Every rock fan has an opinion about Michael Schenker, very likely classic rock’s most famous ‘flying V’ guitar slinger. He’s a disruptive influence in a band, can’t be relied upon as he’ll walk out at the drop of a plectrum if things aren’t to his liking, he’s a king-sized egomaniac, he’ll walk off stage mid-gig, etc. He has a history of bizarre behaviour, making poor decisions—musical or otherwise—and there’s a glut of supposedly apocryphal stories about him. Is it true he could’ve joined Aerosmith? Blizzard of Oz? Lizzy? Is he his own worst enemy? Does even he know? However, what is not in dispute is… he can play!
This is everything you’d expect from a new Michael Schenker album, not least some fine playing and some very powerful tunes. It’s not an album of full-on riffage, with the band coming up with some ear-catching melodies on tracks such as ‘Can’t Stand Waiting’ and on the slower, quieter piece, ‘The Chosen One’. The intro to the very lively opening title track ‘Don’t Sell Your Soul’ suggests a UFO influence, perhaps no surprise given his pedigree. Up-tempo rocker ‘It’s You’ is another right out of the UFO playbook, though there’s no Paul Raymond-like keyboards to add a little more texture to the music—this is guitar rock all the way. And this band certainly can rock, as they show on tracks like ‘Sixstring Shotgun’, ‘Flesh And Bone’ and ‘Eye Of The Storm’. With his guitar breaks, for all that’s said about him, Schenker is actually a very technical, yet also quite an emotive player. He can rip out chords with the best of them, but is also capable of great subtlety as well.
Schenker is now in his seventieth year, but he can still whip up a storm onstage, as he proved on his recent ‘My Years With UFO’ tour. This is an album for any fan of guitar rock who enjoys well-performed, spirited hard rock.
