Customer Reviews

Michael Schenker Group

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

THE BAND: Gary Barden (vocals), Michael Schenker (guitars), Mo Foster (bass), Simon Phillips (drums & percussion), Don Airey (keyboards).

THE DISC: (1980) 9 tracks clocking in at approximately 39 minutes. Included with the disc is a 6-page booklet containing song titles/credits/times (no lyrics), a brief intro from Jerry Ewing ("Classic Rock Magazine"), and some vintage pictures of Schenker. All songs written by Schenker and/or Barden. Now an import, this 1980 release is hard to find in stores. Digitally remastered (in Holland)... sadly, no bonus tracks. Label - Chrysalis Records.

COMMENTS: My introduction to the man named Schenker was in 1981 with the "MSG" album featuring the hit "On And On". From that point on, I've been collecting his material... old and new. Back in 1981, I remember searching and finding this '80 release on vinyl and wondering - why isn't this guy more popular? All Schenker's albums with UFO were next to purchase. 30+ years later Schenker still manages to squeeze out albums. In my opinion, Schenker is one of the all-time great rock guitarists... an underrated legend if ever there was one. He was clearly on a roll - playing on some of the great rock albums of the 70's and continuing into the 80's... with UFO - "Lights Out" (1977), "Obsession" (1978), "Strangers In The Night" (1978); and with MSG - this self titled album (1980), "MSG" (1981) and his best live album with MSG, "One Night In Budakon" (1981). In my book Schenker could do no wrong. I put him on the perch right below Jimi Hendrix and Jimmy Page... that lofty place where Ritchie Blackmore, Eddie Van Halen, Tommy Iommi, Randy Rhoads, David Gilmour, and Alex Lifeson are sitting. Yet, somehow, with all the music Schenker was appearing on, the popularity escaped the man. Rarely do you hear his material (specifically his solo and MSG material) on the radio. Perhaps it was the constant line of musicians entering and exiting his band... no consistency (?). On the flip side - maybe that is/was part of the appeal - you never knew what you were going to get on his albums. This "Michael Schenker Group" release started his solo career off with a bang. He put out numerous albums during the 80's and 90's but none were better than this first one... with "MSG" (1981) in a close 2nd place. This album starts off with one of my favorites in his entire catalog... a great rocking opener with a blistering guitar solo, "Armed And Ready". A solid one-two punch - track 2 is "Cry For The Nations" - a downright pleasant 30 second intro, followed by an explosion and the rest of the band kicking in... a slow rocker with meaning (another classic from his vast catalog). Other highlights include the 2 instrumentals - the acoustic "Bijou Pleasurette" and the heavy shredding "Into The Arena", "Looking Out From Nowhere", the acoustic power ballad "Tales Of Mystery", and the heavy 7 minute album closer "Lost Horizons". The album is solid all the way through - no filler tracks to be found. If you're looking to add some Michael Schenker to your collection, start with ANY of the UFO/MSG albums mentioned above. This is classic Schenker (5 stars).

This is where it all started for Michael's solo career. It is a career that would see an endless stream of musicians to work with Michael's difficult temper, and a career with many high and lows, including the infamous "hair pop metal phase" of MAcAuley Schenker Group (ugh!)

For this debut, the line-up included singer Gary Barden (whose capability to write good lyrics was never his strong point, unfortunately. The lyrics here are a real let down...) master session drummer Simon Phillips, bassist Mo Foster and keyboard man Don Airey. It was produced by Deep Purple man Roger Glover. The album is close to perfection in terms of hard rock / metal, the songs flow in a great manner, Schenker is playing like hell and, definitely, this is not like "UFO PART II". It has Schenker's trademark all over it, of course, but not UFO's trademark compositions. It is Schenker's own thing, no doubt about that.

It's a highly recommended gem.

In 1979, Michael Schenker's time as UFO's guitar wizard had come to an end, but Schenker didn't slow down though. He formed his own band under the name of Michael Schenker Group (MSG), and together with Gary Barden (vocals) among others, he released his first (solo) album in 1980. Some people (Schenker fanatics?) consider this to be a real heavy metal masterpiece.

Among the nine tracks, there are two instrumental ("Bijou pleasurette" & "Into the arena"), a slow ballad ("Tales of mystery") of average standard, and two heavy mediocre tunes by the name of "Victim of illusion" and "Lost horizons". That leaves us with the really excellent stuff - "Cry for the nations", "Feels like a good thing", and "Looking out from nowhere" are all in world class, while "Armed and ready" is more or less a blue print number when it comes to heavy metal. Although it's a good song, it doesn't have the ability to really reach the sky.

The debut M.S.G album is without doubt one of the classic albums from the heyday of traditional heavy metal, and it can almost compete with the finest from UFO.

MSG's debut studio release is hands down, one of the BEST hard rock/metal albums of all time! Michael's mind-boggling axework is truly some of the most technical and emotive playing i've ever heard in the history of all of rock, period. His incredible playing has actually brought tears to my eyes! He attacks the strings with a unique bluesy, vibrato style with precise runs and chord structure that place him at the pinnacle of all-time talented world-class players! No small feat. Since guitar playing alone does not a good release make, suffice it to say that the songwriting and vocals on this MSG release is some of the best i've heard, ever. It all complements each other perfectly, with the end result being, in my opinion, one of the best hard rock/metal albums EVER! An absolute MASTERPIECE and then some!

Its hard to explain how Michael Schenker,e ven sometimes playing the simplest of solos, can make you feel emotion like nothing else... This guy has an unique style, sometimes even a mediocre song is worth a listen due to the solo...

Fortunately, this debut has no mediocre songs at all. It's classic after classic, greta stuff after stuff, a stellar line-up with Mo Foster, Simon Phillips and Don Airey. Gary Barden handles the vocals with competence, also. The album get you by the throat since the first chord, then never let it go. It's considered by many his ultimate masterpiece. You can't go wrong: if you like hard rock, this is one of the best of all times.

When Michael Schenker is on his game, there aren't many better guitarists around. His UFO work is classic, as is some of his solo work. Schenker's playing is a musical marvel, melding speed, soul, and sophistication in an unparalleled way. On this CD, he shines brightly. Almost all of the songs are strong. "Bijou Pleasurette" is classically beautiful. "Feels Like A Good Thing" is a hard rock masterpiece, featuring a strong groove and a blistering solo. "Cry For The Nations" is a strong metal song that is taken into another realm by Schenker's fluid soloing. "Into The Arena" is a neoclassically-tinged instrumental that predated the shred movement that would come a few years later. The highlight of the CD is "Lost Horizons", a dynamic guitar showcase that builds to a fret-melting climax. This is some of Schenker's best work, and reminds us of what he is capable of.

An excellent album by Michael Schenker---it exhibits a different yet more sophisticated type of guitar playing compared to his days with UFO. A must-have album for those who dig the sounds of the world's most under-rated guitar virtuoso.

I recently purchased the re-mastered version,and the first thing I must say is...WOW! The music is great,EVERY song kicks-a$$...for reals.
This is THE CD to own,before any other Schenker release. How many CD's can you buy that show a true rock and roll Master at his finest hour? This is definitely one of the few.
I bought the UFO Light's Out re-master,too,and they both have so much more clarity and punch than they originally had. It's a joy to hear the difference.
Excellent buy,get the re-master version.

This is the debut solo release by Michael Schenker and the Michael Schenker Group, commonly referred to as MSG, following his departure from popular British rock powerhouse UFO. After a brief (second) stint with Scorpions, Schenker went into the studio to record and release a solo album. In order to retain complete creative control he used session musicians including little-known vocalist Gary Barden. Production was handled by former Deep Purple/Rainbow bassist Roger Glover. Following the release of the album Schenker chose Barden, drummer Cozy Powell, bassist Chris Glen, and ex-UFO guitarist Paul Raymond for the purposes of touring. This is the lineup that most MSG fans generally recognised as the "best" of the variety of MSG lineups, but would only last until the end of the second album. The first two releases really show Schenker at his creative and technical best, before his personal bottled demons began haunting him.

The album starts off with the tasty guitar-driven rocker "Armed And Ready" before thundering into the anti-war "Cry For The Nations". This album was custom-recorded to feature Michael's guitar virtuosity, and it doesn't disappoint. He even features some neo-classicalism in the form of the instrumental "Bijou Pleasurette". Other highlights are "Feels Like A Good Thing and "Looking Out From Nowhere". One of the things that struck me was the fact that although the music here has a distinct fingerprint, none of the songs on this album would have been out of place on any of the albums he recorded with UFO, showing just how big an impact he had on that particular group.

Michael's songwriting and playing prowess were noticed immediately, and "The Michael Schenker Group" leapt to number 8 on the UK album charts. "Armed And Ready" received airplay worldwide, and energized Schenker to immediately dive back into the studio.

This is like the rebirth of Schenker or what he had been wanting to do all along,A new look,new music but still his own style, after he left UFO this is the album that I had been waiting for, the begining of a new Schenker era again Excellent album all fresh material,great line up and his own trademark the black & white flying V, I can't believe that was 26 years ago and he's still creating great music,there's very few guitarist like Schenker left in this world,very few!