Album Review: Michael Schenker Fest - Revelation

For a guy who has been on his own for as long as he has, Michael Schenker sure seems to put together a lot of projects. Rather than brand himself as a true solo artist, he's had albums under his own name, as Michael Schenker Group, as Michael Schenker's Temple Of Rock, and now as Michael Schenker Fest. All of this comes for a guy who admits to not listening to any music other than his own, lest his muse get corrupted by the music of others. That's a really weird thing for anyone to say, but especially for someone who has spent most of the last couple decades recycling the same old stuff.

That is never more true than with this project, which gathers up four of his former singers, giving them all a little, but not enough, to do. I wasn't much of a fan of the first album under this moniker, mostly for the fact that while it did sound like everything else Schenker has put out in recent memory, the vocalists were not in the best shape. A couple years since then isn't going to improve matters on that front.

Basically, if you like anything Schenker has done since in the last twenty years, this album will be fine for you. I know a lot of guitar players worship the guy, but he hasn't played anything I've been overly impressed with in a long time. I'm not a solos guy, so maybe his 'genius' is lost on me. Putting the songs together, he's good, but every album has been mostly the same, so it always comes down to what the singers are able to make of them.

I'll be honest; I've never been fond of albums like this with multiple singers. The main reason for that is simple; I'm going to like one singer more than the rest, and I'm going to be disappointed they don't get more of the spotlight. Or, the other way to look at it is there will surely be one singer I like less than the others, and I'll be angry they get as much time behind the mic as they do. That would be Graham Bonnet, if you're curious. His voice is not strong enough for him to push himself the way he still does. His tone annoys me, and has for a long time.

Gary Barden's voice is the most shot, by far, but it's gone in a way that left him with a husky tone I sort of like. Plus, it keeps him from trying to hit any god-forsaken high notes. The only Schenker album of recent vintage I've actually enjoyed was "In The Midst Of Beauty", which might just be because Barden's limitations make it the only album without some of the rock cliches.

This record is more pure Schenker. That's why he, and his fans, want. What I want it to hear something that stands out from the overwhelming amount of records Schenker has put out. That's not what I'm getting from this record. Other than a hint of 80s synth on "Behind The Smile", this record is virtually indistinguishable from the previous one, and all the ones before that. Since I wasn't buying in on that one, the same is true this time. Schenker is doing a solid job, and the record isn't bad by any means, but it also doesn't do anything exciting.

"Revelation" is not what the title suggests. It's good Michael Schenker music, and I might even say it's a bit better than the first album branded as the Fest, but I've heard all the Michael Schenker I ever need to.