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Michael Schenker Ride on My Way (vinyl picture disc) Review by Gary Hill I've reviewed two Michael Schenker picture discs in this issue of Music Street Journal. The other one lands more firmly under heavy metal, but I think this is more hard rock. Like the other one, the disc itself looks great. In fact, it earned one of our MSJ bonus videos. Call it what you like, but the combination of studio and live tracks, including three originally recorded with UFO, works well. Musicians included on this 2021 release along with Schenker include Pete Way (ex-UFO), Chris Slade (ex-AC/DC) and Herman Rarebell (ex-Scorpions). This item earned itself one of our Music Street Journal bonus content videos on our Youtube channel. You can view it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IuCxwFGU5M0 This review is available in book (paperback and hardcover) form in Music Street Journal: 2023 Volume 3 More information and purchase links can be found at: garyhillauthor.com/Music-Street-Journal-2023.

Track by Track Review

Side A

Summerdays The disc starts with a balladic sound. Mellow guitar sounds start it in intricate ways. After the first verse, it rocks out more heavily. The guitar work on this is so strong. The whole cut works extremely well. It takes on some almost technical metal vibes at times, and there is a great balance between mellower and more rocking zones.

Ride On My Way This rocker has hints of 1950s rock built into it. While it's effective, it's not at the same level as the opener. It's just a little generic. The guitar solo section is absolutely on fire.

Fallen Angel This is more of a metal screamer in a lot of ways. The vocal hooks are more along the lines of Sweet. This is a scorching hot hard rocker. It's one of my favorites here. The first guitar solo takes it to a completely different level. There are some screaming guitar fills at other points, too. The closing solo is more of a shredder.

Saturday Night A live recording (as are the rest here), this brings things into more metallic zones. There is a dropped down section later in the track. This has a real hair metal meets Scorpions vibe to it.

Side B

Hanging On Arena rock with some definite keyboard angles is the order of business as this gets going. This gets into more metallic zones as it continues. It's a cool rocker with some particularly tasty riffs. The guitar soloing on this is particularly tasty and meaty.

Shoot Shoot Here we get a song that Schenker did with UFO. It's the first of three from that time period. This song is absolutely on fire. They really seem to up the ante here, and the guitar soling is fierce. The guitar soloing at the end of this somehow manages to intensify things even more.

Doctor Doctor A cool intricate instrumental section featuring guitar soloing with keyboard accompaniment gets this track under way. It makes its way into the song proper from there. This has always been such a smoking hot song, and this version definitely does it justice.

Lights Out They put in a screaming hot version of the UFO classic. This seems a little rawer and meaner than the UFO take on the track.

You'll find concert pics of this artist in the Music Street Journal members area.

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