Michael Schenker Group (MSG)

[Ar-Pharazon]

Two of my all time favourite numbers from MSG are Rock My Nights Away & Walk The Stage both from the Built To Destroy album from 1983.

Assault Attack is in fact a 'killer album' even if only MSG fans know about it and Graham Bonnet did a good job on it and sounds great!!.

E-Z

My only issue with Assault Attack (agreed it's a great album), as in other cases, is that Graham wrote the lyrics.

I love the guy as a singer, not so much as a song writer. Too wordy. Graham was best on Down To Earth where Roger Glover wrote the lyrics (except one track).

 

[Big Ears]

I could never get into the Bardens, Macauley, Bonnet versions of MSG (I haven't heard them with Leif Sundin). Macauley's voice does nothing for me, so I must be missing something. Kelly Keeling was a good match on The Unforgiven, recorded around the time of UFO's Covenant, and they should've worked together more. Schenker's playing is as delicate as ever, while Keeling seems to have a repressed anger.

After this, I did not hear the Slack, Logan and probably other material including Tales of Rock 'n' Roll, although I noticed In the Midst of Beauty has a very strong lineup. It was not until the Schenker-Pattison Summit that I started to listen to Schenker again. They were great and how I yearned for new material from this combination, but mysteriously it was never forthcoming.

 

[E-Z]

Graham Bonnet 'disgraced himself' on stage and was fired by Michael.

I must admit that I prefer the early 1980s MSG although I did have the mid-1990s album Written In The Sand (I think it was called that?) and thought it sounded pretty good.

E-Z

 

[Ar-Pharazon]

My favorite MSG is the early material with Barden & Bonnet. The McAuley Schenker material was good 80's era stuff, but Robin was usually critisized for having a weak voice. Unforgiven was the only later MSG album I ever bought and it was really good.

Like I said, Robin sounds better on this new album (along with Graham), but for all I know they're using autotune.

 

[RockshotsPhotos]

Graham Bonnet 'disgraced himself' on stage and was fired by Michael.

I must admit that I prefer the early 1980s MSG although I did have the mid-1990s album Written In The Sand (I think it was called that?) and thought it sounded pretty good.

E-Z

Yes, Written In Sand is a fantastic album. The vocalist on that album, Leif Sundin, one of Schenker's best vocalists. According to Michael, the 90's were a dark period for him, but this album is a standout.