Scorpions: All Night Long EP (1979)
For both practical reasons and simple poverty, I owned the Scorpions’ Tokyo Tapes for several years -- maybe as much as a decade -- before I heard the studio albums it represented; my thinking being that it basically represented a ‘greatest hits’ of the German legends’ ‘70s discography.
Back then, that’s what most live albums were for, in my eyes.
And when I finally started collecting classic records like Lonesome Crow, Fly to the Rainbow and In Trance, it took me that much longer to actually realize that the song “All Night Long” was virtually exclusive to the Tokyo Tapes.
Fact is, much like fellow heavy metal founding fathers such as Zeppelin, Sabbath, Purple, or Priest, the Scorps were an “album band” that rarely bothered to record single B-sides, let alone leave unfinished demos lying about, to the consternation of future CD box set assembly men (and women).
But “All Night Long” (co-written by singer Klaus Meine and lead guitarist Uli Jon Roth) was a rare exception that, although regularly performed on both the In Trance (1975) and Virgin Killer tours (‘76), had somehow failed to come together in the studio.
And when this pattern repeated itself during the sessions for ‘77’s Taken by Force, the band saw an opportunity to promote the Tokyo Tapes (seemingly redundant in European markets, where many fans already owned the same studio albums I avoided for so long) with this 'super-value’ four-track EP.
By then, “All Night Long” had proven its mettle as a natural-born concert starter, in much the same way as Cheap Trick’s “Hello There,” Deep Purple’s “Highway Star,” or AC/DC’s “Live Wire,” and it likewise holds its own in this configuration, alongside other Tokyo Tapes highlights, “Fly to the Rainbow,” “Speedy’s Coming” and “In Trance.”
And if it never did earn an official studio rendition (that we know of), unlike the Scorpions’ other, non-album B-side of the ‘70s -- bragging rights to whoever can name it first! -- maybe that’s just as well.
Because hopeless collectors like myself, desperate to pad our vinyl racks with assorted rarities from our favorite bands once we’ve exhausted all their other available albums, really need items like this 12-inch to chase down and then blog about!
More Scorpions: Lonesome Crow, Fly to the Rainbow, In Trance, Virgin Killer, Taken by Force, Tokyo Tapes, Lovedrive, Animal Magnetism, Blackout, Love at First Sting, World Wide Live, Savage Amusement, Crazy World, Rock Believer.
