Taken by Force

This article is about the album. For the book covering cases of rape committed by U.S. servicemen in Europe during World War II, see Taken by Force (book).

Taken by Force
Studio album by Scorpions
Released	December 1977 (1977-12)
Recorded	June–October 1977
Studio	Dierks Studios, Stommeln, West Germany
Genre	Hard rock, heavy metal
Length	39:05
Label	RCA Records
Producer	Dieter Dierks
Scorpions chronology
Virgin Killer (1976) Taken by Force (1977) Lovedrive (1979)
Singles from Taken by Force
"He's a Woman – She's a Man" Released: 1977 "The Sails of Charon" Released: 1978 (Japan)
Alternative cover

Professional ratings

Review scores
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AllMusic

Taken by Force is the fifth studio album by German band Scorpions, released by RCA Records in 1977. This was the first Scorpions album to feature drummer Herman Rarebell and the final studio album to feature guitarist Uli Jon Roth. Roth left the band in 1978 following the end of the album's tour, and was at first replaced by Michael Schenker and later by Matthias Jabs.

The lyrics to "We'll Burn the Sky" were initially a poem written by Monika Dannemann, the last girlfriend of Jimi Hendrix , as a tribute to him after he died.

Artwork

The album cover photography was taken by Michael von Gimbut; his third Scorpions album cover commission. Like their previous two albums, Taken by Force caused controversy with its cover art which again resulted in the artwork being replaced in most markets with an alternative cover using photographs of the band members. The band's former lead guitarist Uli Jon Roth defended the original artwork in a 2008 interview, stating:

I think the original idea was children playing with guns at a military cemetery in France and some people found that offensive. I don't think it's offensive because I think it was actually a quite a good image because it puts war totally into perspective; very often it is young people, eighteen, nineteen, going to war that don't fully understand life. When you're fifteen you don't fully understand life, but these guys then have to shoot other people simply because someone tells them to do it for their country. Politicians are sometimes also children with guns, in all periods of time a lot of politicians are far too trigger happy and war too easily becomes an "easy solution", whereas for me it should never be a solution, there should be no war in the first place. Maybe every once in a while a country may need to defend itself, I understand that, but in general if you consider that there are over a hundred wars raging in the present day on this planet alone then it's just sheer lunacy and always the tool of the Dark Side. Usually bad things come from war, very few good things, but sometimes good things come from bad things, that's true, nothing's that black and white. It's always the wrong solution to kill people.

Track listing

All music composed by Rudolf Schenker except where noted

Side one

No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Length
1.	"Steamrock Fever"	Klaus Meine		3:37
2.	"We'll Burn the Sky"	Monika Dannemann		6:26
3.	"I've Got to Be Free"	Ulrich Roth	Roth	4:00
4.	"The Riot of Your Time"	Meine		4:09

Side two

No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Length
5.	"The Sails of Charon" (most copies have a 4:23 edited version)	Roth	Roth	5:16
6.	"Your Light"	Roth	Roth	4:31
7.	"He's a Woman – She's a Man"	Meine, Herman Rarebell		3:15
8.	"Born to Touch Your Feelings"	Meine		7:40

2001 CD reissue bonus tracks

No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Length
9.	"Suspender Love"	Meine		3:20
10.	"Polar Nights" (live version from Tokyo Tapes)	Roth	Roth	6:56

Notes

• Most versions feature an edited version of "The Sails of Charon". The editing removes an introduction of wind-like sound effects performed on guitar. Similar sound effects can be heard at the end of the song.
• On "Born to Touch Your Feelings" guest women's voices can be heard. They are performed by some friends and fans: Junko and Mutsumi from Japan, Esther from Suriname, Rosa from Rome, Susan from L.A., and Leila from Tahiti.

Personnel

Scorpions

• Klaus Meine – vocals
• Ulrich Roth – lead guitar
• Rudolf Schenker – rhythm guitar
• Francis Buchholz – bass guitar
• Herman Rarebell – drums, percussion

Production

• Dieter Dierks – producer, engineer, mixing

Cover versions

• "We'll Burn the Sky" was covered by the Japanese metal musician Syu on his cover album Crying Stars -Stand Proud!- in 2010.
• "The Sails of Charon" was covered by the American thrash metal band Testament on their compilation album Signs of Chaos in 1997.
• "The Sails of Charon" was also covered by Yngwie Malmsteen on his 1996 cover album Inspiration
• "He's a Woman – She's a Man" was covered by the German power metal band Helloween on their cover album Metal Jukebox in 1999.
• "He's a Woman – She's a Man" was also covered by American thrash metal band Evildead on their album The Underworld in 1991.
• Another cover of "He's a Woman – She's a Man" was played by the American power metal band Helstar on their 1988 album A Distant Thunder.