Scorpions pull a VH, finishing leftover tracks from the 80s for next album

from here: http://www.planetrock.com/news/rock-news/scorpions-raid-vaults-for-new-album/

Guitarist Matthias Jabs tells Billboard.com that the German band are working on "unfinished songs from the early '80s, leftovers from the 'Blackout' album, 'Love at First Sting,' which some people think is our best time."

So far, he says, the quintet has worked on a dozen tracks with producers Mikael "Nord" Andersson and Martin Hansen, and more is on the way.

"We will dig in again and maybe have a selection of 16 to 18 songs and pick the best 12 from those," Jabs says. "It's actually very good material." The idea for the project, he adds, "came from the fans. They were the ones saying, 'There must be some extra material from those days,' and they were right." Scorpions are adding new parts to the existing recordings, while most of the songs "didn't have proper lyrics, just blah blah blah blah working lyrics. So in almost every song the lyrics have to be re-written."

The album is due for release in 2013 and it will coincide with a new feature length documentary which has been filmed over the past 18 months. And while they have not ruled out performing one off gigs here and there, the band are still planning to call it quits on touring when they play in Oberhausen, Germany on 15 December.

"We're not stopping making music or playing a one-off (show) or something, but this is the last tour," Jabs says. "We need to be realistic, and we can't continue like this for the next five to 10 years. We decided to stop at this point because we are still in great form now and would like to be remembered as a great live band by our fans forever. We don't want to grow old in the spotlight. But the sadness is there; mentally, it's not easy getting ready for a show and knowing it will be the last time in that place. That's a new experience, and it's not easy to cope with. I can't even think about (Dec. 15); I don't even want to think about what the emotion will be at the end of that show."

I thought they said Sting in the Tail would be their last studio album (Comeblack is a covers/re-recordings album). I guess they've changed their mind.

Required Fields wrote:

I thought they said Sting in the Tail would be their last studio album (Comeblack is a covers/re-recordings album). I guess they've changed their mind.

I understood it that they were stopping touring but continuing on with the music. I may have confused them with Priest though.

I'm just happy they decided to put all the leftovers onto one album instead of making me re-buy those old albums with these as bonus tracks. Good on them for not just doing the re-issue cash grab. I'll be buying it.

Worked well for Van Halen, hopefully it works well for the Scorps. Looks like they are doing the Priest thingee now - albums and off gigs or limited tours.........

Just wait until they all hit 70 and decided they want to go out for one last world tour again...........

thejokeriv wrote:

Worked well for Van Halen, hopefully it works well for the Scorps. Looks like they are doing the Priest thingee now - albums and off gigs or limited tours.........

Just wait until they all hit 70 and decided they want to go out for one last world tour again...........

Then I'd finally be able to see them live.

Its like someone said, I am sure bands do this all time, its just now everybody knows about and any obscure piece of magnetic tape that has some half assed riff gets posted on youtube

Well I'd like to hear it. I'm one of those that feel that era is their best. Looking forward to it !

I still need to get Comeblack. Ill get the new stuff if its stuff i havent heard before.

If the material is good, doesn't really matter when it was written.

^ Yep. Some great songs are left off albums so let's hear them.

S.D. wrote:

If the material is good, doesn't really matter when it was written.

Agree!!!! The new Van Halen from old material is awesome! Still love it!

Love them and waiting!

S.D. wrote:

If the material is good, doesn't really matter when it was written.

yep!

thejokeriv wrote:

Just wait until they all hit 70 and decided they want to go out for one last world tour again...........

Would that be a problem? I mean, Dio would be 70 now and i bet he would tour around if he was still alive. I never understood this "Bands have to stop before a certain age" thinking. As long as they can go out, kick some ass and still deliver good music, it's not a problem.
I guess it's also quite difficult for a creative mind to just stop, stop writing music, stop playing the instruments, stop doing concerts.
Therefore i'm not shocked if the Scorpions return in full force with new albums, concerts and everything.

S.D. wrote:

If the material is good, doesn't really matter when it was written.

Agreed.

ShadowAngel wrote:

thejokeriv wrote:

Just wait until they all hit 70 and decided they want to go out for one last world tour again...........

Would that be a problem? I mean, Dio would be 70 now and i bet he would tour around if he was still alive. I never understood this "Bands have to stop before a certain age" thinking. As long as they can go out, kick some ass and still deliver good music, it's not a problem.
I guess it's also quite difficult for a creative mind to just stop, stop writing music, stop playing the instruments, stop doing concerts.
Therefore i'm not shocked if the Scorpions return in full force with new albums, concerts and everything.

No, I just threw out 70 as an age since they are in the mid 60's now

I saw blues/jazz legend Charles Brown perform on his 93rd birthday at Jazz Alley in Seattle, he put on a fantastic show. I've also seen many other jazz performers in their 70s and 80s who could still play incredibly well, I don't believe age is really a factor.

S.D. wrote:

I saw blues/jazz legend Charles Brown perform on his 93rd birthday at Jazz Alley in Seattle, he put on a fantastic show. I've also seen many other jazz performers in their 70s and 80s who could still play incredibly well, I don't believe age is really a factor.

93 ? That's incredible . Good for him.

Personally...I can't wait for new material from the Scorps!!!

jstate wrote:

I'm just happy they decided to put all the leftovers onto one album instead of making me re-buy those old albums with these as bonus tracks. Good on them for not just doing the re-issue cash grab. I'll be buying it.

+1

This is one of my favorite bands. Looking forward to this album.

S.D. wrote:

If the material is good, doesn't really matter when it was written.

Exactly!

nevermore wrote:

S.D. wrote:

If the material is good, doesn't really matter when it was written.

Exactly!

new krokus and new Scorps!! YAY!!!

Sounds like the retirement plans are off for now:

http://www.blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=184455


KLAUS MEINE: 'There Is Still Life In Those Bloody Old SCORPIONS' - Jan. 5, 2013

Three years after announcing they were winding down their career, German hard rock veterans SCORPIONS appear to have changed their minds.

In an interview in the new issue of Classic Rock magazine, the band's lead singer, Klaus Meine, explained: "As the emotion built, it [not retiring] became a gradual decision. It's one thing to say, 'This is going to be the end of the SCORPIONS,' and another to do it. Our 'Sting In The Tail' album [2010] was such a success that a whole new generation of fans joined the party. It was amazing. And you know that with all the best parties, it's sometimes hard to find the door?"

SCORPIONS spent the first three months of 2012 in the studio with producers Mikael "Nord" Andersson and Martin Hansen resurrecting a dozen unfinished songs from what some people believe was the band's best and most creative period — leftovers from the albums "Blackout" (1982), "Love At First Sting" (1984), "Savage Amusement" (1988) and "Crazy World" (1990) — for an album that is tentatively scheduled for release later this year. "It will be material that was never finished; songs with pure SCORPIONS DNA from a very exciting time," Meine confirmed to Classic Rock. "Once we close the book on the crazy touring schedule, that's something we'll pick up again." An album of all-new SCORPIONS material may surface as well, according to Meine. "At this point nothing is out of the question," he said. "When we said adios with 'Sting In The Tail', our label, Sony Music, cried, 'No, no, no… What about this idea? What about that idea?' There are some offers you just can't refuse. I don't want to say too much right now, but I can reassure you there is still life in those bloody old SCORPIONS."

He added: "We'll just have to see what's realistic. We're working on a documentary movie about the band's history. We filmed the tour's big finale in Munich, which was very emotional."