The former Scorpions cover band, already founded in 1965, won a band competition at a festival in Hanover, which earned them a record deal with Brain, the newly established sub-label of Metronome. Together with legendary producer Conny Plank, whom they had met while recording the soundtrack for an anti-drugs film, they headed to Hamburg’s Star Studio in October 1971 to record their first LP Lonesome Crow in just one week. Released in Germany in February 1972, this debut album is the only record on which lead guitarist Michael Schenker, who was just 16 at the time of recording, appears as a permanent member. The other band members were his brother and guitarist Rudolf Schenker, singer Klaus Meine, bassist Lothar Heimberg and Wolfgang Dziony on drums.

The unconventional, unpolished mix of hard rock with psychedelic jams, progressive elements and sonic experiments is strongly reminiscent of the sound of bands such as Black Sabbath and the early Rush. The sound, which is clearly influenced by the psychedelic rock scene of the late 1960s and is at times sombre, differs fundamentally from everything they would later release. Although the album failed to achieve any significant commercial success and is still regarded today as a relatively obscure work in the band’s discography, it paved the way for a 60-year international career during which the band sold more than 100 million albums.