Blackout (Scorpions album)

Blackout
Cover art by Gottfried Helnwein
Studio album by
Scorpions
Released8 March 1982 (1982-03-08)[1]
StudioVilla San Pecaïre (Saint Jacques, Grasse, France) with Dierks Recording Mobile
Dierks Studios (Stommeln, West Germany)
GenreHard rock, heavy metal
Length36:44
LabelHarvest/EMI
ProducerDieter Dierks
Scorpions chronology
Animal Magnetism
(1980) 		Blackout
(1982) 		Love at First Sting
(1984)
Singles from Blackout
  1. "Now!"
    Released: March 1982 (Japan)
  2. "No One Like You"
    Released: March 1982
  3. "Can't Live Without You"
    Released: July 1982 (UK)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal10/10[3]
Forces Parallèles[4]
Rolling Stone[5]

Blackout is the eighth studio album by the German rock band Scorpions. It was released in 1982 by Harvest and EMI Records.

In the US, the album was certified gold on 24 June 1982 and platinum on 8 March 1984 by RIAA.[6] Rolling Stone ranked Blackout as 73rd on their list of "The 100 Greatest Metal Albums of All Time" in 2017.[7]

Background

After losing his voice during the writing of the album,[8] lead singer Klaus Meine had to undergo surgery on his vocal cords and was uncertain as to whether or not he would be able to record. Demos of the material were recorded with singer Don Dokken from Dokken, a then-unknown band from Los Angeles.[9] However, none of those recordings are featured on the album and Dokken is only credited with backing vocals.[10]

In Kerrang! issue 12, guitarist Rudolf Schenker said that he could not choose between his guitar solos on "China White" so the US and European releases differed in this detail.

A self-portrait of artist Gottfried Helnwein[8] is featured on the cover of the album. Schenker portrays this character in the "No One Like You" music video.

Track listing

All music composed by Rudolf Schenker except where noted

Side one
No.TitleLyricsLength
1."Blackout"Klaus Meine, Herman Rarebell, Sonja Kittelsen3:49
2."Can't Live Without You"Meine3:47
3."No One Like You"Meine3:57
4."You Give Me All I Need"Rarebell3:39
5."Now!"Meine, Rarebell2:35
Side two
No.TitleLyricsLength
6."Dynamite"Meine, Rarebell4:12
7."Arizona"Rarebell3:56
8."China White"Meine6:59
9."When the Smoke Is Going Down"Meine3:50
Total length:36:44
2015 bonus tracks (Deluxe Edition)
No.TitleLyricsMusicLength
10."Blackout" (Demo Version)Meine, Rarebell, Kittelsen 4:03
11."Running for the Plane" (Demo Song)Meine 4:07
12."Sugar Man" (Demo Song)MeineSchenker, Matthias Jabs4:22
13."Searching for the Rainbow" (Demo Song)Meine 3:56

Personnel

Scorpions

Others

Production

Charts

Chart (1982) Peak
position
Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[11] 11
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[12] 45
Finnish Albums (The Official Finnish Charts)[13] 12
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[14] 10
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[15] 47
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[16] 12
UK Albums (OCC)[17] 11
US Billboard 200[18] 10
Chart (2015) Peak
position
UK Rock & Metal Albums (OCC)[19] 27

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[20] Platinum 100,000^
France (SNEP)[21] Gold 100,000*
Mexico (AMPROFON)[22] Gold 100,000[22]
United States (RIAA)[23] Platinum 1,000,000^

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. ^ "New Releases" (PDF). FMQB. 26 February 1982. p. 27. Retrieved 12 April 2024.
  2. ^ Weber, Barry. "Scorpions Blackout review". AllMusic. Retrieved 26 October 2012.
  3. ^ Popoff, Martin (1 November 2005). The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal: Volume 2: The Eighties. Burlington, Ontario, Canada: Collector's Guide Publishing. p. 319. ISBN 978-1894959315.
  4. ^ Gaguet, Guillaume. "Scorpion Blackout review". Forces Parallèles. Retrieved 28 October 2014.
  5. ^ Considine, J.D. (24 June 1982). "Album Reviews: Scorpions - Blackout". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 14 October 2007. Retrieved 26 October 2012.
  6. ^ "RIAA Searchable Database: search for Scorpions". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 5 February 2017.
  7. ^ "Rolling Stone Share Their Choices For 'The 100 Greatest Metal Albums Of All Time'". ThePRP. 21 June 2017. Retrieved 22 April 2019.
  8. ^ a b Jeffrey Easton. "Metal Exiles interview with Klaus Meine". metalexiles.com. Archived from the original on 21 April 2010. Retrieved 21 April 2010.
  9. ^ "Scorpions Frontman on Losing His Voice: 'I Thought My Career Was Over'". Noisecreep. Retrieved 27 January 2018.
  10. ^ a b Dokken, Don (n.d.). "Dokken". Artist Magazine (Interview). Interviewed by Joy Williams. Retrieved 27 January 2018.
  11. ^ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 6482". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved March 25, 2024.
  12. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Scorpions – Blackout" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved March 25, 2024.
  13. ^ Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin – levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. p. 166. ISBN 978-951-1-21053-5.
  14. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Scorpions – Blackout" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved March 25, 2024.
  15. ^ Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970–2005 (in Japanese). Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. 2006. ISBN 4-87131-077-9.
  16. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Scorpions – Blackout". Hung Medien. Retrieved March 25, 2024.
  17. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved March 25, 2024.
  18. ^ "Scorpions Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved March 25, 2024.
  19. ^ "Official Rock & Metal Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved March 25, 2024.
  20. ^ "Canadian album certifications – Scorpions – Blackout". Music Canada.
  21. ^ "French album certifications – Scorpions – Blackout" (in French). InfoDisc. Select SCORPIONS and click OK. 
  22. ^ a b "Scorpions Blackout Mexican Promo award disc(292099)". Retrieved 20 December 2020.
  23. ^ "American album certifications – Scorpions – Blackout". Recording Industry Association of America.