The Michael Schenker Group. 1980 England

Like countless other albums of recent reportage, Michael Schenker's debut is an LP I bought real time but didn't survive my evolution into all things progressive rock. But in 1980 I played it endlessly, and in hearing it for the first time in probably 30 years, I can hear that this album has a strong relistenability factor. 'Armed and Ready' is a great hard rock opener and the whole first side is clearly thought out with not a dud among them. 'Cry for the Nations' is a powerful track. Side 2 starts off with an excellent instrumental, the one track that almost had me keeping this so long ago. The next two tracks are the only breakdowns until the killer closer 'Lost Horizons'. If you listen closely you can hear some of Schenker's Scorpions heritage coming through, though UFO is more obvious, naturally. While Schenker himself is of course German, he was fully entrenched into England by this time. The album itself is almost a studio project with only vocalist Gary Barden fully onboard. The remainder of the band were session guys roaming the hard rock streets playing in bands like Rainbow, Whitesnake, Judas Priest, etc... +2 nostalgic listen here. I never did hear anything else by MSG, and I suspect they became more formulaic as the 80s dragged on, but I'm certainly game to check them out anyway.

Ownership: LP: 1980 Chrysalis. Single sleeve with lyric inner. Been on the hunt for this title since I started back in the crates 4 years ago. I've found it alright - 100% of the time beat to hell - and 8 bucks at that. No thanks. So imagine my surprise when I found this in a local store's dollar bin (2023). The cover is NM and certainly better than the copy I likely donated in the 90s. And the best condition I've ever seen of it in the wilds (and nicer than the Discogs stock copy as shown here - no promo stamp either). The vinyl is, alas, VG. For a record like this, not so bad since the music overpowers any faults, but I'll continue to look for an upgrade. A trashed cover and NM vinyl will work out just fine now...

1980; 5/18/23 (new entry)