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Scorpions Virgin Killer (vinyl) Review by Gary Hill I have to say that, as much as I like the more popular later era of the Scorpions, I prefer the Uli Jon Roth stuff. This album is one of the more guitar dominated of that period. I really love this album. This new limited edition, numbered, high quality vinyl release sounds great and makes an excellent collector’s item, too. This review is available in book format (hardcover and paperback) in Music Street Journal: 2015 Volume 3 at lulu.com/strangesound.

Track by Track Review

Side A

Pictured Life I love the energy and the groove of this cut. The guitar sound is classic and classy. The number just plain rocks.

Catch Your Train This is quite literally a screamer. I love the guitar fills on this thing. It’s classic old school Scorpions. The chorus is catchy and the song is meaty.

In Your Park The old school bass sound on this is great. The song is a balladic number. The vocal melodies work well. The whole piece is quite strong. The variety it brings is good, too.

Back Stage Queen There is a killer groove to this number. In a lot of ways it makes me think of Jimi Hendrix. Still, it has that Scorpions quirkiness to make it unique. This is another strong and varied tune on an album that’s full of them.

Virgin Killer The hardest rocking, most aggressive screamer of the set is the title track. This is high energy and exceptional.

Side B

Hell-Cat Roth sings this number. It’s another that makes me think of Hendrix quite a bit. There is a bit of a psychedelic edge to this. It also reminds me quite a bit of the hard rocking side of Sweet. However you label or compare it, though, it’s a killer tune.

Crying Days In some ways this is my favorite cut of the album. It is a lot more of a melodic rocker. It’s not quite a ballad, but it’s not really a major rocker, either. There is almost a jazz edge to it. It’s got soaring vocals and soaring guitar soloing. It’s just such an amazing piece of music. It’s one of the old Scorpions songs that seemed to border on progressive rock.

Polar Nights Here’s another song with Roth singing. There is a real magical element to this. It’s not quite metal, yet it really rocks. It is another that makes me think of Hendrix a bit. Every song on this album is great, and this is no exception. Each song has a flavor all its own, though.

Yellow Raven This balladic cut is dreamy. It has a lot of jazz built into it. Yet, it’s also still rock. It’s still instantly recognizable as a Scorpions song. I love the guitar work and the vocal lines.

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