Customer Reviews

Rock Will Never Die

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This is a Japanese import. The show was recorded (and professionally filmed) in London at the Hammersmith Odeon in October 1983. All of the songs are performed with a 20-something gusto. Schenker's fingers are nimble & fast. His notes are stinging & piercing. Barden's right on the money with the vocals--as usual. The rest of the band are tip-top as well. This is a very good show and DEFINITELY worth owning. Ex-Ted Nugent vocalist Derek St. Holmes provides excellent backing vocals and sings the lead vocals for I'm Gonna Make You Mine. He also plays rhythm guitar. He was quite a nice touch to the MSG team (for the little while that he was with them). For me the highlights of this album are the two tracks from Assault Attack: Rock You To The Ground, and Desert Song. They are lovely melodies that sound better here than on the studio album. Much better. Then again, all the songs on this album are highlights; each one is a unique performance showcasing Schenker back in his heyday.

This live album was released in June, 1984, reaching #24 in the charts. Here is some background information on this album: during late August, 1982, the MSG group was riding high off of the success of their latest release - Assault Attack (2009 Digital Remaster + Bonus Track)- and were getting ready to headline the '82 Reading Festival. The MSG had scheduled a warm-up gig a couple of days in advance of the festival at the Sheffield Polytechnic and apparently Graham Bonnet (current lead vocalist) showed up for the gig drunk and during the show pulled his pants down in front of the audience. This was last straw for Michael Schenker, who was trying to sober up at this time, and he fired Bonnet on the spot. Michael was able to persuade original vocalist - Gary Barden - to replace Bonnet for the Reading Festival. With only a days notice to get ready, Barden was able to deliver a fantastic, if somewhat hoarse performance, which was recorded and is now available as BBC Radio 1 Live.
Barden agreed to continue with the MSG and a new album was recorded and released in September 1983 - Built To Destroy (2009 Digital Remaster + Bonus Tracks). Michael brought in former Ted Nugent vocalist - Derek St. Holmes - as rhythm guitarist for the subsequent tour of US, and as things were going well, Michael decided to record the band for another live album (previous one being One Night At Budokan (2009 Digital Remaster + Bonus Tracks)). Which brings us to this cd which was recorded at the Hammersmith, London, 22-23 October 1983. The band at this time was Gary Barden (v); Derek St. Holmes (g); Andy Nye (k); Chis Glen (b); Ted McKenna (d); Michael Schenker (g). These were special shows for Michael and band as they were headlining two nights of sold-out shows at the Hammersmith for recording. Needless to say, Michael and band deliver a strong and enthusiastic performance, making the audience in attendance repeatedly scream "Michael Schenker" in unison! This new release has 6 previously unreleased tracks from the shows, giving the public a truer representation of the complete set list played those nights. The additions of "Cry For The Nations", "Rock You To The Ground" and "Armed And Ready", showcase Michael's playing as well as the bands tightness as a performing group, but the real gems are the very rare live performances of "Red Sky" and "Looking For Love" from the 'Built To Destroy' album. To close out the last night, Michael's brother Rudolf and Scorpions vocalist Klaus Meine join the band onstage for a final encore of "Doctor, Doctor". Overall, the band is great, Michael shreds and the audience is over-the-top! This is a tremendous show and it also happened to be the last tour for Michael for 4 years, as he took a hiatus from the grueling touring he had been doing for the past 10 years. Michael did return in 1987 when he joined Robin McAuly and formed the McAuly Schenker Group, which released Perfect Timing later that year.
Overall, the additional bonus tracks on this remaster make an already fantastic album even better. The additional tracks really highlight the band and prove that in the early 1980's, the MSG was one of the best bands in the world! The cd comes with lyrics in Japanese and English, but the bio is in Japanese only.
"Rock will never die
We've known better
You've known all your lives!"

Nice to see this remastered and re released. I had this on LP when I was a kid and now it sounds better than ever on CD. This is a nice follow up to 'One Night At Budokan' and the hight of Schenker's career in the 80's. Not only is Gary Barden on with vocals, Derek St. John also belts out some lyrics as well - not sure why he wasn't ever asked to sing leads on a full time basis because he has a powerful voice and range.

I recently found this on DVD, bootleg of course, and was quite pleased with it as well.

It's very rare when live recordings of songs are better than the original studio recordings, but that's the case here. (curiously, that was the case with "Strangers In The Night" too). Every track smokes; with Schenker and FIVE others (!!) playing for their lives.

Except, maybe, for "Assault Attack", I was never satisfied the mix of any MSG album from the early '80s. None of the songs here are held back my bad production. And the faster pace (coming naturally when most bands perform live) is welcome.

The songs, the class, the polish, the excitement......just breathtaking!!! This is a must-own! If you're new to MSG, start here. This album's worth $200!!

Notes: Derek St. Holmes sings lead vocals on "I'm Gonna Make You Mine"; with Gary Barden singing background/lead vocals. "Red Sky at Night" called "Red Sky." "Walk the Stage" called "Rock Will Never Die." Two other people join MSG on-stage for "Doctor Doctor"......This concert is available on DVD as well (even better than this live CD; with the same mix!!).