Description

Michael Schenker is a legendary figure in rock, one of the most gifted and influential guitarists of all time. His work with Scorpions, UFO and the Michael Schenker Group made him a hero to millions of fans and inspired a generation of musicians, including Steve Harris of Iron Maiden, Kirk Hammett of Metallica, and Slash of Guns Nrsquo Roses. And with Michael Schenker Fest, an ambitious and unorthodox project featuring four singers with whom he has worked since 1979 ndash Gary Barden, Graham Bonnet, Robin McAuley and Doogie White ndash the drive to create new music is based on the same ethos that has shaped Schenkerrsquos whole career, ever since he recorded his first album lsquoLonesome Crowrsquo with the Scorpions in 1970 at age 15.Emotions were running high during the making of lsquoRevelationrsquo. On January 19, 2019, just a month before Ted McKenna was scheduled to record his drums he passed away at the age of 68. McKenna had first played for Schenker way back in 1982 on the Michael Schenker Grouprsquos album lsquoAssault Attackrsquo, on which McKenna was reunited with another former member of The Sensational Alex Harvey Band, bassist Chris Glen. McKenna and Glen had also served as the rhythm section on the first Michael Schenker Fest album, Resurrection, released by Nuclear Blast in 2018. Schenker says of the blueprint for Revelation ldquoWe had the Resurrection album as a reference, but this time I wanted more songs with all the singers, and I had a big list of guests I wanted on the album.But because we had our hands full trying to finish the album on deadline, we ended up with only one guest ndash which was current Rainbow vocalist Ronnie Romero.rdquoIn the wake of McKennarsquos passing, the Revelation album was completed with two different fantastic drummers, both trusted friends of Schenkerrsquos. Simon Phillips had played on the Michael Schenker Grouprsquos selftitled debut album from 1980, and in a long and distinguished career has also worked with Jeff Beck, Mike Oldfield, The Who and Toto. The other drummer on Revelation is Bodo Schopf, who was a member of the McAuley Schenker Group, fronted by Robin McAuley, in the late rsquo80s. ldquoEnergy and emotion are words that Michael Schenker keeps coming back to, and those qualities run deep in sbquoRevelationldquo, from the first song and single bdquoRock Steadyldquo, an anthem lit up by those four great voices, all the way through to the finale bdquoAscensionldquo, an archetypal Schenker instrumental in the tradition of his 1980 tour de force bdquoInto The Arenaldquo.Schenker sums it up simply ldquoI always wanted fulfilment over fame. For me it was all about being myself. It was about the pure joy in playing guitar. And after all these years, it still is.rdquo Michael Schenker Fest Insert is available for home delivery from Vinyl Records London, only £33