Oh yeah, a cool story i forgot to include in the video - Ragdoll played a festival side stage as the last act of the night and actually played AFTER the Scorpions headline set. I'll always remember sprinting from the pit to our stage because I wanted to watch as much as I can. Loads of people ended up wandering over to our stage after they finished - that was a wild night. Oh yeah - "Passion Rules the Game", "Still Loving You", "Lust or Love", "He's a Woman..." and "Blackout" all almost made the cut for this video!
My favorite riffs are on every track on Love At First Sting. But "Hey, You" makes it up there high on my list of favorite Scorpions riffs. Sure, it's an oddball song and was only released as a single. It's definitely worth listening to.
Mathias is certainly underrated. Saw them on the Blackout tour, Monsters Of Rock, and then at Red Rocks six years ago, and he always nails it. One of the best and most consistent live lead players of all time! 😎🤘
@@LeonTodd Rudy flippin' that grey hair around headbanging at Red Rocks was awesome - their shows are so polished and full of energy. I was impressed with Klaus's vocal range, too. They were all in their late 60's and still to this day, I'd put them up against any other band live!
Underrated? By who?? Absolutely by no-one. If guitar player is always not in every magazine or voted for ”best player of the year” doesnt mean one is underrated
@@hannutomukorpi3753 Underrated in the sense that he is not talked about enough not only in guitar magazines as you said, but also in guitar forums, guitar youtube and social media. Very few and far between compared to other guitar players unfortunately!
I love Scorpions, my favorite riffs, dynamite, virgin killer, animal magnetism, the sail of charon, rock you like a hurricane, big city nights, coming home, Scorpions are legend!!! here are so many beautiful riffs of scorpions, Schenker is a master of riffs. i also think matthias jabs is an underrated guitarist, actually he plays many guitar parts, solos, riffs, acoustics, always doing a great job, while rudy is simply one of the best rhythm guitarists and composers in heavy / rock history
Awesome job on Sail of Charon! Amazing that and He's a Woman, She's a Man were on the same album in... 1977. They must have had a time machine or something.
Great Uli rendition, Leon. The Scorpions were the 3rd band I ever saw play live. 1982, Blackout tour at Hammersmith Odeon. It was a great gig. Saw them two more times in 1985, including at Knebworth on a very very wet and cold British summer day where the reformed classic Deep Purple were headlining. The Scorpions blew everyone away that day (Mountain were the next best in my opinion). I've always been a fan of all the Scorpions guitarists. Matthias is indeed very underrated and is not only a great player but a great showman as well. I also saw Uli play with Electric Sun in I think 1983. He was, as we say here, different gravy. Oh and I forgot to mention I saw MSG play 3 times in the very early 80s. Fair to say I've always been a bit of a fan of these great German musicians.
That Knebworth gig was seriously seriously wet and muddy. I loved seeing seeing Meat Loaf fall on his arse dodging the hail of bottles of piss. The not-really-UFO were great too, I think possibly the only band it didn't rain on. Hitch-hiking home, absolutely plastered in mud from head to toe was fun, 15 year-old me and my mate got a ride all the way home to Warwickshire from Knebworth in a brand new car, the owner didn't say a word about the state of us or it! Haha, just remembered Klaus Meine shouting out "Good evening Ke-neb-vurt!" (phonetically), you'd have thought someone would have coached him how to say it properly.
@@Mr.MFuckingYTchangedmyname Meat Loaf got the biggest cheer of the whole day when he stacked it 😊, one of my fondest gig memories. I remember seeing Lemmy manhandle his bird's Renault 5 out of the mud whilst she spun the wheels up. I reckon he must have had superhuman speed strength to pick the back end up and push it. Good times 👍
I remember the early 80s when the “Big Three” Scorpions, Iron Maiden and Judas Priest just ruled the arena when all 3 bands were in their prime and playing many shows everywhere. Miss those days big time.
Wow I am surprised no one mentioned The Zoo, or Blackout. or even Loving You Sunday Morning. If this is about iconic riffs then No Like You and Sales of Charon are more about the lead over the riff than the riff itself. I learned how to play the guitar on the Scorpions and there is so much from before Love at First Sting that are killer riffs. Keep up the good work! You rip!
Love the Scorps riffs! Excellent choices. And killer groove on Sails of Charon. Nice Hamer connection with your Standard as Hamer was the shop that painted Michael Schenker’s Gibson V its famous black/white pattern. In fact, Hamer actually offered their Vector in a black/white finish in the early 80’s. I had an 83 Vector for a while. Killer Scorps, early Priest tones galore. I finally got to see the Scorpions back 2017. Rudolph was using a V in his brother’s signature black/white paint scheme. Mega death opened for that show. 🤘🏼
Falling in Love was the first Scorpions song that I played live…Everyone should do themselves a favor and listen to the live Tokyo Tapes as well. Such great rock songs!
I was kinda hoping to hear "Blackout" -- the rhythm playing on that track is so on-point, and it's *hard* to play right! Anyhow, I sat through the video wondering "why is Leon holding that strat?" and it all made perfect sense when he lit into "Sails of Charon" at the end. Also the combination of Hamers in "No One Like You" was epic!
My childhood sweetheart gave me the No-one Like You picture disk for my 16th birthday. Love that song! Let's not forget Don't Make No Promises, The Zoo, In Trance and Catch Your Train.
Black out is the obvious one missed. A big part of the scorpions tone, is the Dommenget guitars. Made buy Boris Dommenget, they all feature his muscle bucker pickup. Which is an extremely high output pickup. But a Bill Lawrence XL 500 pickup, in Matthias strat. Is what’s used on black out. Another fun fact, is that he was the first guy to ever have a Floyd Rose. Before Floyd Rose got his big break, with his rather handy invention. He would go to shows to show guitar players, and try get players to use his product. Matthias Jabs was the first one.
Didn't know that about the Floyd connection, or about the muscle bucker! I had Blackout on my original short-list but then I wanted to get an Uli tune on there so it got bumped
In my opinion, the other hugely influential tune from the Uli period would be "We'll Burn The Sky" from the Taken By Force studio lp and also The Tokyo Tapes live album. Not only was that song a tremendous vehicle to showcase Uli's soloing, but it also foreshadowed the band's future commercial tilt and emphasis on featuring at least one ballad on every album after Uli had left the group.
@@LeonTodd Hey, Leon! Thank you for the reply. As long as I’ve got you on a direct line…Another two-guitar band from that era and genre who might be worth a video dive is Y&T (gotta plug my SF Bay Area homegrown band!). Especially the years when rhythm guitarist, Joey Alves was alive-Lead guitarist/lead singer, Dave Meniketti always touted Joey during interviews as being on par with Malcolm Young! Back to Scorpions…Yeah, what a storied career and discography, even with the changes on lineups and directions! More amazing to me was that they not only were prolific at songwriting and commercializing their brand, but they were (and though a little older and a little slower) still are one of those bands that really understood their audience and how to connect with it live, making people feel like they were one with the band. I cannot think of a live performance where they failed to deliver, regardless of the venue size, or the setting (high-volume/electric, or low-key/unplugged set).
YES! Y&T never broke in Australia but I heard loads of them on the radio when we toured the states. Summertime Girls is the best VH song VH never wrote :p Rudy And Klaus are aspirational and inspirational - so much energy on stage, so much vibe.
@@LeonTodd For Y&T: Earthshaker, Black Tiger, Mean Streak, In Rock We Trust, Open Fire (live album), and Down For The Count were the prominent albums featuring their classic line-up. Lots of material from that period, including Summertime Girls. For my taste, Forever, I Believe In You, Winds of Change, Open Fire, Barroom Boogie, Hell or High Water, Don't Wanna Lose, My Way or The Highway, Midnight In Tokyo, Hang 'Em High, Straight Thru The Heart, Mean Streak, Lipstick and Leather, and Don't Stop Runnin' are the real gems. There are some on the later albums as well, though as Dave Meniketti eventually became the only original member left in the group it began to feel a little more like a solo project. I haven't looked since CoVID, but as far as I know, they were still touring until then. Another great live band!
Good morning Leon! " No One like You!" Always has me turning it up! Thanks for sharing some great musical memories! Have a great weekend and Be Well All!
A friend of mine picked up a used copy of Taken By Force in 1978 or so for 99 cents at a local record store. When "Sails of Charon" was played, it was a life-changing experience. I'm not a musician, but I knew the song was amazing and something special. I'm not surprised Uli went on to invent the 7 string Sky Guitar.....Great Five Riffs for a great band!
I love the instrumental Coast to Coast. It's so nice! It's interesting how the rhythm guitarist is the one ruling the song, and the lead guitarist is in the background just as awesome. And I don't like instrumental songs usually, but this one is a freaking exception.
Brilliant vid. Completely agree about Mathaius. Just as good as his predecessors (and I worship at the alter of Schenker). And great playing on that last track .. was boss .. :-)
Scorpions, unici nel mio cuore, due album comprai più di 30 anni fa, world wide live degli Scorpions e live after death degli Iron Maiden, e ancora a distanza di anni sono ancora nel mio quotidiano di vita. Grazie Leon 🎸👍🏻💯🤟🏻
Man, how do you narrow it down to 20 nevermind 5? Cost to Coast, China White, Don't Believe Her, Rhythm of Love, the list of killer riffs is seemingly endless.
Wow, some nice music from my country :-) . Allways loved the Scorpions and saw them several times Live. Matthias Jabs was one of my earliest biggest influences with his melodic style, very underrated in the guitar community, very rare somebody mention him. And Rudolph for sure is a great rythm guitarist, but other than his brother Michael he can not do leads for gods sake - although he does.
My absolute favorite Scorpions riff is the solo in the song “Blackout”. The fire in Matthias playing is just so intense it really makes that song just kick some major ass !!! I get fired up just thinking about how great it is.
So many fantastic scorpion riffs, hard to nail down top 5. "I'm Leaving You", definitely deserves to be there. Along with "No One Like You", "Coast To Coast", "Make It Real" and then some more Uli Roth like "Catch A Train", "He Is A Woman, She Is A Man", and one of my all time favorites "Longing For Fire". Yup, I'm over, Scorps are just too good.
Nailed it! Great picks. Just like Malcolm and AC/DC they make incredibly simple stuff sound incredibly powerful and exciting. One can tell that just by the smile on your face playing it. The only downside is that it's just impossible to sound exactly like them unless you are them! 😁
Jeez Leon. Love your playing, and how much fun you have doing it! Thanks for this one, especially the outro! Never could do that Phrygian dominant stuff myself.
This came up on my timeline and I had to watch again. I saw that I had told you about him using a strat with bass pickup in the bass position and you found a pic online.. Very cool! It's amazing that he used that to me.. I wonder how it would sound? I should try it sometime! When I saw them, Rudolph was amazing. He had the best consistency in his playing like you noticed! That song Tease me Please me is very similar in fingering to Ted Nugents "Snake Skin cowboys" which has the excellent outstanding vocals of Derik St Holmes who's one of my fav singers of all time. Most people think Ted Nugent sang Strangle hold, and he didn't. It was Derik. Who, btw made an excellent album with Brad Whitford of Aerosmith as you probably know. Another great guitarists and under rated IMHO. I grew up on that stuff probably like your father. That get your wings album I wore it out playing it .. then when I started playing guitar I started figuring it out and then forget it when the 80's stuff came along. Our brains can only remember so much.. hahahaha🤣🤣🤣.. Have a great day brother and again this was a good one. You should do a follow up maybe? Not to dictate to you how to run your channel even if I could, because you do an epic job, but MORE Scorps and Mattius! 🤣🤣🤣 Be safe my friend.. Be well and peace to you and yours sir!
China White is a great Riff, that whole era from Love Drive to Love at First Sting was one great Album after another. I kind of got burned out with them and never liked that winds of change song, and I had a couple of the Mike and Uli albums wayback at the start and never liked them, that last Riff shows how different the band is with different Guitar Players. More Hendrix than Metal. And the Tone of their Guitars when Matthias's joined, and of the Band, 5 years ahead of everyone else. Good Stuff, Rudolph is not a Rhythm Guitar Player in the vein of Malcomb, he plays some leads and some of the really pretty one that shocked me when I got to see a video. I saw then for the Love at First Sting tour but it was too much to take in and remember who was doing what, but it was like Maiden but only 20% of the solos coming from Rudy's side. It's Matthias's leads under vocal's that really set him apart. Bach like arpeggios or scales that trace, but out run the melody Klaus is singing. And the Tone, did I mention the Tone....... remind me to mention the tone.
This is probably one of the best ‘Matthias style’ explanations I’ve read. To me, I’ve always felt that way as well. His solos are terrific, but it was his lead/rhythm style of play that put the Scorpions on top. Remove his playing, and they are still good songs, but it’s not the same. It was his style that caught my ear and that’s what made them my favorite rock band. Half the time, I wasn’t even paying attention to the lyrics, I was too busy listening to Jabs guitar playing. That’s what separates him from the Scorpions other two lead guitar players. Not saying he’s better, but I think his style was better, and it had an immediate effect on their skyrocketing popularity and record sales.
Great to see Sails of Charon make the list. Such a fun opening and tight af riff. Uli rules and still does. Hope to still catch him in concert someday, he's still touring. Love his Electric Sun work too. Top Scorpions songs for me are Sails, China White, and Animal Magnetism. 🦂🦂🦂
Dude thanks for actually capturing a few tunes I would never think were that cool though the way you presented it here took on a whole new meaning and sound, so sure you missed blackout but this was so much better!!!
Excellent take on the intro solo there, Sails Of Charon was one of the primary influences on the development of my style along with Michael Schenker’s Into The Arena, Tony Iommi’s riffs, Vivian Campbell’s solo in Rainbow In The Dark, and all of the early Metallica. Tony Iommi belongs in your conversation alongside Malcolm Young and Rudolph Schenker, for sure.
Yeah bro! Sails is such a killer tune. Uli is a guitar god who just makes it all seem effortless. Klaus dancing in the vid is pretty freakin epic too…!
The Scorpions is one of my top 5 bands of all time. I think I have everything they've ever done. Double thumbs up for the unison solo! I'd love to see you do more on The Scorpions, especially including the song Holiday, but really just MORE SCORPIONS! Love that song. Did you ever see them perform at the Moscow Music Peace Festival? If not you gotta see it. It's on youtube.
My band doesn't cover any Scorpions but one time I did bust into "Big City Nights", joined by my drummer and bassist. All was going great then my singer started singing "Rock You Like a Hurricane". You have to forgive him. In the 80's he was too busy listening to The Clash and U2.
Hi Leon. Thanks for this one, good to know that you love Scorpions, too! It's great to see that they still get some attention they rightfully deserve. My biggest favourites probably are No one like you, Rock you like a hurricane obviously and Big city nights. Great playing on No one like you and the Sails of Charon BTW! Rock on.
I stumbled upon this and must say I enjoyed it very much. I am a huge scorpions fan and have been since the lovedrive album. I first saw them in 1980 with blackfoot and ted nugent and they have been my favorite band since. Scorpions are getting ready to release a new album in 2021 cant wait. I would like to add lifes like a river. Scorpions hall of fame... scorpions rule.
@@hoosierdaddy2308 Yes ted was the headliner in his tarzan suit. Great memories but there was just something special about the scorpions that night that made them my fav of all time.
@@LeonTodd a stealth request, lol! I could play it in the 80’s, but I’m no sure if the old fingers could manage it in 2021. Stranger things have happened this year, mind you.
LOVED early Scorps with Uli. ..Bet I’m the only one here who can say BOTH Blackmore and Michael Schenker called my house. Blackmore sent his guitar tech over to audition when he heard we were looking fir a new guitar player (with one of his personal Strats and a small amp with purple wax melted all over it , that the tech said was used to record all the guitars on “Machinehead.”) Schenker was asking my GF to play guitar on his new album.
@@LeonTodd And ran like an F1 car!😂. I had never noticed the influence myself. After I learned about it I realised how Uli was all over Marty's playing. I was even really lucky to get to see him live not long after that. Have you ever seen him live?
Hi Leon, fantastic job on Sails of Charon and all the others. Scorpions have so many good songs it's hard to say but Arizona is one and Falling in love is killer if it's played the way they do, what do you think?
If I could give this video 100 thumbs up, I would. 😁 The Scorpions meant so much to me in my formative guitar playing days. And I would never think of Matthias as under rated. If so, then what kind of world do we live in??? I recently picked up Amplitube 5. It does the Marshall thing so well, especially with the Joe Satch JVM. I've been finding myself playing a LOT of Scorpions through it lately for some reason.
Have you got tab for big city nights? trying to work out how you play the little part at the end of the run. A lot of tabs have it as a D shape in position 7 with an added 8th fret top E but that's not what you're playing (and other's too) and what you play looks like it's a lot less of a movement from where your hand already is at that point.
Thanks for the video Leon! Scorpions are one of my all time favorites. I can't play guitar, but somehow to my ears the riffs of Rock you like a hurricane and Raised on rock are pretty much the same. What do you think?
This is killer man. Very cool. I saw the scorps in 82. I think it was then or 83, 84. Iron maiden opened for them to tour in support of their number of the heast tour, so that's how l ok ng ago man. I was like 6 feet from Mattius, and OMG he rocked. He played a strat with a floyd which was the first I saw used live and in the bass position he used a bass pickup believe it or not which was cool. The rest of the time or most of the show he played the Gibson shaped like your Hamer Standard His had stripes or something. Rudolf rocked too of course playing at the time all Gibson Vs. I think he must have used 5 or 6 different ones, including the ying and yang black and white which Micheal Schenker became famous for. I read he bought it from Micheal, or Micheal purchased it from him. I don't remember. Either way, they fucking rocked. I'm not an huge Iron Maiden fan to be honest, although I like them, and they were great with the Jimmy dude, etc. 🤣.. The scorps blew them off the stage IMHO. Anyway. Great stuff. I love playing those rhythms! Just killer. Mattias doesn't get enough credit for his tasty licks when be shreds. Hope you're well my friend. ! ♥️🤟♥️🤟♥️
Mathias.....imagin the i is a double e.... matheeus. Apart from that, very good. Awrsome bit of uli at the end too........ maybe another piece of meat next ?
Robot Man is a killer riff. Everything off Animal Magnetism and Love Drive. In Trance Dark Lady, Hell Cat, Speedys Coming. All bad ass. Then Blackout album…..not a bad song on it.
What are your favourite Scorpions riffs?
Blackout!!
Always partial to "Lorelei" from Sting in the Tail. Very melodic, great tone. Ahhh young love and heartbreak...lol
Dynamite
Oh yeah, a cool story i forgot to include in the video - Ragdoll played a festival side stage as the last act of the night and actually played AFTER the Scorpions headline set. I'll always remember sprinting from the pit to our stage because I wanted to watch as much as I can. Loads of people ended up wandering over to our stage after they finished - that was a wild night.
Oh yeah - "Passion Rules the Game", "Still Loving You", "Lust or Love", "He's a Woman..." and "Blackout" all almost made the cut for this video!
My favorite riffs are on every track on Love At First Sting.
But "Hey, You" makes it up there high on my list of favorite Scorpions riffs. Sure, it's an oddball song and was only released as a single. It's definitely worth listening to.
"....Sails of Charon, the song that invented Yngwie."
This is so spot-on. 😄
Rudolph Schenker is without a doubt one of the Greatest Hard Rock/ Heavy Metal composers of all time.
My favorite band ever since I hear No One Like You for the first time. Matthias is super underrated.
Outside those song mentioned,
- We built this house
- Raised on rock
- Rock Believer
- Blackout
So many to choose from
Definitely agree with you about Jabs
Mathias is certainly underrated. Saw them on the Blackout tour, Monsters Of Rock, and then at Red Rocks six years ago, and he always nails it. One of the best and most consistent live lead players of all time! 😎🤘
Yeah he's been suuuuper consistent when I've seen them. All delivered with a beaming smile.
@@LeonTodd Rudy flippin' that grey hair around headbanging at Red Rocks was awesome - their shows are so polished and full of energy. I was impressed with Klaus's vocal range, too. They were all in their late 60's and still to this day, I'd put them up against any other band live!
Underrated? By who??
Absolutely by no-one. If guitar player is always not in every magazine or voted for ”best player of the year” doesnt mean one is underrated
@@hannutomukorpi3753 Underrated in the sense that he is not talked about enough not only in guitar magazines as you said, but also in guitar forums, guitar youtube and social media. Very few and far between compared to other guitar players unfortunately!
He is the G.O.A.T.
The best arena/stadium band, Scorpions are fucking awesome!!
I've been lucky to see them twice and they were AMAZING
Savage Amusement is my favorite Scorpions record. Play that first to last song so many times.
Passion Rules the Game is one of my all time favourite Scorps songs
I love Scorpions, my favorite riffs, dynamite, virgin killer, animal magnetism, the sail of charon, rock you like a hurricane, big city nights, coming home, Scorpions are legend!!! here are so many beautiful riffs of scorpions, Schenker is a master of riffs.
i also think matthias jabs is an underrated guitarist, actually he plays many guitar parts, solos, riffs, acoustics, always doing a great job, while rudy is simply one of the best rhythm guitarists and composers in heavy / rock history
There’s a killer old video of the Scorpions playing “Sails of Charon.” A lot of old Scorpions videos here on UA-cam, really.
"So committed to delivering a good vibe" I can't think of a better way of describing the Scorps! great stuff dude!
Fun video! No One Like You was one of the first songs that attracted me to hard rock back in the early 80's when the video in rotation on MTV.
i always enjoyed how silly their vids were :p
Awesome job on Sail of Charon! Amazing that and He's a Woman, She's a Man were on the same album in... 1977. They must have had a time machine or something.
Uli was waaaay ahead of the curve
LGBTQ shud pay them for writing that😜
LGBTQ shud pay them for writing that😜
Great Uli rendition, Leon. The Scorpions were the 3rd band I ever saw play live. 1982, Blackout tour at Hammersmith Odeon. It was a great gig. Saw them two more times in 1985, including at Knebworth on a very very wet and cold British summer day where the reformed classic Deep Purple were headlining. The Scorpions blew everyone away that day (Mountain were the next best in my opinion). I've always been a fan of all the Scorpions guitarists. Matthias is indeed very underrated and is not only a great player but a great showman as well. I also saw Uli play with Electric Sun in I think 1983. He was, as we say here, different gravy. Oh and I forgot to mention I saw MSG play 3 times in the very early 80s. Fair to say I've always been a bit of a fan of these great German musicians.
'Different gravy" - love that!
I saw the scorps in like 82 and Iron Maiden opened for them. Saw MSG open for quiet Riot in about 84 or 85 I think it was. Good stuff. Love Mattius.
That Knebworth gig was seriously seriously wet and muddy. I loved seeing seeing Meat Loaf fall on his arse dodging the hail of bottles of piss. The not-really-UFO were great too, I think possibly the only band it didn't rain on. Hitch-hiking home, absolutely plastered in mud from head to toe was fun, 15 year-old me and my mate got a ride all the way home to Warwickshire from Knebworth in a brand new car, the owner didn't say a word about the state of us or it!
Haha, just remembered Klaus Meine shouting out "Good evening Ke-neb-vurt!" (phonetically), you'd have thought someone would have coached him how to say it properly.
@@Mr.MFuckingYTchangedmyname 🤣🤣🤣🤣
@@Mr.MFuckingYTchangedmyname Meat Loaf got the biggest cheer of the whole day when he stacked it 😊, one of my fondest gig memories. I remember seeing Lemmy manhandle his bird's Renault 5 out of the mud whilst she spun the wheels up. I reckon he must have had superhuman speed strength to pick the back end up and push it. Good times 👍
I remember the early 80s when the “Big Three” Scorpions, Iron Maiden and Judas Priest just ruled the arena when all 3 bands were in their prime and playing many shows everywhere. Miss those days big time.
Golden age!
Wow I am surprised no one mentioned The Zoo, or Blackout. or even Loving You Sunday Morning. If this is about iconic riffs then No Like You and Sales of Charon are more about the lead over the riff than the riff itself. I learned how to play the guitar on the Scorpions and there is so much from before Love at First Sting that are killer riffs. Keep up the good work! You rip!
Oh I was expecting Alien Nation as it's a really cool riff but I agree Sails of Charon is just genius!
Great riff!
I never understood why the album Alien Nation wasn’t larger? There was some terrific songs and guitar playing on that album.
Love the Scorps riffs! Excellent choices. And killer groove on Sails of Charon.
Nice Hamer connection with your Standard as Hamer was the shop that painted Michael Schenker’s Gibson V its famous black/white pattern. In fact, Hamer actually offered their Vector in a black/white finish in the early 80’s. I had an 83 Vector for a while. Killer Scorps, early Priest tones galore.
I finally got to see the Scorpions back 2017. Rudolph was using a V in his brother’s signature black/white paint scheme. Mega death opened for that show. 🤘🏼
Rudy's ferrari V is crazy too!
I have never been more excited for a video.
Scorps are a Top 10 of all time band for me - always underrated IMO.
Excellent job.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Falling in Love was the first Scorpions song that I played live…Everyone should do themselves a favor and listen to the live Tokyo Tapes as well. Such great rock songs!
I've been trying to find a decent copy of that on vinyl for ages
Tokyo Tapes is just amazing. Still listen to it with the same love I had for it back in the day.
@@LeonTodd Incidentally it was the first CD I ever bought. Back in the late 80s. Up until then I only had vinyl.
Scorpions were my first love in 1984. As if 'No One Like You' couldn't rip any harder! Mind blowing!
Good choices, I would add Blackout and Bad Boys Running Wild.
he did play bad boys running wild
Matias Jabs is such a underrated lead guitarist! Dang Todd you did Uli some justice on that solo bro! Nice!
I was kinda hoping to hear "Blackout" -- the rhythm playing on that track is so on-point, and it's *hard* to play right! Anyhow, I sat through the video wondering "why is Leon holding that strat?" and it all made perfect sense when he lit into "Sails of Charon" at the end. Also the combination of Hamers in "No One Like You" was epic!
Yeah Blackout was on the short list and i actually started tracking it before i remembered i wanted to do Sails!
My childhood sweetheart gave me the No-one Like You picture disk for my 16th birthday. Love that song! Let's not forget Don't Make No Promises, The Zoo, In Trance and Catch Your Train.
Black out is the obvious one missed. A big part of the scorpions tone, is the Dommenget guitars. Made buy Boris Dommenget, they all feature his muscle bucker pickup. Which is an extremely high output pickup. But a Bill Lawrence XL 500 pickup, in Matthias strat. Is what’s used on black out. Another fun fact, is that he was the first guy to ever have a Floyd Rose. Before Floyd Rose got his big break, with his rather handy invention. He would go to shows to show guitar players, and try get players to use his product. Matthias Jabs was the first one.
Didn't know that about the Floyd connection, or about the muscle bucker!
I had Blackout on my original short-list but then I wanted to get an Uli tune on there so it got bumped
@@LeonTodd was a Bill Lawrence L90 not a XL 500 used on black out 😅. I must have been thinking of Dime Bag Darrell, who used those ones.
For me, it's fly to the rainbow that's missing. What UJR is playing is simply good. Especially when you see and hear his current versions on you tube
In my opinion, the other hugely influential tune from the Uli period would be "We'll Burn The Sky" from the Taken By Force studio lp and also The Tokyo Tapes live album.
Not only was that song a tremendous vehicle to showcase Uli's soloing, but it also foreshadowed the band's future commercial tilt and emphasis on featuring at least one ballad on every album after Uli had left the group.
Big time. "Still Loving You" took that intro as a template for a whole song!
@@LeonTodd Hey, Leon! Thank you for the reply.
As long as I’ve got you on a direct line…Another two-guitar band from that era and genre who might be worth a video dive is Y&T (gotta plug my SF Bay Area homegrown band!). Especially the years when rhythm guitarist, Joey Alves was alive-Lead guitarist/lead singer, Dave Meniketti always touted Joey during interviews as being on par with Malcolm Young!
Back to Scorpions…Yeah, what a storied career and discography, even with the changes on lineups and directions! More amazing to me was that they not only were prolific at songwriting and commercializing their brand, but they were (and though a little older and a little slower) still are one of those bands that really understood their audience and how to connect with it live, making people feel like they were one with the band. I cannot think of a live performance where they failed to deliver, regardless of the venue size, or the setting (high-volume/electric, or low-key/unplugged set).
YES! Y&T never broke in Australia but I heard loads of them on the radio when we toured the states. Summertime Girls is the best VH song VH never wrote :p
Rudy And Klaus are aspirational and inspirational - so much energy on stage, so much vibe.
@@LeonTodd For Y&T: Earthshaker, Black Tiger, Mean Streak, In Rock We Trust, Open Fire (live album), and Down For The Count were the prominent albums featuring their classic line-up. Lots of material from that period, including Summertime Girls.
For my taste, Forever, I Believe In You, Winds of Change, Open Fire, Barroom Boogie, Hell or High Water, Don't Wanna Lose, My Way or The Highway, Midnight In Tokyo, Hang 'Em High, Straight Thru The Heart, Mean Streak, Lipstick and Leather, and Don't Stop Runnin' are the real gems.
There are some on the later albums as well, though as Dave Meniketti eventually became the only original member left in the group it began to feel a little more like a solo project.
I haven't looked since CoVID, but as far as I know, they were still touring until then. Another great live band!
Good morning Leon! " No One like You!" Always has me turning it up!
Thanks for sharing some great musical memories! Have a great weekend and Be Well All!
Music to drive fast cars to!
@@LeonTodd " INDEED!"
they're all good. I might add "Passion Rules the Game" and "Lust or Love"
passion Rules nearly made this list, awesome track
Yes, Uli might be one of the most important influences on shred guitar and it's sad that he doesn't get mentioned alot anymore these days.
His "downstroke - hammer on - upstroke" method of phrasing triplets is really, really clever too.
@@LeonTodd Your playing was spot on.
A friend of mine picked up a used copy of Taken By Force in 1978 or so for 99 cents at a local record store. When "Sails of Charon" was played, it was a life-changing experience. I'm not a musician, but I knew the song was amazing and something special. I'm not surprised Uli went on to invent the 7 string Sky Guitar.....Great Five Riffs for a great band!
I love the instrumental Coast to Coast. It's so nice! It's interesting how the rhythm guitarist is the one ruling the song, and the lead guitarist is in the background just as awesome. And I don't like instrumental songs usually, but this one is a freaking exception.
Brilliant vid. Completely agree about Mathaius. Just as good as his predecessors (and I worship at the alter of Schenker). And great playing on that last track .. was boss .. :-)
Thankyou!
Scorpions, unici nel mio cuore, due album comprai più di 30 anni fa, world wide live degli Scorpions e live after death degli Iron Maiden, e ancora a distanza di anni sono ancora nel mio quotidiano di vita.
Grazie Leon 🎸👍🏻💯🤟🏻
Love them scorps!!!! You could have done 50 killer riffs and I would have tuned in for them all!!! ✌🏻
Amen to that!
Man, how do you narrow it down to 20 nevermind 5? Cost to Coast, China White, Don't Believe Her, Rhythm of Love, the list of killer riffs is seemingly endless.
I’m 52 and I love this channel , Leon is a excellent guitarist .
Too kind mate! Thanks for taking the time to check it out
Wow, some nice music from my country :-) . Allways loved the Scorpions and saw them several times Live. Matthias Jabs was one of my earliest biggest influences with his melodic style, very underrated in the guitar community, very rare somebody mention him. And Rudolph for sure is a great rythm guitarist, but other than his brother Michael he can not do leads for gods sake - although he does.
Thanks for doing this video Leon !! Finally someone gave the Scorpions some props !! Amazing job !! They are one of my top bands !!
Mine too!
Awesome!
Im a big Uli's fan too. I like Mathias but i wish Uli had never leave the band!
Cheers from Portugal 🍺🤘🇵🇹
My absolute favorite Scorpions riff is the solo in the song “Blackout”. The fire in Matthias playing is just so intense it really makes that song just kick some major ass !!! I get fired up just thinking about how great it is.
The Zoo has to be the best Scorpions riff…the groove is outstanding especially for being from 1980ish before they got especially massive.
The riff from The Zoo when played live is CRUSHING!
@@LeonTodd yeah
So many fantastic scorpion riffs, hard to nail down top 5. "I'm Leaving You", definitely deserves to be there. Along with "No One Like You", "Coast To Coast", "Make It Real" and then some more Uli Roth like "Catch A Train", "He Is A Woman, She Is A Man", and one of my all time favorites "Longing For Fire". Yup, I'm over, Scorps are just too good.
Nailed it! Great picks. Just like Malcolm and AC/DC they make incredibly simple stuff sound incredibly powerful and exciting. One can tell that just by the smile on your face playing it. The only downside is that it's just impossible to sound exactly like them unless you are them! 😁
Jeez Leon. Love your playing, and how much fun you have doing it! Thanks for this one, especially the outro! Never could do that Phrygian dominant stuff myself.
This came up on my timeline and I had to watch again. I saw that I had told you about him using a strat with bass pickup in the bass position and you found a pic online.. Very cool! It's amazing that he used that to me.. I wonder how it would sound? I should try it sometime!
When I saw them, Rudolph was amazing. He had the best consistency in his playing like you noticed! That song Tease me Please me is very similar in fingering to Ted Nugents "Snake Skin cowboys" which has the excellent outstanding vocals of Derik St Holmes who's one of my fav singers of all time. Most people think Ted Nugent sang Strangle hold, and he didn't. It was Derik. Who, btw made an excellent album with Brad Whitford of Aerosmith as you probably know. Another great guitarists and under rated IMHO. I grew up on that stuff probably like your father. That get your wings album I wore it out playing it .. then when I started playing guitar I started figuring it out and then forget it when the 80's stuff came along. Our brains can only remember so much.. hahahaha🤣🤣🤣..
Have a great day brother and again this was a good one. You should do a follow up maybe? Not to dictate to you how to run your channel even if I could, because you do an epic job, but MORE Scorps and Mattius! 🤣🤣🤣
Be safe my friend.. Be well and peace to you and yours sir!
Yeah that's a wild little hack hey! Derek is one of my favourite rock singers, what a voice
China White is a great Riff, that whole era from Love Drive to Love at First Sting was one great Album after another. I kind of got burned out with them and never liked that winds of change song, and I had a couple of the Mike and Uli albums wayback at the start and never liked them, that last Riff shows how different the band is with different Guitar Players. More Hendrix than Metal.
And the Tone of their Guitars when Matthias's joined, and of the Band, 5 years ahead of everyone else.
Good Stuff, Rudolph is not a Rhythm Guitar Player in the vein of Malcomb, he plays some leads and some of the really pretty one that shocked me when I got to see a video. I saw then for the Love at First Sting tour but it was too much to take in and remember who was doing what, but it was like Maiden but only 20% of the solos coming from Rudy's side. It's Matthias's leads under vocal's that really set him apart. Bach like arpeggios or scales that trace, but out run the melody Klaus is singing. And the Tone, did I mention the Tone....... remind me to mention the tone.
This is probably one of the best ‘Matthias style’ explanations I’ve read. To me, I’ve always felt that way as well. His solos are terrific, but it was his lead/rhythm style of play that put the Scorpions on top. Remove his playing, and they are still good songs, but it’s not the same. It was his style that caught my ear and that’s what made them my favorite rock band. Half the time, I wasn’t even paying attention to the lyrics, I was too busy listening to Jabs guitar playing. That’s what separates him from the Scorpions other two lead guitar players. Not saying he’s better, but I think his style was better, and it had an immediate effect on their skyrocketing popularity and record sales.
Thank you so much Leon.... looks like you had lots a fun doing this one ..
Scorps are the definition of FUN!
The first riff def drawed in my attention. Cool video man!!!
Thankyou!
Holy shit Leon ! Probably the best version of Sails of Charon I’ve heard anyone do on UA-cam….awesome ✨
Too kind mate! Thankyou!
Great to see Sails of Charon make the list. Such a fun opening and tight af riff. Uli rules and still does. Hope to still catch him in concert someday, he's still touring. Love his Electric Sun work too.
Top Scorpions songs for me are Sails, China White, and Animal Magnetism. 🦂🦂🦂
Uli is the crazy Uncle of shred
Another piece of meat with Michael Schenker is a cool rock/boogie.
Old school rock'n'roll!
Rock you like a Hurricane is one of my favorites and the first one I learned on guitar. I still love jamming on it as it is so fun and easy to play!
Dude thanks for actually capturing a few tunes I would never think were that cool though the way you presented it here took on a whole new meaning and sound, so sure you missed blackout but this was so much better!!!
Glad you enjoyed it!
My personal favorite is actually Alien Nation off of Face The Heat
Great song! Gives me a Judas Priest vibe in parts
I know a little of Skorpions catalog but Leon plays here really great
Thankyou Felipe!
Excellent take on the intro solo there, Sails Of Charon was one of the primary influences on the development of my style along with Michael Schenker’s Into The Arena, Tony Iommi’s riffs, Vivian Campbell’s solo in Rainbow In The Dark, and all of the early Metallica. Tony Iommi belongs in your conversation alongside Malcolm Young and Rudolph Schenker, for sure.
I see we have very similar foundational influences. Iommi is indeed one of the very finest and most influential rhythm based players of all time.
I love your HAMER EXPLORER !!!! great guitar and playsing as usual !!! thanks for the upload...
coast to coast from lovedrive
Yeah bro! Sails is such a killer tune. Uli is a guitar god who just makes it all seem effortless. Klaus dancing in the vid is pretty freakin epic too…!
yeah bro I want those outfits too!
@@LeonTodd surely Colliss would have some spare leopard print spandex he could lend you…?
@@scottcornall9854 failing that we can just de-tolex one of his amps :p
The Scorpions is one of my top 5 bands of all time. I think I have everything they've ever done. Double thumbs up for the unison solo! I'd love to see you do more on The Scorpions, especially including the song Holiday, but really just MORE SCORPIONS! Love that song. Did you ever see them perform at the Moscow Music Peace Festival? If not you gotta see it. It's on youtube.
Yeah they owned it at that Moscow gig, a whole other level of stagecraft
My band doesn't cover any Scorpions but one time I did bust into "Big City Nights", joined by my drummer and bassist. All was going great then my singer started singing "Rock You Like a Hurricane". You have to forgive him. In the 80's he was too busy listening to The Clash and U2.
I kind of want to hear that mashup!
This series is great! Great taste in tone!
Thanks mate!
Blue Oyster Cult - 5 killer riffs without Don't fear the Reaper
Great idea!
I like "Your Light" off the Taken by force album!
Rudolph and Matthias are some of the greatest rockers of all time. And Sails of Charon is a masterpiece!
Hi Leon. Thanks for this one, good to know that you love Scorpions, too! It's great to see that they still get some attention they rightfully deserve. My biggest favourites probably are No one like you, Rock you like a hurricane obviously and Big city nights. Great playing on No one like you and the Sails of Charon BTW! Rock on.
Sails kicked my ass!
@@LeonTodd and everyone else's I guess 😉
I stumbled upon this and must say I enjoyed it very much. I am a huge scorpions fan and have been since the lovedrive album. I first saw them in 1980 with blackfoot and ted nugent and they have been my favorite band since. Scorpions are getting ready to release a new album in 2021 cant wait. I would like to add lifes like a river. Scorpions hall of fame... scorpions rule.
Wow, thank you! Blackfoot are an amazing band too, they have a bunch of great stuff.
I bet that was killer. Ted must have been the headliner I would think in 1980?
@@hoosierdaddy2308 Yes ted was the headliner in his tarzan suit. Great memories but there was just something special about the scorpions that night that made them my fav of all time.
@@timhoskins9979 Yep. They rocked man.
Damn!
Spot on cover of Sails of Chairon!🤘🏻🤘🏻🤘🏻🤘🏻
Cheers!
The Song: Make it Real from the Album Animal Magnetism is one of my favorits
very nice works bro
Love Scorpions
Thank you! Cheers!
“Dynamite” playing Sir 👍.
I see what you did there :p
@@LeonTodd a stealth request, lol! I could play it in the 80’s, but I’m no sure if the old fingers could manage it in 2021. Stranger things have happened this year, mind you.
LOVED early Scorps with Uli. ..Bet I’m the only one here who can say BOTH Blackmore and Michael Schenker called my house. Blackmore sent his guitar tech over to audition when he heard we were looking fir a new guitar player (with one of his personal Strats and a small amp with purple wax melted all over it , that the tech said was used to record all the guitars on “Machinehead.”) Schenker was asking my GF to play guitar on his new album.
Whaaaat
great as always, thanks
My pleasure!
Maaannn... "Sails" is such a dope fuckin' song...
Marty Friedman has also said that Uli is an enormous, if not his biggest influence. I've seen him live twice. It's a transcendental experience.
That makes sense, Marty definitely picked up the ball and ran with it
@@LeonTodd And ran like an F1 car!😂. I had never noticed the influence myself. After I learned about it I realised how Uli was all over Marty's playing. I was even really lucky to get to see him live not long after that. Have you ever seen him live?
Best guitar faces on UA-cam
Michaël Schenker with Scorpions live '79 is awesome! He play the Uli Jon Roth songs very well .
That Live in Berlin bootleg is CRAZY good, his playing on We'll Burn the Sky is out of this world
Hi Leon, fantastic job on Sails of Charon and all the others. Scorpions have so many good songs it's hard to say but Arizona is one and Falling in love is killer if it's played the way they do, what do you think?
If I could give this video 100 thumbs up, I would. 😁 The Scorpions meant so much to me in my formative guitar playing days. And I would never think of Matthias as under rated. If so, then what kind of world do we live in??? I recently picked up Amplitube 5. It does the Marshall thing so well, especially with the Joe Satch JVM. I've been finding myself playing a LOT of Scorpions through it lately for some reason.
Yeah Crazy World is a BIG part of why I got into hard rock in the first place.
"Liked" simply for your "Sails of Charon"!
😎👍🤘
😁
Wow!
Great job Leon, it’s not only Matthias who’s always spreading good vibes. How about doing Extreme and Nuno for a 5 killer riffs some time?
Nuno riffs would be cool. What a great guitarists for sure.
SOON
@@LeonTodd Did you see the pic Leon of Mattius and his strat with the bass pickup in the neck?
Have you got tab for big city nights? trying to work out how you play the little part at the end of the run. A lot of tabs have it as a D shape in position 7 with an added 8th fret top E but that's not what you're playing (and other's too) and what you play looks like it's a lot less of a movement from where your hand already is at that point.
Thanks for the video Leon! Scorpions are one of my all time favorites. I can't play guitar, but somehow to my ears the riffs of Rock you like a hurricane and Raised on rock are pretty much the same. What do you think?
Yeah there's a lot of overlap there
This is killer man. Very cool. I saw the scorps in 82. I think it was then or 83, 84. Iron maiden opened for them to tour in support of their number of the heast tour, so that's how l ok ng ago man. I was like 6 feet from Mattius, and OMG he rocked. He played a strat with a floyd which was the first I saw used live and in the bass position he used a bass pickup believe it or not which was cool. The rest of the time or most of the show he played the Gibson shaped like your Hamer Standard His had stripes or something. Rudolf rocked too of course playing at the time all Gibson Vs. I think he must have used 5 or 6 different ones, including the ying and yang black and white which Micheal Schenker became famous for. I read he bought it from Micheal, or Micheal purchased it from him. I don't remember. Either way, they fucking rocked. I'm not an huge Iron Maiden fan to be honest, although I like them, and they were great with the Jimmy dude, etc. 🤣.. The scorps blew them off the stage IMHO.
Anyway. Great stuff. I love playing those rhythms! Just killer. Mattias doesn't get enough credit for his tasty licks when be shreds.
Hope you're well my friend. !
♥️🤟♥️🤟♥️
bass pickup?! WHAAAAT! I need to learn more about this
@@LeonTodd Yeah. There are pictures I'm sure out there of the same.
@@LeonTodd
Here ya go.
images.app.goo.gl/R4zwFoXfJ3xLY65w7
Nice tone - FM3?
Mathias.....imagin the i is a double e.... matheeus. Apart from that, very good. Awrsome bit of uli at the end too........ maybe another piece of meat next ?
We Let it Rock You Let It Roll and Coming Home
Dynamite blew me away when I discovered it live 12 years ago (I was only a casual fan then)
Both "Big city nights" and "Bad boys running wild" have the same rhythm pattern at the start.
8:17 Killer playing incoming!
Hey.... Scorpions are the best!
And You are doing great like you where from scorpions.
Great sound and feel !
great riffs leon how about blackout and arizona great songs cheers dude
Arizona might be the most under rated Scorps song!
YOU ROCK
What was that last one you played??? I dig that one!
Sails of Charon
Robot Man is a killer riff. Everything off Animal Magnetism and Love Drive. In Trance Dark Lady, Hell Cat, Speedys Coming. All bad ass. Then Blackout album…..not a bad song on it.
This is Awesome!!!
Thanks for checking it out!