Michael Schenker recommendations

[MarcusGHedwig]

I remember I had a friend in high school who was obsessed with Schenker, but the thing he played me to demonstrate his amazingness was some solo from UFO's "Strangers in the Night", which I remember thinking was way too...70s and hard rock for me, not MEEEETAL enough - I might change my tune on it now (so I'll take recommendations from that too), but it wasn't until I heard this jam from much later in his career on my favorite satellite radio station (SiriusXM's HAIR NATION ) that I realized the Schenk's awesomeness:



(solos at 3:34, but I think the whole song is awesome, so catchy). So what else should I check out?

 

[MarcusGHedwig]

And inb4 that horrendous drunken live video of him, what an embarassment :/

 

[Skinny Viking]

Michael Schenker recommends anything by Uli Jon Roth

 

[MarcusGHedwig]

Sure, he's the man too Seems like the most "recent" metal-oriented thing he released was "Beyond the Astral Skies", though - worth getting? (more recent meaning more metal, naturally)

 

[Skinny Viking]

Dude, I'm not even gonna TRY and be cool ... its been a million years since I was actually listening to any of his shit on a regular basis. You may have just forced me to go rediscover a classic

 

[TimatWaves]

Dude, I'm not even gonna TRY and be cool ...

It's ok man, you get a pass like the rest of us that went back and discovered Uli because of Becker and Friedman

 

[Skinny Viking]

^ its like you've been there my whole life

although in truth, it was Becker & Malmsteen

 

[TravisW]

Since I have Michael Schenker as my avatar on here (and have since...well, since Ultimate Metal has been).

Check out the first few MSG records are a bit more "heavy" than the MacAuley/Schenker stuff--the Michael Schenker Group, MSG, Assault Attack, Built to Destroy. Newer UFO with Schenker would be Walk on Water (FANTASTIC album), Covenant, and Sharks. Of those, I prefer Walk on Water.

http://youtu.be/DXrZ0YWm0aU

And, of course, Strangers in the Night.

I dunno...this is pretty "metal" for 1978.
http://youtu.be/xUHpP1_rEis

 

[53Crëw]

I'm a big fan of Michael Schenker...

The UFO stuff is great, but yeah, definitely a 70's vibe going on. It was pretty heavy for it's day though, and Schenker's playing was fantastic. Strangers in the Night is one of the best live albums IMHO.

MSG live at Budokan was another great live album. Schenker had some great lineups in the 80's with Simon Phillips or Cozy Powell on drums, and I liked Paul Raymond's role switching between keyboards and rhythm guitar as needed for different songs.

Assault Attack has some good songs on it with Graham Bonnet on vocals. One of my favorites off that album is "Desert Song". Very tasteful and melodic lead playing.

The thing I always liked about Schenker's playing is that he wasn't a fast shredder type, but more of a tasteful melodic player. His solos were always very memorable because of this.

Here are some of my favorite songs you can check out (probably find them on Youtube):

UFO - Lights Out, Rock Bottom, This Kids (check out the bluesy solo at the end), Reasons Love, Pack it up and Go, On with the Action

MSG - Desert Song, Cry for the Nations, Lost Horizons, Into the Arena (great instrumental), Attack of the Mad Axeman (studio version), Assault Attack

You could pick up a compilation CD like "Armed and Ready: The Best of the Michael Schenker Group" if you wanted a reasonable sampling of his studio work. Or he's got a couple live DVD's like "The Michael Schenker Group Live in Tokyo 1997" if you wanted to check out some live work.

As a side note, when I listen to Michael Amott play, I hear a lot of Schenker in his style and phrasing. You may notice this as well as you get to know Schenker's playing.

With regards to Uli, he's done some cool stuff, too. Beyond the Astral Skies was quite different than I had expected when I first heard it, but some of the song grow on you. I haven't heard that album in ages, but I remember liking "Eleison" off that album.

Other great Uli stuff is early Scorpions like the "Fly to the Rainbow" or "In Trance" album. Check out "Drifting Sun" off the Fly to the Rainbow album. It's definitely heavy 70's stuff, but there's some great solos in there.

Don't expect modern metal or brutal with this stuff. It generally ranges from Blues-based rock, to heavy rock/classic metal, but there's some fantastic playing. Enjoy.

 

[53Crëw]

Oh, and I'll echo what TravisW said about the MacAuley Schenker group. That project was much more of an attempt at radio-friendly mainstream rock. I believe they were trying for a larger audience so it was more pop-ish/less heavy.

 

[26]

Michael Schenker recommends anything by Uli Jon Roth

or his younger brother....
(over here there are quite some people who think he's the "better" one of the both.)

 

[TravisW]

The thing that blows my mind about Michael Schenker and Uli Roth, is that I've really only bothered to learn a tiny portion of their stuff (I can do the bit after the drum solo in Into the Arena, part of the solo in Love to Love, and on the Uli end learned part of the solo from Sails of Charon and We'll Burn the Sky), but somehow their sonic stamp on my guitar playing is huge.