Michael Schenker Group (aka MSG) ~ MSG (aka self-titled) (album review) ... '70's infused rock awesomeness!

Style: hard rock
Label: Chrysalis
Year: 1981
Home: London, England

Members: Michael Schenker ~ lead guitar
Gary Barden ~ vocals
Paul Raymond ~ keyboards/rhythm guitar
Chris Glen ~ bass
Cozy Powell ~ drums

Additional: Stephen Stills, Billy Nicholls ~ backing vocals

I'll also confess I've never heard anything by Schenker solo or with his group MSG, or with UFO & the Scorpions, except for his one album Assault Attack. I'm a fan of vocalist Graham Bonnet. I really like that album, yet never felt compelled to investigate Schenker further. I came across this second album from MSG & decided to take a listen. More confessions. I expected a blistering guitar onslaught that had foreshadowed '80's glam metal, or maybe something like the blistering Vinnie Vincent Invasion. My expectations were so far misplaced its not even funny. Considered a classic by fans, this is well worth seeking out. One last confession. All my reviews are written after numerous listens. I refuse to post a review before at least two complete spins. Sometimes I hear an album, but will sit on it for a few weeks before listening again. I just know I want to review it, but have other things I want to hear first. Other times I actually have an album spinning for weeks, because I don't know what to say about it. This is one of those cases. Its been at least three weeks since I've come across this album & I've spun it every few days. The reason for this is because ... its really good. Its really really good. Not just did this break all my expectations, but I can hear why folks call it a classic. Yet, I also can't put it into words, which is why I keep spinning it. It has a particular feel that I can't wrap my words around, thus I'm unable to sell the album to you in the way I feel it deserves. At this point I'm just going with what I got & you should just go & listen without delay. Its just as good as Assault Attack, though musically oranges & apples. This is way more laid back. It grooves more than attacks. It has a very '70's feeling. It pre-dates so many of the cliches of the hair metal scene. The trademarks of that sound are missing, so its a really strong melodic album of big riffs & interesting vocals, not to overstuffed, not too wild, not trying to fit a template but just making memorable songs. It has the raw feeling that came from Van Halen when they debuted, & like Ratt & Quiet Riot, while having its own feeling like those bands. I thought this might be a guitar noodling album, but absolutely not. Its not show-off, but an actual cohesive band outing. Gary Barden's vocals actually carry many of the songs & keyboards play a strong role. I really like the clean riffs & the fact this isn't in your face solos that are cluttering up the air. At times Schenker might even be under-playing. A few highlights to mention. "Ready To Rock" is the complete opposite of Twisted Sister's "I Wanna Rock". It's more like a guy who is putting on his clothes, combing his hair & chillin' like Fonzie. I'm kinda reminded of Montrose in its feel. He doesn't have to come on too strong, cause he knows how cool he is. "Attack Of The Mad Axeman" has a funky guitar riff that has a very '70's prog feeling. "On & On" is dominated by keyboards that go from Tony Kaye-like chords to a classical verse in something that is very proggy. The guitar takes over for an off the wall solo. It would completely be over the top if it wasn't for Cozy Powell's strong beat that allows both a keyboard dominated song & a crazy solo. Its like the keyboards are just a tease until the big surprise. This is a highlight of the album. There's also the big piano ballad "Never Trust A Stranger" that has that timeless '70's sound before power ballads became more more power than real ballad, or when Queen set the bar of what makes up a ballad. Another highlight of the album.

Scorpions ~ Bad For Good: The Very Best Of The Scorpions (hits comp) (album review) ... Rock you like a hurricane!

Style: classic rock, hard rock, heavy metal
Label: Hip-O
Year: 2002
Home: Germany

Members: Klaus Meine ~ vocals
Michael Schenker ~ lead guitar/b. vocals
Matthias Jabs ~ guitars/b. vocals
Rudolf Schenker ~ guitars/sitar/ebow/b. vocals
Francis Buchholz ~ bass/moog/b. vocals
Ralph Rieckermann – bass/b. vocals
Herman Rarebell ~ drums/b. vocals

Additional: Koen van Baal, Jim Vallance, John Webster ~ keyboards
Lee Aaron, Claudia Frohling, Tony Ioannoua, Cliff Roles, Jim Lewis, Dries van der Schuyt, Paul Laine, Mark LaFrance, Bruce Fairbairn, Mark Hudson ~ b. vocals

This is one of those bands that in America, for most of my life anyways, folks were more likely to pick up a Scorpions greatest hits than any individual studio album. They had but a few hits here & a small legacy often eclipsed. It's in Europe is where their biggest impact really lies & the most honest recognition of the diversity of the output. Until the last few years, partially due to the announcement they were disbanding, later retracted, but earlier due to the resurgence of heavy metal, American fans forgot the Scorpions had a four decade career full of much more diversity than one might expect from a metal band. I've always thought it was good to see them come back to the spotlight over the last few years, bringing American fans, new & old, to their studio output beyond just the few hits. But, ignoring this recent surge & even assuming that even with it many new or casual fans might just turn to the greatest hits album anyways, I wanted to take one of the many such compilations available & answer the question - is it worth picking up? Is the hype real & the legacy valuable? I declare yes. & unlike many bands the legacy is not necessarily built on reputation or names/faces or famous events, but just great music. The rockers are just pure headbanging joy, though some are less inspired & more imitative like "Tease Me, Please Me" & "Blackout". The middle ground, like "No One Like You", shows off the Dio-reminiscent vocals that were the secret to this band. Also on this particular collection for this range is "Loving You Sunday Morning" & "Big City Nights". There's a bunch of hits the Scorpions had in these two styles (i.e. "Rock You Like A Hurricane", "Rhythm Of Love"), but the real secret in the band's longevity might be the ballads (i.e. "Wind Of Change", "Still Loving You", "Send Me An Angel"). These are not cliched hair metal power ballads, as one might want to think, but draw on the fact that the Scorpions had been around in the 70's, thus these are more akin to Boston or Journey. The Scorpions are not an 80's power metal band & never really were & that's the even more hidden secret to the game. There's numerous greatest hits compilations. This is just one of many. It includes two new songs to attract old fans to buy one more album, but they are inconsequential as greatest hits additions often are as they're nice to hear but pale in comparison to the hits sitting next to them & their only value might be that they feature a new bassist. But, avoid buying the compilations from early in their career as while the output is good but it'll lack many of the more recognizable songs.

Michael Schenker Group ~ Assault Attack (album review) ... Your ears will never be the same!

Style: hard rock, power metal
Label: Chrysalis
Year: 1982
Home: England

Members: Michael Schenker ~ guitars
Graham Bonnet ~ vocals
Chris Glen ~ bass
Ted McKenna ~ drums
Additional: Tommy Eyre ~ keyboards

It had only been a few years since vocalist Graham Bonnet had been unceremoniously dismissed from Rainbow, where he made a name for himself as the replacement of Ronnie James Dio, when he briefly joined MSG. It was the perfect next step for both Bonnet & guitarist Schenker, who'd also not been long out of his own legacy making UFO & the Scorpions. In many ways it continues the nearly over-the-top & highly technical Richie Blackmore-esque wild guitar sound that Bonnet found in Rainbow & perfectly suits his vocal approach. The key with tenor Bonnet is he invests each song with its own personality letting the music possess him like a demon, much in the vein of other distinctive vocalists Alice Cooper & Jizzy Pearl of L.A. Guns, ranging from crooning to shouting with his familiar enunciation, unlike many musicians who seem to treat all songs the same & try to be the dominating instrument singing over the music not with it. Regretfully, Bonnet's legacy has been largely under-appreciated by anyone outside of the metal world ... the same for Schenker. Schenker is a wonderful musical foil for Bonnet, though Bonnet has repeatedly shown great taste in who he's worked as his later albums with Alcatrazz featuring the still largely unknown Steve Vai & Yngwie Malmsteen demonstrated. One of the problems with working with such an array of super talented & highly technical guitarists is that they often take the air itself for a ride ... basically, where ever there is empty air there's a tendency to want to fill it with unneeded flights of fancy. Schenker understands that sometimes it's good just to lay back, relax & take a breath once in a while, which also affects the other musicians in the band who respond accordingly. The result is that Assault Attack has some incredibly hard rock moments ("Assault Attack") while also some of the most relaxed moments in both men's careers, such as "Rock You To The Ground" that sounds so relaxed it's almost orgasmic while the slow groove of "Broken Promises" shows that rock doesn't have to be fast to be rocking. There is some more commercial sounding songs (i.e. "Dancer", "Samurai") that belay the era in which the album was made & now sound a bit dated, "Desert Song" would have been helped if given a more exotic/ethnic sound while the album ends with the unnecessary coda in the instrumental "Ulcer" considering Schenker has already showed off plenty & with more creativity previously. But, if you've only heard their names but not their music Assault Attack is a great starting place for two incredibly diverse but interesting careers & talents that for a moment in the early 80's lit off fireworks.