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by Shelly Harris
You’ve got to respect the mighty Scorpions:
they are the nitro-charged Mercedes-Benz of rock ‘n’ roll. There’s no question
that the Teutonic shredmeisters were (and still are) the best of the
best when it comes to dynamic, melodically inspired -- and ultra
incendiary -- classic “guitar-rock.”
Now, however, they
have proven themselves to be a highly durable vehicle as well, in that
they have survived 34 years in the worldwide spotlight without any real
crack in their steadfast unity or in their continuing ability to deliver
one of the most explosive stage performances on the face of the planet.
(Just ask anyone who attended their July performance at Tweeter Center).
Yes, there have been
some changes in the band personnel over the years (notably in the
crucial “lead” guitar spot, a position amazingly held by not one,
but three Hannover, Germany-bred world-renown virtuosos: Michael
Schenker, Ulrich Roth, and, for the past 23 years, Matthias Jabs), but all departures except one (bassist Francis
Buchholz in ‘92) were on friendly, good-willed terms mainly
because Scorpions always sought members who would compliment their
family/team ethic on a personal level, as much as they would
artistically. (In fact, the reason Rudolph, Klaus, and Matthias are
still based in Germany is to keep their personal interaction and close
communication intact even when in-between tours and album projects.) On the topic of the
Scorpions’ unstoppable drive, stamina, and not-so-secret, “team
work” winning formula, Rudolph Schenker himself explains (from his
room at the Ritz-Carlton on the band’s recent Chicago tour stop):
“Nobody in Germany did it worldwide for a long time, like we did.
I hear it all the time:
‘For Germans, you were a pioneer!’
But we grow, we enjoy it -- we have a good chemistry and a
good friendship; we have two new members -- which already aren’t new
anymore, because one guy came in ‘92 [bassist Ralph Reickermann], and the other one came in ‘96 [drummer
James Kottak].
So, we still enjoy it too much!
And some people don’t believe it, but we see it all the time,
people saying to us on this tour, ‘The Scorpions are better than ever.’” Now, everyone knows
that the band that “plays” together is likely to stay together, and
the Scorpions have certainly always done that as well. For instance, back in their earlier ‘80s touring days, they
used to have their own soccer team that would scrimmage with other bands
like Def Leppard and Iron Maiden during days off from their tours. Nowadays, however,
they are more likely to be seen pursuing their communal offstage “need
for speed” at the (auto) racetrack. In fact, guitarists Rudolph and
Matthias, along with singer Klaus
Meine, were just recently spotted at the drag races at Mile High
track in Denver (ESPN 2 grabbed them for a sound-bite), and Rudolph
recently was captured driving an Indy car for a bit on TNN.
(See more about that at www.the-Scorpions.com Yes, whether onstage or
off, they still like it loud, fast, exotic, and classy, though some fans
in the U.S. might have begun wondering, since the Scorpions’ more
restrained, subtle, and cerebral side became much more dominant in more
recent years. During the ‘90s,
however, the band actually went on to even more ‘glory’ in the rest
of the world with the 1990 release of
“Crazy World.” “Wind
of Change,” the international smash and Meine-penned ballad that
foreshadowed the fall of the Berlin Wall, was included on that album,
their biggest international seller, and further global respect and
acceptance accrued with their more recent collaboration in 2000 with the
Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, “Moment
of Glory” and 2001’s unplugged, “Acoustica.” Still, it was a
definite career trade-off for the band, who began finding their American
status waning proportionately to their increased profile elsewhere. But, not to worry.
As the band’s recent compilation,
“Bad For Good” (featuring many of their biggest ‘80s and
early ‘90s-era hits, along with two new songs) might indicate, the
Scorpions are ready to revisit the formula that turbo-charged their
‘80s-era scorchers, and are already in the planning stages for a brand
new (Dieter Dierks produced) album for next year, which, Rudolph
promises, will be in “...the tradition of ‘Blackout’.” In explaining how the
strategy they used yesterday will fuel them headfirst into tomorrow,
Rudolph elaborates: “Let’s
put it this way... ‘Wind of
Change’ was building a bridge, because at the time it came out,
change also came about because of grunge, and the way the radio format
was changing to alternative. That song gave us a bridge into the ‘90s.
Of course, it was more conservative, but we as musicians, we have
to move on also, to try to make our lives interesting. We only can make
a good rock album now because we’ve done other things.
By doing other things, you have a much better view of what you
did. So, in this case now,
when I say we are going to do something in the tradition of ‘Blackout’ [with the next album], we’re doing it because
we can now analyze our material like we did when we did the material for
the Berlin Philharmonic, which was an idea we actually first thought of
20 years ago.”
“We know now,” he continues, “what the chemistry was and it
is based on a very great structure. This structure we have to repeat
again, but in a new way. That’s
the reason why we went back to [producer] Dieter Dierks, especially
because we had the idea to do this [all new] album this year, but then
this proposal of a new [tour] package with Ronnie
James Dio and Deep Purple
and Scorpions came our way. And
we said, ‘Okay, but we don’t
want to come on the market with without anything new.’
So,we put a good compilation and two bonus tracks together, so
that here in America, we have something to offer, and also to give an
appetizer for the next album.”
And though the band
may have 20 years of history behind them since “Blackout” first
ignited their mainsteam success in the U.S., Rudolph makes it clear that
they’re not even contemplating switching to engine idle. “When
people come and say -- ‘How long
are you going to keep on doing it?’ -- I say that I think rock
music is too young to say how long you can still do it!
I think that rock music is a philosophy and a lifestyle just like
jazz and blues, and that’s the most important point people need to
understand. I think in
maybe 20 years when there’s someone who is 80-years-old and still
playing rock music, it will become normal. We were just at a birthday party for Ronnie James Dio where
we were talking about these kinds of things, and I know who was
responsible for this kind of thinking, where people say you can’t play
rock music when you’re over 30. It
was Mick Jagger and he was very young, and he said, ‘Don’t
trust anyone over 30.’ But
now he is over 30...he is over 60 already...and he’s still playing
rock music! [laughs] So, he was young and he made the mistake of saying
that, but everybody has to learn by going down the road and finding
out.” “But...”
Rudolph concludes, with all the enthusiasm of a man still at the
starting gate, “I think the good thing about it is that I learned that
nothing is wrong with being older and people liking this kind of thing
into their ‘80s. It’s
still the same vibe. Some people who may have spent too much time to
make their career and who are now remembering that music is a very
important part of their life are now going to rock shows again and
enjoying it. I think
that’s just fantastic!” Ahhh, Scorpions!
If it’s a 500-mile race, I’m willing to take bets that
they’ll still be in the heat --
and ahead of the heap -- whenever it comes time for that checkered flag.
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But
the Scorpions’ rare staying power -- and the perennially elite level
of their creative output -- is really no surprise to those familiar with
the attitude and determination of Rudolph
Schenker, the band’s venerable, “rock steady”-vibed captain,
who has been espousing a “hard-work-pays-off” and true team
philosophy since the band’s ‘69 inception.