Usually, the first sounds we are listen at a young age are the ones that set the basis for the sounds that will be the most accessible to our ears for many years to come. I bought “Tokyo Tapes” in 1982, it was the second vinyl I bought and the first album by Scorpions. To this day, I consider it the greatest live album I’ve ever heard.
Willingly or not, I got into a (always healthy) debate with a few people in my environment about which period of Scorpions I prefer. By the way, there are plenty of such debates in music and they are a cause for very nice and interesting discussions. I clearly state that I am a strong supporter of the Scorpions period with Uli Jon Roth on guitar. Here, I want to thank the editorial staff of Rockpages.gr for this article that they assigned me, as now, after 42 years, I have the opportunity to at least try to answer myself first, why. Not that it really matters, tastes are always tastes, but it is interesting to look for something inside yourself and give yourself explanations.
So I have just now discovered that what excites me about the first period of Scorpions, or better, from 1974 probably until 1979, are two things. The first, is the compositional part and the pluralism of ideas and themes that distinguishes magical compositions like “Fly To The Rainbow”, “In Trance”, “Born To Touch Your Feelings”, “Speedy’s Coming”, “Pictured Life” and of course the German’s top composition in my opinion, “We’ll Burn The Sky” among many others. Roth’s involvement in the songwriting of these albums is considerably less than Rudolf Schenker’s and the ones he wrote exclusively by himself continue to be difficult to digest even today. But here this last one comes in and “clicks” and that is Roth’s incredible playing and sound on Schenker’s songs with the combination of two completely different guitarists, Roth indulging in a classic 70’s sound, often bordering on psychedelic and with his own personal stamp, and Schenker putting his own unique spin on the polished hard rock sound, a precursor to what would follow from the late 70s onwards. When this magical combination became one of the first sounds a kid heard at the time, it was absolutely normal that all that emanated from this music would stick in his ears.
Roth’s departure and his replacement by Matthias Jabs, was the kick-off for the Germans’ frenetic march to a level where it’s hard for anyone on the planet not to have heard the name Scorpions. Of course, Jabs’ presence wasn’t the reason, but the band’s shift to a purely mainstream music, accessible to anyone, with the talent of course being endless. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to talk about two different Scorpions. Personally, however, and as far as one of Scorpions’ strong points, the ballads, are concerned, I prefer much more “Born To Touch Your Feelings”, “Yellow Raven” and “Living And Dying” to “Still Loving You” and “Wind Of Changes”, even to “Always Somewhere” and “When Trhe Smoke Is Going Down”, with all due respect to the success they had and the impetus they gave the band.
Roth continued on his own path, based on classical music and other influences and ideas of his own, far from those of his ex-band mates. I don’t think he was ever interested in reaching the top.
We will get a good taste of Uli Jon Roth’s time in Scorpions on Friday, March 1 at the Principal Theatre in Thessaloniki and on Saturday, March 2 at Fuzz in Athens where this great guitarist will honour our country for the umpteenth time.
