Michael Schenker Group Discography

Michael Schenker Group-S/T 1980 Chrysalis Records



Released-August 1980
Recorded-Wessex Studios, London (May to July 1980)
Produced by Roger Glover

1."Armed and Ready" - 4:05
2."Cry for the Nations" - 5:08
3."Victim of Illusion" - 4:41
4."Bijou Pleasurette" (Schenker) - 2:16
5."Feels Like a Good Thing" - 3:44
6."Into the Arena" (Schenker) - 4:10
7."Looking Out from Nowhere" - 4:28
8."Tales of Mystery" - 3:16
9."Lost Horizons" - 7:04

All songs written by Schenker and Barden unless noted above

2009 Re-issue track listing

1."Just a Lover" (Demo) - 4:34
2."Looking Out from Nowhere" (Demo) - 5:13
3."Get Up and Get Down" (Demo) - 3:59
4."After Midnight" (Demo) - 4:31
5."Breakout" (Demo) - 4:42
6."Cry for the Nations" (Radio Edit) - 3:35
7."Armed and Ready" (Live At The Manchester Apollo) - 4:40
8."Into the Arena" (Live At The Hammersmith Odeon, London)

MSG was merely Michael Schenker and gary Barden on guitar and vocals during the recording of this album. Session musicians were used which included Don Airey on keys, Simon Phillps on drums and Mo Foster on bass.

The 2009 re-issue includes demos with Shenker, Barden, Sheehan and Carmassi as musicians.


This was an instant purchase for me. Alot of guys in my area were huge Schenker fans. Hard not to find guys jamming in the garage to UFO in the late 70's. IMHDO there isn't a bad song on the album. I do not own the re-issue so I cannot elaborate on those songs at all. The line up seems solid enough. Too bad that line-up didn't stick it out. Whoaaa !!!! Anyways, "Victim Of Illusion" is my personal favorite on the lp. "Into The Arena" a close second. How can ya not like Schenker going off like he does ? Ya know, building this....layering that and then.....BAM ! Takes off on a dime. The other instumental, "Bijou Pleaurette" could of easily been on a past UFO album. The tunes "Armed and Ready" and "Cry For The Nations" are better represented on future live releases.

If ya dig or dug Schenker in UFO, well ya can't go wrong here. I see alot of similarities between Mogg and Barden. Not carbon copy or some trip like that. Of course Mogg's abilities are superior by far (IMHDO) Yet Barden takes enough to make one notice. He is talented in his own right. In the end, most buy and listen to this due to the guy with The Flying V.

Love this debut but it was third MSG album I owned, so I heard this after I had already owned 'Built to Destroy' and 'Assault Attack' so my view of this album was slightly different.

I loved it but I prefered the other two, it might have been the simple case of hearing them first.

Michael Schenker was and still is one of my favorite axe man. Love his melodic soloing, and unlike alot of guitarist that followed him, his songs were not just excuses for endless guitar solos.

I liked Gary Barden, his voice had character but nowhere near the presence of Phil Mogg, or the lyricist. But then Barden was not trying to write poetry or character sketches, just lyrics that fit into the melody and fit the songs.

Overall impressive debut and worth looking into.

Good debut album! Looking forward to this thread!

As with Manny, I worked backward to hear this and it never grabbed me that much. May have to revisit it.

Really good album, this was the only MSG album I ever owned. Picked it up in a used LP rack for 25 cents around 1983 or thereabouts. I haven't heard it since the 90s, need to revisit it one of these days.

The drum intro to "Feels Like A Good Thing" is one of my favorites, great main riff too.

Dark Horseman wrote:

As with Manny, I worked backward to hear this and it never grabbed me that much. May have to revisit it.

The production on the album is good but not as good as the albums that followed, but the songs are really good, so I recommend going back for a second listen. I think you will like it the second time around.

yes everyone.......go back.....listen....comment

Schenker rules !

Dig this whole album, some of my other favorites:

Victim of Illusion
Looking Out From Nowhere
Tales of Mystery
Lost Horizons(LOVE the live version of this one!!!)


I beleive that Budakon and Built were the first two MSG albums I bought.... and at the same time!

MSG



1981 Chrysalis Records
Recorded AIR studios, London and Monsterrat (March-May 1981)
Released September 1981
Produced by Ron Nevison

1. "Ready to Rock" Michael Schenker, Gary Barden 3:26
2. "Attack of the Mad Axeman" Schenker, Barden 4:17
3. "On and On" Schenker, Barden 4:41
4. "Let Sleeping Dogs Lie" Barden, Chris Glen, Cozy Powell, Paul Raymond, Schenker 5:21
5. "I Want More" Schenker, Barden 6:56
6. "Never Trust a Stranger" Raymond 4:24
7. "Looking for Love" Schenker, Barden 4:03
8. "Secondary Motion" Schenker, Barden 3:42

The 2009 reissue has a rough mix of " Never Trust A Starnger" and some live stuff (2 MSG tunes and 4 UFO covers)

Michael Schenker-guitar
Gary Barden-vocals
Paul Raymond-keys and guitar
Chris Glenn-bass
Cozy Powell-drums


First off, this is one of the rare cases that Ron Nevison didn't take the balls away from a harded edged band by running the show Anyways, he did a better job than Roger Glover did with the debut.

Schenker has some amazing riffs and leads on this lp. One can wonder if it made him feel at home having his trusty ol' sidekick to fill in the spots on keys and rhythm guitar ?

The opener, "Ready To RocK" sets the pace for the lp and has a killer hok in the riff and vocal melody. Catchy chorus as well. "Attack Of The mad Axeman" kinda/sorta became a Schenker signature tune. Cozy does his thing and gives the song some distinctive flair. "On and On", "Never Trust A Stranger" and "But I Want More" are very UFO-ish and well written tunes. The layers of melody kicking off are amazing (IMHDO) and make the harder parts of the song more dynamic. "Looking For Love" is an upbeat tune that is in the mold with what this band would do later in the decade with another singer. That leaves my least favorite and most favorite tunes on the lp. The least favorite is not a bad tune in itself, the solo saves it from being "average" and that tune is "Secondary Motion" I saved the best for last......."Let Sleeping Dogs Lie" Schenker lays done a catchy riff and one of the better solos on this lp. The lyrics are tounge in cheek, as well as double entendre with a practical word of advice.

Overall, better musicans...better tunes....better everything compared the debut (IMHDO)

The live tunes on the 2009 reissue were recorded at The Manchester Apolo on Sept. 30th. 1980 and later appear on 2010 import release of the entire show.

Here are some samples of what the ol ears will hear on this lp

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lCm3bZTv8qg

as well as....

For me, this album is solid from Ready To Rock to But I Want More..... I just find most of side two very weak. I HATE Never Trust A Stranger, I just find it too hokey.

The production on this album is nice and hefty, imho. Cozy's drums sound nice!!!

Love this album, and I agree for once Ron Nevison did not try to make this into Michael Schenker joins John Waits the Babys.

Having a real band as opposed to session musicians, and touring with this band prior to going into the studio probably tightened the band up as a unit.

Schenker's leads on album are incredible, as excepted, very melodic, almost a song within a song.

Cozy Powell adds a much needed punch and this band seems more in synch with Schenker then his previous band, well really session men.

MSG was getting great press in the US but Schenker being Schenker manged to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory by canning Gary Barden while touring to support the album.

I pretty much agree with what's been said though I like Never Trust. With pretty much a new band this is a huge step forward. As much as I hear that Michael is hard to work with, how could he keep people around?

MSG-One Night At Budokan



Recorded Nippon Budokan, Tokyo Japan Aug 12, 1980
Released Febuary, 1981 on Chrysalis records
Produced by MSG, David Wooley, and david Kirkwood

Side 1

1."Armed and Ready" - 6:20
2."Cry for the Nations" - 5:32
3."Attack of the Mad Axeman" - 4:50
Side 2

1."But I Want More" - 5:24
2."Victim of Illusion" - 6:18
3."Into the Arena" (Schenker) - 4:45

[Side 3

1."On and On" 5:32
2."Never Trust a Stranger" (Paul Raymond) - 6:07
3."Let Sleeping Dogs Lie" (Schenker, Barden, Chris Glen, Raymond, Cozy Powell) - 7:18

Side 4

1."Courvoisier Concerto" (Schenker, Raymond) - 3:42
2."Lost Horizons" - 7:22
3."Doctor Doctor" (Schenker, Phil Mogg) - 5:30
4."Are You Ready to Rock" - 7:10

I have the album....The two disc 2009 remaster has the following bonus tracks on it.

"Tales of Mystery" - 3:50
"Cozy Powell Drum Solo" - 11:23

For those (yes there are actually some out there) who don't dig MSG studio stuff, we have this ! (and another one around the corner) Which of course is self explanitory with the title, a live album. The energy of the crowd pumps through the music and the band is just on top of it. I have a few friends who would only want to hear the live stuff when it came to this band,

As the case with most live albums, the majority of the tunes are the better ones off the albums they originally came from. Here those songs have more balls and jump out at ya. Guess one would have to listen to both studio and this to catch my drift ? Standouts are the opener...."Mad Axeman"...."Int The Arena",,,,, and my personal favorite "Let Sleeping Dogs Lie" If ya want to hear a band that is tight, firing on all cyliders, and in their element (This line up was top shelve stuff) This release captures all that.

Ah, Michael Schenker... Until recently (like the last 2 years) I knew of him but have not heard him. I had a couple of cassettes back in the day, but I don't remember listening to them at all. Since then I have listened to numerous tracks on youtube and Spotify but have yet to pull the trigger on an album. This thread will help greatly with a good starting place.

I have never owned this live album, so I can't comment on it, but added to my never ending want list.

What Manny said.

AWWWW MAN!!!!! Ya guys NEED to get this live album. Outside of Stranger this album smokes from beginning to end. I spent many hours air-guitaring and then guitaring to this. Into The Arena is waaaay better than the studio version.

I have both LP and CD.


ARE........... YOU.......... READYYYYYYY................ cue Cozy...........

yeppers...get it......got it

Next up we have this album....with some refugees from SAHB, Rory Gallagher and Rainbow. Produced by Martin Birch. Recorded someplace in France and released in October of 1982

Side one

1."Assault Attack" (Michael Schenker, Graham Bonnet, Chris Glen, Ted McKenna) - 4:16
2."Rock You to the Ground" (Schenker, Bonnet) - 5:48
3."Dancer" (Schenker, Bonnet) - 4:41
4."Samurai" (Schenker, Bonnet, Glen) - 5:16

Side two

1."Desert Song" (Schenker, Bonnet) - 5:51
2."Broken Promises" (Schenker, Bonnet, Glen) - 6:21
3."Searching for a Reason" (Schenker, Bonnet) - 3:46
4."Ulcer" (Schenker) - 3:53

The 2009 reissue has the tune "Girl From Uptown"

When I saw this line up, it cemented my dislike for Graham Bonnet. Something that I cannot shake to this very day. There are very great tunes on this album. The title tune..."Rock You To The Ground" and even "Dancer". My faves are "Desert Song" and "Ulcer".

On a personal note, I was so happy that this line-up failed to stick it out.
and even though the singer wasn't my cup-o-tea. I still listen to this album alot. Why ? Cause it's Schenker

That is funny you say this because this happens to be my favorite MSG album and I thought Graham Bonnett sounded stellar on it!!!

manny wrote:

That is funny you say this because this happens to be my favorite MSG album and I thought Graham Bonnett sounded stellar on it!!!

and there you have it...the sentiment of my neighborhood back then...some dig Graham, others don't.

If you put two egos in a room what do you get? A pretty stellar album that rocks you. I like this, a lot.

This is the only MSG album I've heard in full, and from what I remember it's a very solid effort. My favorite tracks, just from memory, are "Desert Song" and "Rock You to the Ground".

I've always liked Bonnet's vocals, especially here and in Alcatrazz.

manny wrote:

That is funny you say this because this happens to be my favorite MSG album and I thought Graham Bonnett sounded stellar on it!!!

Agreed! This is my favorite MSG album...it's awesome from start to finish. Perhaps this causes some bias, but I also happen to like Bonnett quite a bit....

I don't mind leather lungs, he works for me!

There are very excellent songs on here: Samurai(catchy as hell guitar line), Desert Song, Assault Attack. This album rocks pretty hard. The only song that sounds out of place is Dancer, it sounds like it should have been on the debut Alcatrazz album.

I bought the 12 inch single of Dancer with Girl From Uptown about ten years ago when I found it in a record store around here.