In our first installment, we took a ride back to '78 with Van Halen's debut and the birth of shred. Truth be told, the seeds had been sown years earlier by two young German guitarists who would carve a huge mark in the European rock landscape in the years that followed.

In 1973, the Hannover-based band Scorpions lost their young guitar prodigy Michael Schenker to the more popular UFO, an English rock outfit that was starting to achieve success outside of its homeland. Given the difficulty of breaking out of the German market, the gifted teen jumped at the opportunity to join up with vocalist Phil Mogg, bassist Pete Way and drummer Andy Parker.

Rather than leave his older brother - Scorpions founder Rudolf - without a lead guitarist, Michael asked an acquaintance, local guitar whiz Ulrich Roth, to take his place in the band. Roth had been fronting a three-piece outfit called Dawn Road, which featured Francis Bucholz on bass and Juergen Rosenthal on drums. As Scorpions had been in something of a holding pattern upon singer Klaus Meine's departure for a "regular" job, Dawn Road joined forces with Rudolf who was eventually able to persuade his friend Klaus back to the microphone. Thus, a new version of Scorpions was born that would soon tear down the walls for German rock bands, becoming the first to achieve international stardom.

1974 saw the release of the band's second album Fly To The Rainbow, a very different record than its lighter, at times almost jazzy, predecessor Lonesome Crow. Strong vocal melodies, furious drum work and melodic bass lines were paired with the twin-axe attack of Roth and the elder Schenker. The unique sound the quintet created was fresh and new as evidenced by such standout tracks as "Speedy's Coming," "They Need a Million," "Drifting Sun" and the nine-and-a-half-minute epic title track, which features what is still one of the most menacing and powerful whammy-bar dive bombs ever recorded!

Bucholz, who had studied engineering, was to fashion a custom tremolo bar for Ulrich because the guitarist kept snapping them off of his Stratocasters! Check out the cover of Scorpions' third release In Trance - that bad boy is huge! It is that 1975 album that would become the prototype for shred guitar. Everything associated with the genre can be found on this brilliant collection of songs - sweep-picked arpeggios, diminished minor harmonic scales, finger-tapping and some of the most jaw-dropping wang-bar abuse ever captured on celluloid!

One listen to the Schenker/Meine track, "Top of the Bill," leaves one scratching their head in amazement, especially since it was recorded years before the advent of the locking nuts and floating bridges that make the sounds so much easier to create. Roth just goes for broke, sending an assault of turbulent whammy mayhem swirling almost violently through the speakers! Other than the over-sized trem-bar that Bucholz had made him, Roth was playing a stock Strat! Another head-turner is the track "Longing For Fire," in which Roth just absolutely blazes, shredding off two impossibly fast, yet extremely melodic and tasteful solos.

Beautiful, cascading guitar harmonies and some very clever stereo panning lend an otherworldly feel to "Life's Like A River," while a Hendrix-vibe is evident on the Roth-penned "Evening Wind" and especially "Sun In My Hand." This groundbreaking guitar work was wrapped by strong melodies and the awesome vocal acrobatics of Klaus Meine, surely one of the greatest singers in rock history. This was a combination that couldn't fail!

With their next record, 1976's Virgin Killer, Scorpions would reach dizzying new heights in the international rock world, especially in Japan, where the record was certified gold within a week of its release! Roth raised the bar again on such smokers as "Catch Your Train," where he creates the urgency of a locomotive going off the rails, complete with Stratocaster steam-whistle! This is some of the fastest (tasteful) guitar playing ever produced and any fan of rock guitar that hasn't heard it should make it their mission!

"Hell Cat" and "Polar Nights" again display the guitarist's Hendrix influence with their wah-wah induced wailing and psychedelic lyrical touches voiced in the guitarist's own inimitable way. His stamp is on everything the band recorded during his tenure, including such beautiful Schenker/Meine compositions as "In Your Park" and "Crying Days." The somber moaning that gushes forth from Roth's Strat on the latter track seems to emanate from some other realm, as if we are witness to a weeping God. The sullen melancholy of those ballads is countered by the ripping attack of "Virgin Killer." Roth dukes it out with Meine in a classic blast of turbo-shred that is arguably unparalleled to this day! When put in the context of 1976, it's simply unfathomable! Roth was playing circles around his supposed peers, and while the records were released in the States by RCA, the band lacked the exposure of a US tour, keeping them a secret to all but the most hard-core American rock fans.

'76 was also the year the mercurial guitarist met Monika Dannemann, who was engaged to marry Jimi Hendrix at the time of his death. She would provide Uli with a crystal-clear view of Jimi's artistic vision and would become a major influence on Roth's own work. Her stunning oil painting graces the covers of all three Electric Sun records.

The Scorpions would record two more records with Roth - 1977's Taken By Force and the following year's live document Tokyo Tapes. Though unhappy with the pop direction the group was starting to lean into, the guitarist stuck it out for the last year or so before departing to form his experimental Electric Sun project, which featured future Zeno and Fair Warning bassist Ule Ritgen. Taken includes what is widely regarded as Roth's signature song, the Eastern-tinged "Sails of Charon," a track whose striking guitar work prompted Anthrax guitarist Scott Ian to gush, "Even if I practiced for the rest of my life, I would never be able to play that!" Roth's growing dissatisfaction with the band's increasingly commercial sound was voiced loud and clear in his song, "I've Got To Be Free," though, surprisingly, it was Meine who sang it.

The double-live Tokyo Tapes, despite its weak production, is a testament to the power and virtuosity of a band at its peak as supercharged versions of "We'll Burn the Sky," "Polar Nights" and "Fly to the Rainbow" so magically demonstrate. The guitar work on "Fly..." is absolute genius and has to be heard to be believed. While Scorpions would go on to become certified superstars everywhere there was a stage, Roth chose the personal satisfaction of following his classical muse, eschewing riches and fame and all the trappings that come with it.

Roth dubbed his new project "Electric Sun" and released the debut Earthquake in '79. Although he shunned the "hippie" tag the media tried to pin on him, the Hendrix influence that had embellished his work with Scorpions was in full-bloom, aided in part by the return to a three-piece format. Choosing to sing lead himself, he was no longer restrained by the pre-set boundaries of his former band. Guitar fanatics were treated to heaps of spellbinding fret gymnastics on "Burning Wheels Turning," "Sundown" and the stunning "Still So Many Lives Away." The album's instrumental title track hinted of things to come with its masterful arrangement and nimble-fingered classical workouts weaving a uniquely innovative sonic tapestry. It's easy to imagine a young Yngwie Malmsteen sitting in his room, copping licks from this record. In fact, Yngwie (who has since become a good friend of Uli) has gone on record saying Roth is "about as good as you can get." (I wonder if the Swedish guitarist owns a "Uli is God" T-shirt).

Firewind followed in '81, taking the Jimi-meets-Ludwig concept a step further on songs like "Just Another Rainbow" and "I'll Be Loving You Always." In "Chaplin and I," Roth relates a dream in which he walks the streets of New York City with the famous tramp, both dismayed at the coldness of modern society. The acoustic playing here and in the optimistic "Children of the Sea," is simply gorgeous. The album's centerpiece was a multi-part epic entitled "Enola Gay (Hiroshima Today?)" in which the tragic events of World War II are recreated in a brilliant and powerful sound collage trimmed with Uli's always thought-provoking lyrics. The song remains a staple of Roth's live show, although he now prefers to call it, simply, "Hiroshima."

Upon coming off the road from the Firewind tour, Roth developed his own instrument, the Sky Guitar, that would greatly expand his instrumental range, enabling him to reach notes previously reserved in the string world for violins. With 1985's Beyond The Astral Skies, the man who had now become known as Uli Jon Roth reached a personal peak within the realm of what he termed "symphonic rock." The impact of the Sky Guitar was immediate and exciting on songs such as "I'll Be There" and the one-two punch of "Icebreaker/I'm a River." This was virtuoso electric guitar the likes of which had never been heard. The record marked another first with Roth tackling all keyboards, displaying an especially fluent finesse on piano in the tune "Why?" The multi-talented musician would later record "Aquila Suite," a collection of 12 arpeggio studies he composed for piano that is included in the 3-disc set, From Here To Eternity.

Over the next ten years, Roth dodged the spotlight, studying piano and violin, writing voraciously and updating his Sky Guitar. With the help of electronics expert John Oram, known for his Trident mixing boards, Uli began designing a special pick-up that would meet the demands of his sophisticated new symphonic music. With the "Mega-Wing" mounted partially under the upper fingerboard providing the fatter highs and increased sustain that he desired Roth set about writing several symphonies for guitar and orchestra. His first, "Europa Ex Favilla," was performed to a handful of sold-out crowds and featured on German television. Additionally, he played the dual role of musical director and lead guitarist for a one-off Jimi Hendrix tribute concert in his native Germany featuring such rock luminaries as Jack Bruce, Simon Phillips, John Wetton and his brother, Zeno Roth. Having given his six-string Sky Guitar to buddy Helge Engelke of Fair Warning, Uli was forced to perform the Hendrix material on his seven-string version, which he described as "pure hell!" He did well disguising the difficulty, playing one note-perfect classic solo after another in what are easily some of the truest renditions of Jimi's songs to date. The concert was such a success that it, too, was aired on German TV and released in Europe on home video.

Fans were ecstatic in 1995 as Prelude To The Symphonic Legends hit Japanese stores. Basically, a collection of decent-sounding demos that Roth had produced during his years out of the public eye, the record included the breathtakingly beautiful "Starlight," written for his girlfriend Monika on Christmas Eve. The liner notes explained Uli's concept of the Symphonic Legends and promised the release of three guitar symphonies over the coming months. Sadly, in 1996, the guitarist's eagerly awaited comeback was derailed by Monika's tragic death, the details of which will not be discussed here out of respect for Uli and for Monika's family.

2000 saw the release of the double-disc Transcendental Sky Guitar, a classy collection of live and studio tracks culled partly from the 1998 European G3 Tour. Founder Joe Satriani, a longtime fan of both Roth and Michael Schenker, invited the two German axe-heroes to occupy the other two slots on his tour. It was at once a stroke of brilliance and a nice tip of the hat to two of his biggest inspirations. It would also mark the first time Uli and Michael would play together on a stage and it was great to see The Master back in action!

An all-star band comprised of bass/drum tandem-supreme Barry Sparks and Shane Gaalaas, keyboard wizard Don Airey, violinist Steven Bentley-Klein and the impressive vocalist Liz Vandall ripped through classics like "Earthquake" and "Hiroshima" with the power and precision that Roth's music demands. The ability to perform classical pieces, such as excerpts from Vivaldi's Four Seasons and Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, seamlessly alongside Hendrix gems like "Voodoo Chile," is further evidence of the remarkable skill and musical reverence of this irrepressible virtuoso.

These days, Roth is working hard on Requiem For An Angel, his tribute to Monika, which features a new, improved Sky Guitar along with the incredible Jorn Lande as well as former Fair Warning frontman, Tommy Heart, on vocals, among others. Jorn described it as some of the most beautiful music he's ever heard and given the composer's inspiration, it's likely Uli's fans will feel the same. With this release, the music world will finally hear a true manifestation of the ingenious vision of Uli Jon Roth and undoubtedly, the bar will be raised yet again.

Next time, we'll take a spacetrip with the other God of Euro-metal guitar, the inimitable Michael Schenker, as he blasts out of the stratosphere with UFO.

Uli Jon Roth Discography:

Scorpions -
Fly to the Rainbow (1974)
In Trance (1975)
Virgin Killer (1976)
Taken By Force (1977)
Tokyo Tapes (1978)
Best of Scorpions Vol. 1
Best of Scorpions Vol. 2
Hot & Slow - Best of the Ballads

Electric Sun -
Earthquake (1979)
Firewind (1981)
Beyond the Astral Skies (1985)
Retrospective 1 (Earthquake + bonus tracks)
Retrospective 2 (Firewind + bonus tracks)
From Here to Eternity (1998)

Sky of Avalon -
Prologue to the Symphonic Legends (1995)

Uli Jon Roth -
Transcendental Sky Guitar (2000)

For official Uli Jon Roth merchandise, visit www.skyartsinternational.com.