Tour De Force
Guitar World|April 2017

40 Years After the Release of the Scorpions' Taken by Force, Guitarist Uli Jon Roth Looks Back at the Making of That Classic Album and Explains What Caused Him to Leave the Group Just as It Was Poised for Worldwide Superstardom. 

Richard Bienstock
Tour De Force

IT FELT LIKE THE END OF AN ERA,” says Uli Jon Roth, talking about the three shows he played with the Scorpions at Nakano Plaza Sun Hall in Tokyo, Japan, in April 1978. And indeed it was. Shortly after those dates—from which were culled the performances that comprise the definitive Scorpions live document, Tokyo Tapes—Roth left the German hard rockers to step out on his own. By that point, he and the band had released four albums (plus one prior to Roth’s joining) of ferocious, riffy hard rock, all of it shot through with Uli’s virtuosic, classical-music-influenced shredding, and gained a substantial following throughout Europe and Asia. After Roth’s exit, he and the Scorpions followed very divergent paths—the guitarist explored Hendrix-y psychedelic rock with his own Electric Sun project and spent years immersing himself in classical and symphonic composition, while the Scorpions rode a more mainstream hard rock and heavy metal sound to global superstardom.

More recently, however, Roth has come back around to his Scorpions past, first with his 2015 album, Scorpions Revisited, and now with the live set Tokyo Tapes Revisited. For the new package, which has been released in a variety of configurations ranging from a 2-CD/DVD offering to a super deluxe limited edition box set boasting eight discs (CD and Blu-ray), four vinyl albums, an 80-page hardcover book and other goodies, Roth returned to the very place where the original Tokyo Tapes was recorded—Japan’s Nakano Hall. As for how it felt to go back to the venue that, in his words, hosted the Scorpions “at the peak of our live powers together”? “It felt good,” the guitarist, now 62, says. “I walked in, and it was the same place. But of course it was also different…because it was almost 40 years on!”

Diese Geschichte stammt aus der April 2017-Ausgabe von Guitar World.

Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.

Diese Geschichte stammt aus der April 2017-Ausgabe von Guitar World.

Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.

WEITERE ARTIKEL AUS GUITAR WORLDAlle anzeigen
THE JESUS LIZARD
Guitar World

THE JESUS LIZARD

Duane Denison tells you everything you need to know about his gear, trying to sell Steve Howe a guitar in the Seventies and oh, yeah! - 2024's Rack, the Jesus Lizard's first new studio album in 26 years

time-read
10+ Minuten  |
January 2025
MATTEO MANCUSO
Guitar World

MATTEO MANCUSO

The Italian jazz-shredder on social media, his love of the Yamaha Revstar and the advice given to him by Steve Vai

time-read
6 Minuten  |
January 2025
GRACE BOWERS
Guitar World

GRACE BOWERS

After a \"whirlwind\" year, the 18-year-old sensation discusses her love of SGS, inspiring a new generation of female guitarists, and how she's more than just a blues player

time-read
7 Minuten  |
January 2025
THE GUITARISTS OF THE YEAR
Guitar World

THE GUITARISTS OF THE YEAR

GUITAR WORLD'S EDITORS AND WRITERS SELECT 2024'S GAME-CHANGERS AND TASTEMAKERS

time-read
10+ Minuten  |
January 2025
OUR FAVORITE GEAR OF THE YEAR
Guitar World

OUR FAVORITE GEAR OF THE YEAR

THERE WAS AN ONSLAUGHT OF NEW GUITAR PRODUCTS RELEASED OVER THE PAST 12 MONTHS. HERE ARE THE ONES THAT HAD US ALL TALKING

time-read
10+ Minuten  |
January 2025
NEWS OF THE (GUITAR) WORLD
Guitar World

NEWS OF THE (GUITAR) WORLD

SIT BACK AND GET READY TO RELIVE THE BIGGEST, BADDEST AND DOWNRIGHT CRAZIEST GUITARCENTRIC HEADLINES OF 2024

time-read
10+ Minuten  |
January 2025
The Courettes
Guitar World

The Courettes

A PAIR OF FUZZ-TINGED GARAGE ROCK MANIACS EXPAND THEIR SOUND AND THE RESULTS ARE EXQUISITE

time-read
2 Minuten  |
January 2025
Within the Ruins
Guitar World

Within the Ruins

JOE COCCHI REVISITS HIS CLASSIC PHENOMENA TONE (AND A COUPLE OF COMIC BOOKS) TO CRUSH THROUGH A SUPERHEROIC SEQUEL

time-read
2 Minuten  |
January 2025
The Bad Ups
Guitar World

The Bad Ups

PHILADELPHIA PUNKS LOAD UP WITH PAINT-PEELING POWER CHORDS ON THEIR DEBUT ALBUM

time-read
2 Minuten  |
January 2025
The Return of Tab Benoit
Guitar World

The Return of Tab Benoit

AFTER MORE THAN A DECADE COMMITTED TO THE ROAD, THE LOUISIANA BLUES ARTIST IS BACK WITH A NEW 10-SONG COLLECTION, I HEAR THUNDER

time-read
4 Minuten  |
January 2025