The Mad Axman at 17

Rhythm N. Bliss · August 09, 2009, 01:59:45 AM

This is from the beginning of UFO~Too Hot Too Handle (1969-1993)

The magic starts at 2:14

THAT is BLUES!!! The bassplayer is good too!!

Basvarken · August 09, 2009, 02:23:41 PM

Yeah Schenker used to be pretty good.
It's a shame he can't seem to get a grip on his own life.

Hey and looking at that haircut, I wonder if Phil Mogg is related to Eric Martin...

or Peggy Bundy?

Highlander · August 09, 2009, 03:08:17 PM

Good Gawd... Mogg playing a Precision...

Saw that lineup...

Basvarken · August 09, 2009, 03:16:20 PM

Quote from: Kenny Five-O on August 09, 2009, 03:08:17 PM
Good Gawd... Mogg playing a Precision...

Saw that lineup...

Phil Mogg is the lead singer. Bass player is Pete Way...

Highlander · August 09, 2009, 03:22:18 PM

Not in my right mind at present, Rob... trying to get wrecked post my dead amp...

My Gawd... Way playing a Precision...

I think I saw that lineup, probably drunk at the time...

Dave W · August 09, 2009, 09:37:18 PM

Peg Bundy's brother.

Rhythm N. Bliss · August 12, 2009, 02:41:46 AM

Great band & a must have dvd!

...regardless of what ol' fuddyduddys say.

uwe · August 17, 2009, 06:02:11 PM

Schenker never had a better band, UFO never a better guitarist, simple as that.

That's Danny Peyronel on the keys, right, not Paul Raymond? Peyronel was more of a piano player than an organ or synth player and he gave UFO that poppy edge for the short while he was with them. To this day I think they peaked with No Heavy Petting rather than the Ron Nevison production jobs that followed even though those were still good. But Petting was both raw and refined, gutsy and elegant.

Schenker's career is a series of what ifs - he was considered as a replacement for Mick Taylor with the Stones but refused to audition for them in youthful ignorance, preferring to stay with UFO. He jammed with Aerosmith as a replacement for Joe Perry, but didn't like Tyler's then obvious drug addiction, he did demos with Billy Sheehan that went nowhere (since then released as bonus tracks on the first MSG album), he put down Ozzy's offer to join the Blizzard of Oz because the pay allegedly wasn't good enough and he was one of the players DP seriously considered when Blackmore went AWOL once again in 1993, but the band decided otherwise after some discreet inquiries on his state of mind and general reliability. We should really send him to the Ostfront for all the chances he has missed.

gearHed289 · August 18, 2009, 08:36:20 AM

Yeah, poor Michael. Wasted talent. Emphasis on wasted.... Also, "what if" he had stayed with Scorpions when he came in and did some of the Lovedrive tracks. I think he did at least some if not all of that tour??? Either way, at least he made a name for himself. Great style, great feel, tone, vibrato. He even LOOKED cool. WTF? Ball... dropped.....

Basvarken · August 18, 2009, 09:09:14 AM

I found out about Michael Schenker in 1980.
Then I started to discover the (older) UFO stuff. Strangers In The Night is my favorite.
His melodic, bluesy playing from his early years really still appeals to me.
That nosy / middy Flying V tone is beautiful.
I don't care for his later shredding stuff. Nor his acoustic "thank you" series.

My favorite MSG album is Assault Attack. His most bluesy album. Plus the only one with a great singer.
From there all his other singers with MSG are awful.
I remember being very disappointed when I heard Built To Destroy when it was released. Gary Barden's voice was shot to pieces. And the off key keyboards made it hardly listenable to me.
IMHO he never got back on track from there.
Except maybe for the Walk On Water album with UFO.
I saw him live during that reunion tour.
It was the first time I actually got to see him in the flesh.
I had tried two times earlier to see Schenker (with MSG) but both times the gigs were cancelled...
The UFO gigs were great because of all those great songs played by the (almost) original line up, but Schenker was very much on his own on stage. In his own world. Not interacting.

Nowadays lots of YouTube clips can be seen with an inebriated Schenker causing a complete trainwreck of songs he has been playing for decades.
A terrible waste, yes.

@ Uwe: Robbo told me Michael Schenker got together with Phil Lynott to see if he could fit in with Thin Lizzy too.

uwe · August 18, 2009, 11:26:41 AM

I saw Schenker on the Lovedrive tour. He was visibly uncomfortable playing his brother's material and failed to put a stamp on things like Uli Roth had. It was patently clear that this particular lineup woud not last. He didn't even finish the tour.