Fly to the Rainbow

In support of the Lonesome Crow album, Scorpions toured as the opening act for the British rock band UFO. At the end of the tour, Scorpions lead guitarist Michael Schenker was asked to fill an open position as UFO's guitarist and accepted the position.{{cite web |author=Trunk, Russell A. |title=Scorpions: Yet Another Sting in the Tale! |url=http://www.annecarlini.com/ex_interviews.php?id=805 |publisher=Annecarlini.com |access-date=12 May 2008}} Schenker's departure temporarily resulted in the breakup of the band but Rudolf Schenker and Klaus Meine ultimately merged with the band Dawn Road. The new band consisted of guitarist Uli Jon Roth replacing Michael as well as drummer Jürgen Rosenthal, keyboardist Achim Kirschnig and bass guitarist Francis Buchholz.{{cite web |author=Syrjälä, Marko |title=Interview with Francis Buchholz |url=http://www.metal-rules.com/zine/content/view/791/ |publisher=Metal-rules.com |access-date=12 May 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120618051118/http://www.metal-rules.com/zine/content/view/791 |archive-date=18 June 2012}} The new lineup assumed the Scorpions name and recorded Fly to the Rainbow. Three songs on Fly to the Rainbow were co-written with departing guitarist Michael Schenker as part of his agreement on leaving the band.

When asked to comment on the cover art for the album, Uli Jon Roth said: "Don't ask me what that cover means… I disliked it from the beginning. It looked ludicrous to me back then and looks just as bad today. It was done by a firm of designers in Hamburg, who had actually done a good job on the Lonesome Crow album before, but I think that time they failed miserably. As for the meaning, I can only guess, but I'd rather not…"{{cite web|author=Jeb Wright |title=Uli Jon Roth: Surviving the Scorpions Sting |url=http://www.classicrockrevisited.com/Interviews06/ulijonroth.htm |access-date=14 July 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070613043717/http://www.classicrockrevisited.com/Interviews06/ulijonroth.htm |archive-date=13 June 2007 |url-status=dead}}

Metal Hammer included it on their list of "50 most hilariously ugly rock and metal album covers ever".{{cite web |last1=Young |first1=Simon |title=The 50 most hilariously ugly rock and metal album covers ever |url=https://www.loudersound.com/features/the-50-most-hilariously-ugly-rock-and-metal-album-covers-ever |website=Metal Hammer |publisher=Future plc |access-date=9 December 2024 |date=9 May 2023}}

Six songs from Fly to the Rainbow were regularly performed live by Scorpions: the title track, "Speedy's Coming", "They Need a Million", "This Is My Song", and "Drifting Sun". "Far Away" was already performed by early lineups with Michael Schenker, since at least 1973. The live versions of "Speedy's Coming" and the title track appear on the live album Tokyo Tapes, which was recorded in April 1978. Soon afterwards, Scorpions dropped these songs from their setlist. Between 1980 and 1999, nothing from Fly to the Rainbow appeared in Scorpions concerts.{{Cite web|url=https://www.setlist.fm/stats/albums/scorpions-3d63ddf.html|title=Scorpions Album Statistics |website=Setlist.fm|access-date=30 November 2021}} Following a one-off performance of They Need a Million on 7 June 1999 at Patinoire de Kockelscheuer, Luxembourg,{{Cite web|url=https://www.setlist.fm/stats/songs/scorpions-3d63ddf.html?songid=53d40b09|title=They Need a Million by Scorpions Song Statistics |website=Setlist.fm|access-date=30 November 2021}} the title tune and "Speedy's Coming" were performed a number of times between 2000 and 2008. "Speedy's Coming" was played with relative frequency from 2015 to 2019.{{Cite web|url=https://www.setlist.fm/stats/scorpions-3d63ddf.html|title=Scorpions Tour Statistics |website=Setlist.fm|access-date=30 November 2021}}

{{Track listing

| headline = Side one

| title1 = Speedy's Coming

| length1 = 3:36

| writer1 = Rudolf Schenker, Klaus Meine

| title2 = They Need a Million

| length2 = 4:50

| writer2 = R. Schenker, Meine

| title3 = Drifting Sun

| length3 = 7:42

| writer3 = Ulrich Roth

| title4 = Fly People Fly

| length4 = 5:03

| writer4 = Michael Schenker, Meine

}}

{{Track listing

| headline = Side two

| title5 = This Is My Song

| length5 = 4:18

| writer5 = R. Schenker, Meine

| title6 = Far Away

| length6 = 5:38

| writer6 = M. Schenker, R. Schenker, Meine

| title7 = Fly to the Rainbow

| length7 = 9:40

| writer7 = M. Schenker, Roth

}}

;Scorpions

• Klaus Meine – lead vocals, backing vocals on "Drifting Sun" and "They Need a Million"
• Ulrich Roth – lead and slide guitar, lead vocals on "Drifting Sun", storytelling in "Fly to the Rainbow"
• Rudolf Schenker – rhythm guitar, lead vocals on "They Need a Million", storytelling in "Drifting Sun"
• Francis Buchholz – bass guitar
• Jürgen Rosenthal – drums

;Additional personnel

• Achim Kirschning – organ, Mellotron, synthesizers

;Production

• Mack – engineer
• Horst Andritschke – engineer

{{Reflist|30em}}

• [https://www.the-scorpions.com/album/fly-to-the-rainbow-3/ Fly to the Rainbow at the-scorpions.com]

{{Scorpions}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fly To The Rainbow}}

Category:1974 albums

Category:Scorpions (band) albums

Category:RCA Records albums