Anyone here like The Michael Shenker Group? I've only heard the first album. It's funny, I got it on a whim because it was used for cheap, and the first few listens, I really didn't like it, except for the last track, Lost Horizons. I think the reason I latched on to Lost Horizons so quickly is that part of it really reminded me of another song from another band I already really liked (the song Judgment Day by the US band Emerald).

So since I didn't really like the album after a few listens, I let sit for quite a while. Tonight I revisited it to see if I would want to sell it. Well the answer is a huge NO! I just realized that tracks 4-9 (9 being the last of the album) are all kick ass! 1-3 are good too, but nothing really special. Though I gotta say, that opening keyboard part to Cry For the Nations is just way too syrupy sugary sweet for a rock album. Blech. What were you thinking Don Airey? You thought the opening keys for Here I Go Again were bad? Listen to the opening keys to Cry For the Nations! Luckily the song doesn't suck for very long, it gets going into a good rocker.

One interesting thing I thought about this album after revisiting it, is that the instrumental Into the Arena reminds me of early Maiden. But according to wikipedia, the first Maiden album was released before the first MSG album even started recording! How cool would that be if a legend from the 70s took influence from a then upstart band that came after him?

This seemed to influence...


...this, from 1987


Gross opening keys, but overall not a bad song


Maybe influenced by Maiden???


So, use this thread to talk about anything Michael Schenker Group. What are their best albums? Which albums to avoid? Any hidden gems that I wouldn't know about from reading wikipedia?

Discuss!

That's most likely not the case. Schenker was the guitarist of UFO, who were a huge influence on Maiden, with the latter band covering "Doctor, Doctor". However, it should be noted that MSG did cover "Run to the Hills" on their album By Invitation Only.

Check out One Night at Budokan.

MSG used to be one of my favourite bands. Their second s/t, aka MSG, is an essential classic.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=utCSOIdmfF4

Then came the decidedly heavier Assault Attack with the fantastic Graham Bonnet on vocals.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LVi7HKYclf0

I find Ted McKenna to be a much better fit for MSG than Cozy Powell. MSG at their best, live 1983
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3uUGakIBSkk


Then there was the McAuley Schenker Group era, very 80s, and very fluffy, but the great songwriting is still there. Two great albums came out of this, and a third self titled album , which wasn't as good. After that I lost track.
Perfect Timing
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QNfaznt ... B526050663
Save Yourself
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6GdcHxHV2jc

one of my all time fave bands from my formative years, and (despite some obvious filler tracks) the first three albums are rock n'roll classics. I still get nostalgic when I hear tracks like "Mad Axeman" and "On and On" because they are such elegantly written classics, and Michael- unlike many of the later shred-happy guitar hero type dudes, was an incredibly versatile guitarist who had a knack for songwriting as well as creating the perfect solo....

...ahhh well, up until about 1986 or so. Because pretty much anything he did after that, was rather weak. I'd avoid any of the "McAuley Schenker" stuff for sure. It just seemed like burnout settled in at around that point and the magic was gone.

I really seem to enjoy the tracks "Cry for the Nations", "Assault Attack", and "Samurai". The "McAuley Schenker" stuff only had one real good song in my opinion, and that was "Gimme Your Love". Of course some purists would consider the McAuley Schenker band to be a completely different one than the real MSG. I do.

"When I'm Gone" by McAuley Schenker Group remains my favorte 'power ballad'. It's a great companion song to Cinderella's "Nobody's Fool". Never cared for the regular MSG stuff.

I'm not usually into the "power ballad", but I seem to like Def Leppard's "Bringin' on the Heartbreak", which sounds similar to Cinderella's "Nobody's Fool".

this thread is getting derailed big time, but there's only one power ballad you need in your life...

Sorry, if I'm derailing the thread, so let's get it back on the tracks, shall we?

MSG is one of a select few bands that aren't on the Archives, but are often listed as metal by others. The first two albums are the best. Assault Attack has Graham Bonnett on vocals, and to me that kind of takes away from it. Oh well, anything on that album is way better than "Since You've been Gone".