Michael Schenker – ‘My Years with UFO’

Since bursting onto the rock scene with his impressive guitar chops at the tender age of 16, playing with brother Rudolph in the Scorpions 1972 debut Lonesome Crow, Michael Schenker has forged an entertaining and often drama-filled career in rock and metal, establishing himself as a bona-fide guitar hero. His solo career with the Michael Schenker Group (MSG) is perhaps where some of his best-known work appears… but the early years with British rockers UFO, where he recorded some truly classic rock tracks and albums between 1974 and 1979, as well as having his live performance skills taped for eternity on Strangers in the Night (one of the greatest live recording in rock history), is arguably where the German’s legendary status really took flight.

Schenker still regularly plays UFO songs in his live sets, much to the delight of audiences around the word, so perhaps it’s no huge surprise that he has chosen to re-record some of them (with the help of some talented and famous friends!) in latest album ‘My Years with UFO’, due for release through earMUSIC on Friday 20th September 2024. With so many brilliant tracks to choose from, and a contact list that must be bulging with musicians wanting to collaborate with him after over 50 years in the music industry, Schenker had the potential to create a memorable album. Does the album live up to that potential… or does it hit rock bottom?

‘Natural Thing’ was the opening track on 1976’s No Heavy Petting album, and it takes pole position again, with Schenker joined by Twisted Sister’s Dee Snider on vocals and go-to guitarist of the moment, Joel Hoekstra (Whitesnake, Night Ranger, Trans Siberian Orchestra). There’s a really fun and punky vibe to it, with Snider’s delivery of the lyrics causing the listener to almost see him sneering with attitude. Hoekstra trades guitar licks with Schenker in what must have been a bucket-list moment for the affable Whitesnake sideman, ably showing that he is more than capable of carrying forward the rock guitar torch lit by the German over 50 years ago. ‘Only You Can Rock Me’, a UFO (and Schenker) fan favourite and the first track on 1977’s Obsession album, Schenker’s final initial run of albums with the band, is next up. Europe vocalist Joey Tempest’s distinctive voice sounds energetic and rejuvenated, whilst Deep Purple bassist Roger Glover (a music legend in his own right) provides a bassline that not only drives the song on but dances with a youthful exuberance that comes with 60 years in music groups. Great start to the album!

The track list continues to sound like a UFO ‘Best of’ album with ‘Doctor Doctor’, a song that features in pretty much every basic rock compilation album ever released, features Joe Lyn Turner on vocals and another musical legend in his own right, Vanilla Fudge’s Carmine Appice on drums. Turner’s vocals are crystal clear bit there’s a Phil Mogg timbre to them too, particularly around the chorus, whilst Appice takes a chance to shine with a monster drum sound. I must’ve heard this song thousands of times but it still causes me to jump around and bop my head, particularly when the softer opening makes way for the majestic classic rock that follows. Schenker’s guitar sounds just as exhilarating as it does on 1974’s Phenomenon album, his debut with UFO. Marvelous stuff… and there’s more marvellous stuff to follow with a superbly heavy ‘Mother Mary’, featuring yet another six string hero in Slash and one of the best vocalists in modern rock, Erik Gronwall (H.E.A.T., Skid Row). The opening of the song bursts out of the speakers like a Space X rocket (or Mrs Griffiths at a shoe and handbag sale!), with Slash’s distinctive style the perfect foil for Schenker’s in a guitar duel that is, frankly, pure rock n roll joy. To me, this eclipses the original on 1975’s Force It for sheer power… and that’s no mean feat!

Saxon’s Biff Byford is, in my opinion, sounding better in the later part of his career, with his voice lying slightly lower in the vocal register, causing a gruffness that makes it sound so much more… well… metal! This is no more apparent than on another track from 1975, ‘This Kids’, with Schenker’s slow burning, bluesy solo causing a burst of irresistible air guitar energy!

As well as writing short, sharp rockers, UFO could also write and record complete and utter epics, and that never more apparent than ‘Love to Love’, from arguably one of their greatest ever albums, Lights Out from 1976. If you’re going to re-record a classic, epic rock track, then you’re going to need a singer who thrives on such tracks… and who better than Guns ‘N Roses frontman Axl Rose. The opening is as spine tinglingly atmospheric as it has ever been with the haunting piano, guitar chords and driving bass eventually opening up for Rose’s surprisingly clear and controlled voice that is… well… unmistakably him! The synth arrangements appear faithful to the original but there’s just that bit more energy and overall oomph to Schenker’s goosebump inducing solo towards the end. This is exactly why he’s regarded as a guitar hero! ‘Lights Out’, form the album of the same name, features many of many bands Jeff Scott Soto on vocals and Europe’s John Norum on guitar (a man who himself knows a thing or two about being a guitar hero). The song bristles with the same energy and relentless pace of the original but again, there’s just something a bit different to it that really drives it home. Perhaos it’s Schenker and Norum’s combined guitar skills or Jeff Scott Soto’s never-strained vocals… I don’t know. But it wakes you up like an ice bath on a cold Scottish winter day!

‘Rock Bottom’, another from Schenker’s UFO debut, features fellow German Kai Hansen (Helloween) on vocals in what is a largely a faithful and unchanged cover of the original (but with more prominent Hammond organ) and the can be said of the dad-dance inducing, rock n roll fun of 1977’s ‘Too Hot to Handle’, once again featuring Joe Lynn Turner on vocals and Carmine Appice on drums, with Schenker’s guitar foil duties handed to the Flying Dutchman, ex-Whitesnake member Adrian Vandenberg. Another titan of German rock music and longtime friend of Schenker, Michael Voss, takes vocals on the heavy metal, mid-70s track ‘Let It Roll’, with Schenker’s light and dark guitar ranging from heavy riffs to beautiful melodies. The album ends with a fun run through of ‘Shoot Shoot’ with Ratt vocalist Stephen Pearcy providing it with a sleazy feel that gels perfectly with Schenker’s guitar. Classic rock and metal with a hair metal vocalist… and it works so bloody well!!

It's difficult to call this a cover album when the main protagonist, Michael Schenker himself, actually wrote and performed on the 1970s originals… so, let’s call them re-recordings instead. It’s only when you look at the track list and listen to the music that you fully appreciate just what a great rock n roll band UFO was. The fact that I found myself singing along to every song, with an odd spattering of dad-dancing and air guitar to songs released almost 50 years ago tells you that these are timeless classic rock songs that remain the band’s greatest legacy. But when you dig even deeper into it, you realise that they wouldn’t have been the same without the magic guitar of Michael Schenker. You see, Michael Schenker’s guitar brought them to life and turned good rock songs into great rock songs… and that’s exactly what is being celebrated in these re-recordings. With a stellar line-up of fellow musicians working with Schenker, ‘My Years in UFO’ is genuinely one of the most fun ‘re-recordings’ I have heard in many years; faithful to the timeless 1970s rock originals but with an additional modern-day power that takes them to the next level.

This is Michael Schenker… guitar hero… and he spent a few great years in UFO!