Michael Schenker is truly one of the legends in Hard Rock and his guitar work is often referenced by many of today's greats as their inspiration when they first began to play the instrument. Known for his killer performances as a member of the band UFO and then solo with MSG, Schenker has continued to satisfy those who are hungry for fantastic axe wizardry. Filmed in Poland during the Metalmania Festival 2004 viewers of this DVD will get a good example of what MSG brings to the table musically. The lineup is of course Michael on guitar as well as Chris Logan (vocals), Peter Holmes (drums), Rev Jones (bass), and Wayne Findlay (guitar/keyboards). The tour was in support of MSG's Arachnophobiac CD and for those that saw the select dates the band played they will enjoy this most as a nice reminder of those shows. The set seems a little shorter on the DVD than I recall them doing live, but it is still nice to be able to sit and watch something in the comforts of your own home. Some highlights were definitely the classic UFO numbers and of the 14 songs there is an excellent sampling of this material. Tunes such as "Lights Out" and "Only You Can Rock Me" are among my favorites and I can attest that Chris Logan does a good job on the Phil Mogg stuff even without sounding exact. Bassist Rev Jones is very interesting to watch as he is an utter madman on the bass and stage. Findlay offers a fine accompaniment to the arrangements on either guitar or his keyboards based on the needs of the song. The drumming laid down by Peter Holmes (who come people will recall from Black and Blue) is nothing short of powerful and defining.
The MSG material also has a strong representation of their classics with tracks such as "On And On" and "Armed And Ready" but I was surprised to find them omitting "Attack Of The Mad Axeman" but perhaps that was not presented due to time constraints. Overall most of the MSG material is relevant and comes across well even many years after it's initial recording. This DVD is a recommendation for all Schenker fans as a means to have an updated visual idea of what he is up to. The last DVD MSG had given us was in 1997. I enjoyed this very much and feel that most rockers will feel the same way.
Track Listing
- Ready To Rock
- Mother Mary
- Assault Attack
- Let It Roll
- Lights Out
- Rock 'n' roll Believer
- Arachnophobiac
- Into The Arena
- Only You Can Rock Me
- On And On
- Too Hot To Handle
- Armed And Ready
- Doctor Doctor
- Rock Bottom
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