THE GROOVEMAN'S COLLECTION

REVIEWS FROM MY VINYL COLLECTION

Tag: MSG

MSG – Universal

August 5, 2024 /

Michael Schenker is another artist I left behind and not bothered with after a few below par records. I think he had spread himself too thin as the amount of records he has put out is astronomical and the quality of songs suffered as a result. Of his solo material, the first MSG album and Assault Attack are my favourites, they are just great records.

Now, I had heard the song Emergency on one of my down the rabbit hole nights checking out music through Apple and I thought maybe it’s time I checked out what Michael has been up to. It’s not as good as those two albums I mentioned, but it’s a solid and enjoyable release. Ronnie Romero handles the vocals and his style suits Michael’s music really well.

Highlights are the already mentioned Emergency, which has a great riff and melody, the uptempo track Long Long Road with its very busy riff, and Wrecking Ball with Ralf Scheepers on vocals which is my favourite tune. Quite a simple riff, a four to floor groove, and Ralf giving balls to the vocal and song.  

As I said it’s been a while and this album feels as though it was recorded back in the good old days.

8/10 from The Grooveman.

MSG – Built To Destroy

March 7, 2022 /

Michael Schenker has more personnel changes than any other living musician. The list is endless. I won’t go into the reasons why, but Michael was not the easiest of people to work with. After ditching Gary Barden and bringing in Graham Bonnet for the excellent Assault Attack, and all that falling to pieces with great acrimony, Barden was asked to rejoin for this album – and would be his last for sometime.

The first thing you notice is how dominant the keyboards are on this album. The sound seems to have been watered down somewhat. Michael adds his usual touches here and there to lift what is quite a flat recording. Barden’s vocals aren’t the best and he seems to really strain on some of the tunes.

Side 1 passes by with not too much to shout about, and it’s not until we get to the lead off track, Red Sky, where things get a little better. Captain Nemo is the best track on the album and it’s an instrumental with a great melody and some great playing from Michael. When I hear him do things like this I wonder what would have been if he had gone down the Satriani route. The only vocal track I like is the last track, Still Love That Devil, which has a nice riff and groove.

I still find this quite a disappointing album and my opinion has not changed over time.

6.5/10 from The Grooveman.

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