, heavy metal
Length85:07
LabelRCA Records
ProducerDieter Dierks
Scorpions live albums chronology
Tokyo Tapes
(1978)		 World Wide Live
(1985)
Original 1978 Cover (Japan Only)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]

Tokyo Tapes includes songs from all Scorpions' albums released before 1978, which were recorded at Nakano Sun Plaza (Tokyo's Nakano Ward, Japan) on 24 and 27 April, during the band's Japanese tour in 1978. These shows were guitarist Uli Jon Roth's last performances with the band, who had announced his departure after the release of the studio album Taken by Force.

The songs "Hell-Cat", "Catch Your Train" and the Japanese national anthem ("Kimi ga yo") were also performed during these shows but were not included in the official album. On the 2001 EMI re-mastered CD, "Polar Nights" was omitted so as to fit a single CD, although it was included on the re-mastered version of Taken by Force. The earlier two-CD release, however, is the original album in its entirety. The original release was in August 1978 in Japan only with cover artwork of an embossed platinum Scorpion on a rose as opposed to a live shot of the band when it was eventually released in Europe in late 1978. It was released in January 1979 in the U.S.A..

Roth commented about the recording of the album:

"Tokyo Tapes was a peak time, we have played together for all these years and it all came together at that time. Particularly on the first show, which unfortunately wasn't recorded. There were three shows in Tokyo, the first one was by far the best, but the second one was good too. Those are the ones on the album, the second and the third that were used. The first one I thought was a lot better and I was disappointed that it wasn't recorded."[2]

In 2015, as part of Scorpions' 50th Anniversary, Tokyo Tapes was remastered and re-released, with all omitted songs restored ("Polar Nights" and the three songs excluded) and alternate version of several songs originally found on the album.[3] Due to time constraints, "Robot Man", the last track of the original release, was shifted to the beginning of Disc 2 which otherwise contains bonus tracks).

Track listing
Side one
  1. "All Night Long" (Uli Jon Roth, Klaus Meine) – 3:44
  2. "Pictured Life" (Rudolf Schenker, Meine, Roth) – 3:12
  3. "Backstage Queen" (R. Schenker, Meine) – 3:44
  4. "Polar Nights" (Roth) – 6:43 (omitted from single disc releases)
  5. "In Trance" (R. Schenker, Meine) – 5:25
Side two
  1. "We'll Burn the Sky" (R. Schenker, Monika Dannemann) – 8:07
  2. "Suspender Love" (R. Schenker/Meine) – 3:38
  3. "In Search of the Peace of Mind" (R. Schenker, Michael Schenker, Meine, Lothar Heimberg, Wolfgang Dziony) – 3:02
  4. "Fly to the Rainbow" (M. Schenker, Roth) – 9:39
Side three
  1. "He's a Woman, She's a Man" (R. Schenker, Meine, Herman Rarebell) – 5:22
  2. "Speedy's Coming" (R. Schenker, Meine) – 3:40
  3. "Top of the Bill" (R. Schenker, Meine) – 6:45
  4. "Hound Dog" (Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller) – 1:14
  5. "Long Tall Sally" (Enotris Johnson, Robert "Bumps" Blackwell, Richard Penniman) – 2:50
Side four
  1. "Steamrock Fever" (R. Schenker, Meine) – 3:41
  2. "Dark Lady" (Roth) – 4:18
  3. "Kōjō no Tsuki" (Rentarō Taki, Bansui Doi, arr. Francis Buchholz, Meine, Rarebell, Roth, R. Schenker) – 3:35
  4. "Robot Man" (R. Schenker, Meine) – 5:47
2015 Remastered edition bonus tracks[3]
  1. "Hell Cat" (Roth) - 9:47 (recorded 27 April 1978)
  2. "Catch Your Train" (R. Schenker, Meine) - 3:52 (recorded 27 April 1978)
  3. "Kimi ga yo" (Yoshiisa Oku, Akimori Hayashi, Franz Eckert, arr. Scorpions) - 1:29 (Japanese National Anthem, recorded 24 April 1978)
  4. "Polar Nights" (Roth) – 7:32 (recorded 24 April 1978)
  5. "He's a Woman, She's a Man" (R. Schenker, Meine, Rarebell) – 6:06 (recorded 24 April 1978)
  6. "Top of the Bill" (R. Schenker, Meine) – 10:48 (recorded 24 April 1978)
  7. "Robot Man" (R. Schenker, Meine) – 6:49 (recorded 27 April 1978)

Personnel
Scorpions
  • Klaus Meine - lead vocals
  • Ulrich Roth - lead guitar, backing vocals, lead vocals on "Polar Nights", "Fly to the Rainbow" and "Dark Lady"
  • Rudolf Schenker - rhythm guitar, backing vocals, lead guitar intro on "He's a Woman - She's a Man", lead guitar on "Steamrock Fever" and "Long Tall Sally"
  • Francis Buchholz - bass, backing vocals
  • Herman Rarebell - drums, percussion, backing vocals
Production

Charts
Year Chart Position
1978 German Albums Chart[4] 5
Japanese Albums Chart[5] 51
Swedish Albums Chart[6] 42
1979 French Albums Chart[7] 14

References
  1. Rivadavia, Eduardo. "Scorpions Tokyo Tapes review". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 1 October 2012.
  2. Syrjälä, Marko. "Interview with Uli Jon Roth". Metal-rules.com. Archived from the original on 26 November 2010. Retrieved 12 May 2008.
  3. "Tokyo Tapes (Deluxe Edition)". Amazon.com. Retrieved 29 December 2015.
  4. "Album – Scorpions, Tokyo Tapes". Charts.de (in German). Media Control Charts. Retrieved 26 November 2012.
  5. "スコーピオンズのCDアルバムランキング、スコーピオンズのプロフィールならオリコン芸能人事典-ORICON STYLE". Oricon.co.jp. Retrieved 5 May 2013.
  6. "Scorpions – Tokyo Tapes (album)". Swedishcharts.com. Media Control Charts. Retrieved 22 November 2012.
  7. "Le Détail des Albums de chaque Artist: search for Scorpions". Infodisc.fr. Retrieved 11 November 2012.
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