Pure Instinct

Pure Instinct
Pure Instinct
	Cover photo by Gered Mankowitz
Studio album by Scorpions
Released	21 May 1996
Studio	Scorpio Sound Studio, Hannover, Germany; Wisseloord Studios, Hilversum, Netherlands; Magic Moments Studio, New York City, New York, US; Goodnight LA, Los Angeles, California, US;
Genre	Hard rock;
Length	51:04
Label	East West (International) · Atlantic (US)
Producer	Erwin Musper; Keith Olsen; Scorpions;
Scorpions chronology
Singles from Pure Instinct
	"You and I" / "She's Knocking at My Door"; Released: 1996; "Does Anyone Know" / "Stone in My Shoe (live)"; Released: 1996; "Wild Child"; Released: 1996 (US only); "When You Came into My Life"; Released: 1996; "Where the River Flows"; Released: 1997;
Alternative cover photo by Michel Comte

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	^[1]
Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal	4/10^[2]
Metal Hammer (GER)	5/7^[3]
Rock Hard	7.0/10^[4]
Music Waves (FRA)	2/5^[5]

Pure Instinct is the thirteenth studio album by the German hard rock band Scorpions, released in 1996. The album received mixed reviews from critics, with many criticizing it for having too many ballads and not enough hard rock songs.

The cover art for this album, as with several earlier Scorpions albums, was replaced with an alternative cover for some releases due to the nudity on the original cover.^[6] This is the only Scorpions album that does not feature an official drummer, released following the departure of Herman Rarebell before the recording sessions. The band hired session musician Curt Cress as drummer for the album. The song "You and I" gained some popularity and was often played in Scorpions concerts.

Track listing

All lyrics are written by Klaus Meine, except "When You Came into My Life" by Meine, Rudolf Schenker, Titiek Puspa and James F. Sundah.

No.	Title	Music	Length
1.	"Wild Child"	Schenker	4:19
2.	"But the Best for You"	Meine	5:26
3.	"Does Anyone Know"	Meine	6:03
4.	"Stone in My Shoe"	Schenker	4:42
5.	"Soul Behind the Face"	Schenker	4:01
6.	"Oh Girl (I Wanna Be with You)"	Schenker	3:56
7.	"When You Came into My Life"	Meine, Schenker, Puspa, Sundah	5:13
8.	"Where the River Flows"	Schenker	4:16
9.	"Time Will Call Your Name"	Schenker	3:21
10.	"You and I"	Meine	6:16
11.	"Are You the One?"	Schenker	3:15

Japanese edition bonus track
No.	Title	Music	Length
12.	"She's Knocking at My Door"	Schenker	3:21

*Pure Instinct* single-only tracks
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Kiss of Borrowed Time" (from the "When You Came into My Life" CD-single)	Meine	3:39
2.	"You and I" (special single mix from the "You and I" CD-single)	Meine	4:21

"Time Will Call Your Name" is 3:56 in length on European releases.^[7]

Personnel

Scorpions

Klaus Meine – lead vocals
Rudolf Schenker – rhythm guitar, 6 & 12-string acoustic guitars, EBow, backing vocals
Matthias Jabs – lead guitar, rhythm guitar, 6 & 12-string acoustic guitars, slide guitar
Ralph Rieckermann – bass

Additional musicians

Curt Cress – drums, percussion
Pitti Hecht – percussion
Luke Herzog, Koen van Bael – keyboards

Production

Erwin Musper – producer, engineer, mixing
Keith Olsen – producer on track 1
Evelien Tjebbes, Attie Bauw, Peter Kirkman – assistant engineers
David Foster – producer, arranger, keyboards on track 7 (uncredited on this album, but credited on single)
Claude Gaudette – keyboards on track 7 (uncredited on this album, but credited on single)
David Reitzas, Felipe Elgueta – engineers on track 7 (uncredited on this album, but credited on single)
Chris Lord-Alge – mixing on track 7 (uncredited on this album, but credited on single)
George Marino – mastering at Sterling Sound, New York

Charts

Chart (1996)	Peak position
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)^[8]	20
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)^[9]	37
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)^[10]	95
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)^[11]	10
French Albums (SNEP)^[12]	11
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)^[13]	8
Hungarian Albums (MAHASZ)^[14]	14
Japanese Albums (Oricon)^[15]	28
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)^[16]	4
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)^[17]	38
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)^[18]	15
UK Rock & Metal Albums (OCC)^[19]	18
US Billboard 200^[20]	99

Certifications


Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Finland (Musiikkituottajat)^[21]	Gold	25,000^[21]
France (SNEP)^[22]	Gold	100,000^*
Germany (BVMI)^[23]	Gold	250,000^{^}
Indonesia^[24]	Platinum	50,000^[25]
Malaysia^[26]	6× Platinum	150,000^[26]
Portugal (AFP)^[24]	Gold	20,000^{^}
Singapore (RIAS)^[24]	Gold	7,500^[25]
South Korea (KMCA)^[24]	Gold	15,000^[25]
Thailand^[27]	Platinum	50,000^[27]
^* Sales figures based on certification alone. ^{^} Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

^ Weber, Barry. "Scorpions Pure Instinct review". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 5 August 2011.
^ Popoff, Martin (1 August 2007). The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal: Volume 3: The Nineties. Burlington, Ontario, Canada: Collector's Guide Publishing. pp. 387–388. ISBN 978-1-894959-62-9.
^ Scöwe, Andreas (May 1996). "Scorpions – Pure Instinct". Metal Hammer (in German). Retrieved 20 June 2017.
^ Glas, Stefan (1996). "Review Album: Scorpions - Pure Instinct". Rock Hard (in German). No. 101. Retrieved 20 June 2017.
^ Loloceltic (7 May 2011). "Scorpions Pure Instinct review". Music Waves (in French). Retrieved 15 April 2020.
^ Jeffrey Easton. "Metal Exiles interview with Klaus Meine'". metalexiles.com. Archived from the original on 21 April 2010. Retrieved 21 April 2010.
^ Pure Instinct (liner notes). Scorpions. Germany: EastWest Records GmbH. 1996. 0630-14524-2 35 511 5.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
^ "Austriancharts.at – Scorpions – Pure Instinct" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved March 25, 2024.
^ "Ultratop.be – Scorpions – Pure Instinct" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved March 25, 2024.
^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Scorpions – Pure Instinct" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved March 25, 2024.
^ "Scorpions: Pure Instinct" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved March 25, 2024.
^ "Le Détail des Albums de chaque Artiste – S". Infodisc.fr (in French). Archived from the original on 22 October 2014. Retrieved 25 March 2024. Select Scorpions from the menu, then press OK.
^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Scorpions – Pure Instinct" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved March 25, 2024.
^ "Album Top 40 slágerlista – 1996. 21. hét" (in Hungarian). MAHASZ. Retrieved September 18, 2025.
^ Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970–2005 (in Japanese). Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. 2006. ISBN 4-87131-077-9.
^ "Norwegiancharts.com – Scorpions – Pure Instinct". Hung Medien. Retrieved March 25, 2024.
^ "Swedishcharts.com – Scorpions – Pure Instinct". Hung Medien. Retrieved March 25, 2024.
^ "Swisscharts.com – Scorpions – Pure Instinct". Hung Medien. Retrieved March 25, 2024.
^ "Official Rock & Metal Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved March 25, 2024.
^ "Scorpions Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved March 25, 2024.
^ ^a ^b "Scorpions" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 13 January 2021.
^ "French album certifications – Scorpions – Pure Instinct" (in French). InfoDisc. Retrieved 13 January 2022. Select SCORPIONS and click OK.
^ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Scorpions; 'Pure Instinct')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved 15 November 2011.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "Scorpions Pure Instinct" (PDF). Billboard. 30 November 1996. p. 53.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Certification Award Levels" (PDF). IFPI. Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 January 2007. Retrieved 23 March 2023.
^ ^a ^b "Scorpions bares its soul". New Straits Times. 19 April 1999. p. 3. Retrieved 11 July 2023.
^ ^a ^b "Platinum Award for the sales of 50'000 copies of Pure Instinct". Archived from the original on 6 December 2020. Retrieved 4 February 2021.

External links

[1] Weber, Barry. "Scorpions Pure Instinct review". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 5 August 2011.

[martin-2] Popoff, Martin (1 August 2007). The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal: Volume 3: The Nineties. Burlington, Ontario, Canada: Collector's Guide Publishing. pp. 387–388. ISBN 978-1-894959-62-9.

[3] Scöwe, Andreas (May 1996). "Scorpions – Pure Instinct". Metal Hammer (in German). Retrieved 20 June 2017.

[4] Glas, Stefan (1996). "Review Album: Scorpions - Pure Instinct". Rock Hard (in German). No. 101. Retrieved 20 June 2017.

[5] Loloceltic (7 May 2011). "Scorpions Pure Instinct review". Music Waves (in French). Retrieved 15 April 2020.

[Metal_Exiles_interview_with_Klaus_Meine-6] Jeffrey Easton. "Metal Exiles interview with Klaus Meine'". metalexiles.com. Archived from the original on 21 April 2010. Retrieved 21 April 2010.

[7] Pure Instinct (liner notes). Scorpions. Germany: EastWest Records GmbH. 1996. 0630-14524-2 35 511 5.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)

[ac_Austria_Scorpions-8] "Austriancharts.at – Scorpions – Pure Instinct" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved March 25, 2024.

[ac_Wallonia_Scorpions-9] "Ultratop.be – Scorpions – Pure Instinct" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved March 25, 2024.

[ac_Netherlands_Scorpions-10] "Dutchcharts.nl – Scorpions – Pure Instinct" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved March 25, 2024.

[ac_Finland_Scorpions-11] "Scorpions: Pure Instinct" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved March 25, 2024.

[12] "Le Détail des Albums de chaque Artiste – S". Infodisc.fr (in French). Archived from the original on 22 October 2014. Retrieved 25 March 2024. Select Scorpions from the menu, then press OK.

[ac_Germany_Scorpions-13] "Offiziellecharts.de – Scorpions – Pure Instinct" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved March 25, 2024.

[ac_Hungary_-14] "Album Top 40 slágerlista – 1996. 21. hét" (in Hungarian). MAHASZ. Retrieved September 18, 2025.

[JPN-15] Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970–2005 (in Japanese). Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. 2006. ISBN 4-87131-077-9.

[ac_Norway_Scorpions-16] "Norwegiancharts.com – Scorpions – Pure Instinct". Hung Medien. Retrieved March 25, 2024.

[ac_Sweden_Scorpions-17] "Swedishcharts.com – Scorpions – Pure Instinct". Hung Medien. Retrieved March 25, 2024.

[ac_Switzerland_Scorpions-18] "Swisscharts.com – Scorpions – Pure Instinct". Hung Medien. Retrieved March 25, 2024.

[ac_UKRock_-19] "Official Rock & Metal Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved March 25, 2024.

[Billboard_200-20] "Scorpions Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved March 25, 2024.

[FinlandScorpionsPure_InstinctalbumCertRef-21] "Scorpions" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 13 January 2021.

[FranceScorpionsPure_InstinctalbumCertRef-22] "French album certifications – Scorpions – Pure Instinct" (in French). InfoDisc. Retrieved 13 January 2022. Select SCORPIONS and click OK.

[GermanyScorpionsPure_InstinctalbumCertRef-23] "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Scorpions; 'Pure Instinct')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved 15 November 2011.

[BILLBOARD-24] "Scorpions Pure Instinct" (PDF). Billboard. 30 November 1996. p. 53.

[IFPI-25] "Certification Award Levels" (PDF). IFPI. Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 January 2007. Retrieved 23 March 2023.

[Malasya-26] "Scorpions bares its soul". New Straits Times. 19 April 1999. p. 3. Retrieved 11 July 2023.

[plaque-27] "Platinum Award for the sales of 50'000 copies of Pure Instinct". Archived from the original on 6 December 2020. Retrieved 4 February 2021.

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v t e Scorpions
Rudolf Schenker Klaus Meine Matthias Jabs Paweł Mąciwoda Mikkey Dee Ralph Rieckermann Herman Rarebell Francis Buchholz Uli Jon Roth Michael Schenker Rudy Lenners Jürgen Rosenthal Wolfgang Dziony Lothar Heimberg James Kottak
Studio albums	Lonesome Crow Fly to the Rainbow In Trance Virgin Killer Taken by Force Lovedrive Animal Magnetism Blackout Love at First Sting Savage Amusement Crazy World Face the Heat Pure Instinct Eye II Eye Unbreakable Humanity: Hour I Sting in the Tail Return to Forever Rock Believer
Live albums	Tokyo Tapes World Wide Live Live Bites Acoustica
Cover albums	Moment of Glory Comeblack
Compilations	Best of Scorpions Best of Scorpions Vol. 2 Best of Rockers 'n' Ballads Still Loving You Deadly Sting: The Mercury Years Big City Nights Classic Bites Bad for Good: The Very Best of Scorpions Box of Scorpions The Platinum Collection Gold Born to Touch Your Feelings: Best of Rock Ballads
Singles	"The Zoo" "No One Like You" "Rock You Like a Hurricane" "Still Loving You" "Big City Nights" "Rhythm of Love" "I Can't Explain" "Wind of Change" "Send Me an Angel" "White Dove" "You and I" "Here in My Heart" "You Are the Champion" "Humanity" "Raised on Rock"
Videos	World Wide Live Crazy World Tour Live... Berlin 1991 Moment of Glory Acoustica Live at Wacken Open Air 2006
Tours	50th Anniversary World Tour Crazy World Tour
Related articles	Discography Members The Wall – Live in Berlin

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