SCORPIONS - Canadian Release Confirmed For MTV Unplugged
December 6, 2013, 10 years ago
Sony Music Entertainment Canada Inc. has confirmed a January 21st release date for legendary international hard rockers SCORPIONS' new offering, MTV Unplugged, on 2CD, DVD, Blu-ray and in various other digital and physical configurations. The release is currently out in Europe.
On September 11th and 12th, 2013 and as part of their massive 38-date Farewell World Tour, Klaus Meine (vocals, guitars), Rudolf Schenker (guitars, vocals), Matthias Jabs (guitars), Pawel Maciwoda (bass) and James Kottak (drums) played two fantastic acoustic sets in the Lycabettus Theatre, Athens and made history in the process; it is the first ever open-air show in the history of MTV Unplugged.
Throughout its two-and-a-half hours, the show features an impressive range of brand new songs and classic tracks. As vocalist Klaus Meine recalls; “We played here many years ago. It is a beautiful place. I can remember that even back then the fans climbed onto the surrounding rocks. Of course we played some of the greatest classics this time, but we also performed a few new songs as well as material that we had never played live up to then. Those are songs which are very popular with the fans but which somehow never made it onto the set lists.”
The Scorpions evidently enjoyed this musical rollercoaster ride through their own history. It is equally obvious that both rock songs and power ballads display their class and style even when rendered as acoustic versions. The melodies maintain their timeless compositional appeal and the quality of the performance showcases the band at their very best.
The show opens with ‘Sting In The Tail’, arranged in a Cajun style. This song, taken from the eponymous album of 2010, bears witness to how deeply the Scorpions are rooted in rock 'n' roll and blues. The same applies to the set of classics that follow, such as ‘Pictured Life’, ‘Speedy's Coming’ or the hymnal ‘Born To Touch Your Feelings’ There are even more nuggets from the sheer endless stock of hits such as ‘Rock You Like A Hurricane’ ‘Still Loving You’ ‘Big City Nights’, ‘No One Like You’ ‘When The Smoke Is Going Down’ and ‘Wind Of Change’– as well as a few welcome surprises to dazzle the connoisseur. ‘When You Came Into My Life’, where Rudolf Schenker plays a sitar, is one of those tracks which the Scorpions had never before played live, as are ‘Where The River Flows’ and ‘Passion Rules The Game’. They also perform ‘Love Is The Answer’ a ballad for which Rudolf Schenker took over as lead vocalist – a feat that does not happen very often. And immediately after this, Klaus Meine surprises us with the world premiere of ‘Follow Your Heart’ in this exceptional set of two dozen songs.
Tracklisting:
Disc 1
'Sting In The Tail'
'Can't Live Without You'
'Pictured Life'
'Speedy's Coming'
'Born To Touch Your Feeling'
'The Best Is Yet To Come'
'Dancing With The Moonlight'
'In Trance'
'When You Came Into My Live'
'Delicate Dance' (Matthias Solo)
'Love Is The Answer' (Rudolf Solo)
'Follow Your Heart' (Klaus Solo)
Disc 2
'Send Me An Angel'
'Where the River Flows'
'Passion Rules The Game'
'Rock You Like A Hurricane'
'Hit Between The Eyes'
'Rock 'N' Roll Band'
'Blackout'
'Still Loving You'
'Big City Nights'
'Wind Of Change'
'No One Like You'
'When The Smoke Is Going Down'
Check out the trailer for MTV Unplugged below:
'In Trance':
'Dancing With The Moonlight':