Michael Schenker
Thank You 2
Steamhammer / SPV
Through a long career in music, both with UFO and the pre-shit Scorpions, Michael Schenker has made a series of vital albums and inspired a generation of young guitarists in the process. Always an inventive and exploring artist, even his albums with solo-plus-friends project MSG had their moments. This one, however, doesn’t.
An “instrumental acoustic album,” as the cover text is nice enough to inform us, this is in essence Schenker running through eleven of his own compositions on two acoustic guitars and nothing else, offering little diversity in the way of either tempo, feel, arrangement or songwriting. Comfortably plodding mid-tempo material drowse its way through the album’s 45 minutes running time until everything stops and you realize that nothing, really, has taken place. Only a dreary, dull background noise that’s not there anymore.
Shame, really. Michael Schenker has done a lot of great stuff over the years, and he deserves kudos and big cheers for never letting technique get in the way of involvement and feel. Judging by this album he’s content and happy, and I’m certainly glad on his behalf. That said, this album is a huge disappointment from a man who’s capable of so much more.
SPV Records: http://www.spv.de
