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From page 15 of Classic Rock Magazine April 2004
Cover of April 2004 issue.
THE SCORPIONS
THE SCORPIONS HAVE JUST COMPLETED mixing their new album, ‘Unbreakable’, at Wisseloord Studios in Amsterdam. And we’re happy to report that it sees the German band returning to their hard-rocking roots, having confused fans with the pop-flavoured ‘Eye II Eye’ in 1999 and teaming up with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra for ‘Moment Of Glory’ the following year. In 2001, the band also played three unplugged gigs in a Portuguese monastery and released the results (but not in the UK) as the ‘Acoustica’ album.
“To me, ‘Eye II Eye’ wasn’t a bad album, but it wasn’t well-received by the fans,” vocalist Klaus Meine admits. “Those other projects were all interesting, but we wanted to do something in the best tradition of The Scorpions. However, we knew that making a record like this again could have been this band’s biggest ever challenge. The fans wanted another ‘Blackout’ [1982], but that’s easy to say and not so easy to do.” The band began writing songs last October. Having tested the water with two tracks that appeared on the ‘Bad For Good’ hits anthology, they considered re-hiring their former studio mentor Dieter Dierks, the producer of more than a decade’s worth of The Scorpions’ biggest-selling records, but in the end used Erwin Musper.
“Working with Dieter again was like being in a time warp,” guitarist Matthias Jabs smiles. “But it was just like the old days – he didn’t realise we have a delivery date.” Twenty-two songs were recorded, and those likely to make the final cut include ‘Remember The Good Times’, a buoyant rocker in the vein of ‘Big City Nights’, the punchy ‘Blood Too Hot’ and the ballad ‘Maybe I Maybe You’; in the ‘Wind Of Change’ tradition, the band address current world events with ‘New Generation’.
The Scorps have been around for so long that it’s easy to forget that Bon Jovi and Iron Maiden were both their opening acts. How confident are they of success in today’s market? “In England, The Darkness are now having hit singles, and that’s great to see,” enthuses Klaus. “Classic rock is coming back again. Now it’s time for us to prove that the Scorpions haven’t lost their sting.” ‘Unbreakable’ is issued on BMG on April 26.
