Customer Reviews

Walk the Stage: The Official Bootleg Box Set

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

 

 

I'm going to do this review in 2 parts. First a review of each individual disc, then an overall perspective.

Disc 1 is from Hammersmith Odeon on MSG's first UK tour. If you've got the 2009 remaster series of the first album, one of the live bonus tracks is Armed & Ready from Hammersmith. Well this is that complete show and the band is smoking. Schenker's playing is mind blowing on this show. Guitar wise, this version of Lights Out is possibly be the best one ever recorded, dare I say even better than Strangers In The Night.

Disc 2 is the first of 2 shows on the same day in Osaka, Japan. This is the same tour that produced One Night At Budokan. The Osaka date was the first show on the tour, and the Budokan show was the last of the tour. This early afternoon show is the better of the 2 Osaka shows and the same set as the Budokan show with the addition of Tales Of Mystery and the omission of Covoursier Concerto. The band is tight and Schenker delivers a stellar performance. Great hearing the stage banter that was left off the Budokan disc especially when Barden introduces the Paul Raymond penned Never Trust A Stranger. You'll hear Raymond in the background saying "Great song, the best".

Disc 3 is 2nd of the 2 Osaka shows (the evening one). This show has everything on it including Tales Of Mystery & Concerto. The band is tight once again but there are some technical gliches during the show. During two different songs Schenker's solo's sound very "uninspired" (sounds like a broken string). Then at the beginning of Into The Arena as Paul Raymond is introducing the band he comments that Michael's guitar is "coming apart" which could explain the 2 sub par solo's. Overall a good show. Interesting to hear Schenker play around the broken string issue.

Disc 4 is the show from the Reading Festival when Graham Bonnett was uncerimoniously dumped and Gary Barden brought back into the band. This show has been previously available as "BBC In Concert", but was missing Feels Like A Good Thing, so it's nice to finally have the complete show. Great show for a band that only had 2 hours rehersal time. Barden introduces Rock You To The Ground by it's working title of Heavy Blues, forgets keyboard player Andy Nye's name and introduces him by a completely different name. Funny stuff. Only an hour show due to it being a festival show, highlights are the inclusion of the rarely played Bijou Pleasurette and an absolutely great version of Let Slepping Dogs Lie. In what could have been a total disaster and low point for him, Schenker really shines during this show.

Disc 5 is the complete DVD of the Rock Will Never Die live album/video. Previously the only way you could get the complete version of this show was as a Japanese laser disc. Some really great stuff on here that was only played on this tour, Rock Will Never Die, Still Love That Little Devil, Desert Song, Looking For Love, Rock My Nights Away, Red Skies and more.

Overall this box set is a brilliant collection that ANY Schenker fan will love. Taken from a 4 year period where his solo career was about to take off, it truly is a testament to what a guitar virtuoso he is.
And to the 2 knuckleheads that complained that Armed & Ready was on every disc and that it was too repetative, if you 2 really love Schenker the way you say you do, then you'd welcome Armed & Ready that many times because eveytime he plays it, it's different, along with every other song he plays. Never the same solo twice, always improvising. That's what makes him such a great guitar player.
Even though the songs are repeated on these discs, each show is a unique experience. Kinda like hearing the song for the first time each time you hear it.

IF YOU ARE A MICHAEL SCHENKER FAN THIS BOX IS A MUST. THE COMPLETE 1983 SHOW ON DVD IS ALMOST WORTH THE PRICE ALONE. GREAT SHOWS HERE WITH SOUNDBOARD QUALITY AUDIO. NOT PERFECT, BUT THAT IS WHY IT IS TITLED BOOTLEG BOX SET.

EMI has really done a great job remastering MSG's back catalog. Now this. What a great set. The Cozy Powell material on the first three cd's make this worth it. Wasn't too sure how the video would be, but the show is really cleaned up. Any real fan will be happy with this set.

This is a fantastic package...full of repetition. I personally give this SIX stars out of five, but I'm certain that the inclusion of so many "repeats" will aggravate some people. Probably we'll all agree that this covers the absolute classic period of MSG, and so certain songs are on every disc. This is a collection of legendary rarities (don't know how they polished up the sound from all those years ago, but they do sound fantastic and yet not falsely "studio"...there is a bit of crackling during the Japanese shows, but perhaps that's just the "electric atmosphere"!). Then again, we have TWO shows from the same day in Osaka...surely of historical/comparison interest, but quite redundant for the average listener(only one of them includes what is called "Courvoisier Concerto", but the same could be construed by most listeners as "extended intro to Lost Horizons"!) Here you'll hear the legendary Cozy Powell at work on drums(sounding very powerful, especially on disc 1), as well as being able to compare the sounds of varying line-ups of MSG...no sense going into who is featured on each disc in this review, as it is meant to give the pros and cons so you can decide whether or not to buy it! The performances are stellar, yet, again, obviously "live"(or else there would've been a lot of vocal overdubbing!), and it was amazing to hear the much-talked-about Reading show where Gary Barden was called back to step in for the boozed-up "Mr. Bonnett"(worth the price to hear the stage banter during this show); Barden reportedly had only 2 hours to warm up AND learn new material from "Assault Attack"...so THAT show's on here! As for the dvd, many of you may have seen and revered the ancient VHS of "Rock Will Never Die"...well, let's just say this is supposedly the COMPLETE performance(and as far as I can tell, it is). So, there's nothing really hithertofore unheard on here as far as SONGS go, but these are some performances that have been talked about over the years, finally on shiny cds for us to enjoy. If you have "One Night At Budokan" and "Rock Will Never Die", you've got ALMOST everything on here (minus, of course, a few songs...$$$ talks, ya know!), but I feel this is essential for every MSG fanATIC...but maybe not for every fan. The packaging is a nice lidded/hinged box, with the individual discs in the familiar tagboard slipcovers, and it also includes a booklet with a lot of recording information and a very gushing essay by Dave Ling. For me, the only "iffy" inclusions here are the 2 Osaka shows(but the first disc doesn't cover the second "MSG" album material, so 1 Osaka show is needed). Plus, the dvd is fantastic! ALL HAIL MICHAEL SCHENKER!!!...oops, I must be one 'o them fanATICS???

So where is "Walk The Stage" a.k.a. "Rock Will Never Die"???? Also, too many repeats over every disc.... nah! Love Schenker, but Nah!

I love Michael Schenker, but "Armed and Ready" on EVERY disc?!? I'm not ready to buy this one, yet.