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It’s fair to say that no other German band in hard rock / metal history has had the success and global dominance of the Scorpions. Since the release of their first album Lonesome Crow in 1972, the band has been on a mission to shake up the masses, dare I say it, like a hurricane. And they have done that with studio masterpieces such as Virgin Killer, Lovedrive, Blackout, Love At First Sting and Sting In The Tail among others. They also have a reputation for being one of the most energetic live acts in the world, having been captured on live albums like World Wide Live and Acoustica. Now add to that your latest project and the most spectacular celebration of your MTV career Unplugged In Athens. For his thoughts on the band’s career, the success of Love At First Sting, and the latest MTV Unplugged CD / DVD, I spoke with lead guitarist and rhythm player Matthias Jabs.

Rock man: Congratulations on everything you have accomplished in the last 4 decades, most marriages do not last that long, what has been the secret of your longevity?

Matthias jabs: Yes, first of all I think it is the friendship between the members because they have to like each other if they share a tour bus for many months and fortunately we all get along very well and the chemistry is correct. Then secondly, I would say that it is the interest in music and in the end also in success, everyone is very determined in this band and everyone wants to achieve a lot and more and I think it is a momentum that keeps us going.

RM: You have just released on CD and DVD a new live acoustic recording, MTV Unplugged In Athens, must you be very satisfied with the final product?

MJ: Absolutely, I mean it was, first of all it was a fantastic time to prepare all the arrangements, I went to Stockholm to work with our Swedish producers and friends, so three Swedes and a German arranged 25 songs and it was a great pleasure to start , but then to rehearse with all the musicians and finally perform in Athens, a great theater, great atmosphere, good weather too and it was the first time that an MTV Unplugged happened outdoors and in one of those spectacular amphitheaters looking down at the city at night it was just spectacular. Yes, we had a great time and you know, musically it looks great, so yeah, I’m happy with this product.

RM: You have previously released acoustic shows like Acoustica, how is MTV Unplugged different from that release?

MJ: Yes, we did Acoustica in 2001 and some of the songs are even the same because in the first place the band thought “Let’s not do our most popular songs again” because we have various arrangements for orchestral, electric versions of course, so we had many doubts about it but in the end, you know. The record company and the audience also convinced us that we can’t do a show without Rock You Like A Hurricane or Still Loving You, but it’s a whole new approach, aside from the songs that we repeat so to speak, but still got a different arrangement. . But the idea was to write some new ones, mainly to make songs that we never played live and a lot of those songs from the 70s, some from the 80s, some from the 90s are songs that the band never did on stage, so this is a First and foremost and for the most die-hard Greek fans it was a surprise, especially since it takes some time until you recognize the song if it is not announced, because the arrangements are so different, so it was a built-in wow factor for them. I think it’s worth doing even though we’ve done Acoustica before.

RM: What was it about Athens that made it ideal for this MTV Unplugged show?

MJ: First of all, we have probably the most loyal fans in the world who are from Greece, although we have huge fans all over the world, but they are crazy about us, that’s one thing. The other thing is that we were imagining an amphitheater right away, like the ones found mainly in Greece, there are also some nice ones in Italy, but in Europe and then as for the weather in September, where can you go outside where there is chances of rain? like zero and the temperature is nice at night? And you know, we are talking about acoustic instruments, you can’t have a big drop in temperature, if like the sun comes out in the afternoon, it’s very hot, like in the fall, like the rest of southern Europe and then at night. It’s cold that messes up the tuning and the very expensive guitars we have, we think that for recordings the tuning should be stable. So all kinds of aspects, all of that ended up like Greece, they have all of that, they have the nice amphitheaters, they have the weather and they have the big fans, so basically it was definitely our initial idea and we stuck with it. .

RM: There are a couple of interesting tracks in this song list, can you tell me a bit about Delicate Dance, which has a true relationship between Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin and Love Is The Answer, a ballad with guitarist Rudolf Schenker on vocals? .

MJ: Yes, the initial idea was that we needed an instrumental, we knew we had 23/24 songs, a very long set, acoustic guitars means there are no long guitar solos, so many things to sing for Klaus. So we thought we needed an instrumental and percussion solo, also to have at least two breaks for him during the show so he can get his voice back for a little bit at least and it was also recorded back to back so we played 3 shows, the first ones 2 are recorded. So that was the idea and I was working on this instrumental, Delicate Dance and when it was finished everyone liked it so much they said “Yeah great” and Rudolf had been working on an instrumental too but he thought mine is better as well. you added. some voices to his instrumental [laughs] and then we had Love Is The Answer.

RM: If you’re talking about classic ’80s albums, you can’t go past Love At First Sting. In 2014 you celebrate the 30th anniversary of this iconic album, do you have something planned to celebrate this milestone and why do you think this album has become a jewel in the crown of your catalog?

MJ: I mean, it has the songs, it has the right energy, we were flying really high in the early 80’s and some people say it was our most creative moment like Blackout and Love At First Sting and you know, it really is the moment we achieved status. headlining and multiplatinum sales and all that. In the meantime there are takes from those two albums and in early 2012 during the tour we take a break and look at those leftovers, so to speak, and there is very interesting material, so we fill them in, we have them as basic. tracks, you know, they had no written lyrics, they were just demos, but very good ideas from that particular era. In the meantime we have some basic tracks and we want to finish them, maybe towards the end of this year. [2014] and releasing them in early 2015, because Rudolf founded the band in 1965 and called it Scorpions, when it was still like a school band, so if you take this as the beginning all of a sudden I know it sounds strange, but then we have 50 years of Scorpions and we could release those shots next year.

RM: Love At First Sting has so many important songs like Bad Boys Running Wild, Rock You Like A Hurricane, Big City Nights and Still Loving You, at the time you recorded it, did you know you had something special on your hands?

MJ: Yes, up to a point. Songs like Rock You Like A Hurricane, but you get feedback from abroad, our agent in America was crazy about it when he heard it on the phone, and we hadn’t finished it yet, and songs like Still Loving You or Big City Nights, but especially Rock. You Like A Hurricane and Still Loving You, which turned out to be two of our biggest songs, people outside said “You have something special there.” As a musician, I don’t remember ever thinking that way, because if you’re still in the process of recording and creating things, you don’t think that way, at least we don’t, we’re just too focused on the songs and how to play. and singing them well and once the material is released, you get a more neutral perspective and if it succeeds, you say “Oh, now I understand why.” [laughs] but while you are near him you don’t think that way.

RMIf I can take you back to 1991, you had a worldwide hit on your hands with Wind Of Change, at the time, were you surprised by how widespread the success of that song was?

MJ: Yes incredible. I mean, first of all, at first, people from the record company came in, we liked a preview thing in the studio and they said “yeah, okay, but take that hiss off” and in America they released it. [laughs] We didn’t even consider the song to be important, it was just too different from everything else we had been doing. And then we played the first show of the European tour, right after the launch in Brussels and a French TV crew came and filmed the song live with a camera and made a video, without asking us and the song and the video. We went to number 1 while we were playing in the States and we said “Oh this is amazing” and all of a sudden the song took off and we didn’t do anything for it. So obviously, you know, this is a hit and since you’re from Australia I should mention that it was even on the Australian charts and we made the mistake of not going to Australia because we were already on tour. And at the end of the tour it was like one of the longest we ever done, like two and a half years, and then someone said “Okay, now you can go to Australia” and we said “Oh next time” and we didn’t. and we still feel that it was the biggest mistake. Because that’s what’s missing in our career that we’ve never played in Australia, I think it’s a shame.

RM: Of all the albums you have recorded, are there one or two that stand out as personal favorites and why?

MJ: My personal albums, I think Blackout is one of my favorites. Blackout and Love At First Sting, we mention the ones that are now my favorites, because it shows how the band went from being professional. Yes but do you know? so much and so successful you know With those records we did it big we have a different sound, we sound more, although we sound young and energetic, suddenly we sound more mature, I don’t know if that’s the right word, but we sound like world class all of a sudden. That’s when we really took off in the 80s, I must also mention that I really like the album Sting In The Tail that was released in 2010, our last studio recording, it is also an album that I am totally happy with, because like all songs and that is not the case on other albums.

RM: When you play your last show and put your guitars away for the last time, how do you think the pages of music history will remember the Scorpions?

MJ: Definitely the most successful international band from Germany, that’s already a fact. I don’t see anyone who can follow us and because we are one of the few bands that can play in almost every country in the world. Yes, I think the most successful international band from Germany comes to mind, the rock band.

RM: Again, congratulations on the release of MTV Unplugged In Athens, on behalf of everyone here at Full Throttle Rock, I would like to wish you all the best for the future and thank you so much for all the years of great music you have given us.

MJ: Yes, thank you very much.

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