Temple Of Rock

A little too middle of the road for me. It's also a pity Michael has fallen foul of the loudness war as the dynamics seem rather flattened on this.
Content wise, nothing stands out to me. Lyrically it seems rather inane and this is the damning one, musically formulaic. Having seen the renewed, revitalised Michael. The player supreme, Mr.V at his finest, I was expecting more.
Very radio friendly but fails to engage.

What is it about European rock guitarists? Is it something in the diet, or something in the water? Either way, you get a guitar player of the quality of Michael Schenker who has proved over many long years and too many concerts to mention that, with only a couple of notable exceptions, their choice of vocalists really does leave something to be desired....And this new album; Temple of Rock, is no exception, with some of the vocals bordering on the awful. In fact at times it can almost be a Spinal Tapesque parody of a rock band in so much as the vocal and the lyric has a tongue rammed very much into the cheek - however, that is not to say that this album is a bad 'un, it's just that it is not consistent (good OR bad!). You go from the high's of Before The Devil Knows You're Dead with it's ear-worm riff that really does well and truly embed itself into your brain to the lows of the awful pop/rock sound of Remember - it could almost have been written (and played!) by a certain M.Bolan in his heyday!
Such a shame because with a decent set of pipes singing the lyrics (even though some are cringeworthy) the album could so easily have merited all 5 stars! If you don't believe me, have a listen to Phil Mogg's ageing voice fronting the latest UFO album; Seven Deadly.....it really, really does make all the difference in the world....so Michael, please, get a decent singer and present us long standing fans with an album to cherish and not feel ridiculed if some metal merchant hears our loud stereo playing Remember.......!

It is getting tougher and tougher to review my favorite guitar player, a tag that has diminished slightly but like the fast cars I have owned still holds affection for a great collection of memories. Still go to the gigs though and heard the clips here and there and wasn't that impressed this time round. Scorpions songs and old UFO stuff live what's going on? Hope it's not the end of an era? Anyway got everything else he's done so Catch 22 every time, always unsure if there is a monster album still to come but got to buy and find out.

Played this a few times before coming to the conclusion that I was expecting. In the "OK to good and yet still disappointing me" category. Am I expecting too much again and again I ask myself? This guy produced the best rock in the seventies and early eighties and I loved him for it so where is the mark of class? Perhaps over critical but add to this the awful title, dreadful cover/artwork and lyrics.... disappointed to be honest.

In terms of quality and for comparison then this is a three to four star effort in the same vein as "Be Aware of Scorpions". As usual the guitar work is excellent (despite the over reliance on distortion and hammer on/pull offs live), not the speed and clarity of old but still amazing melody in those perfectly fitting imaginative big sounding solos. My stand out tunes are "How Long" and "Before the Devil Knows You're Dead" (how great a Ronnie Dio vocal could of made this! RIP), a bit dated maybe but showing the simpler stuff seems to be working well. My taste may be mellowing with age but funny how I hated the corny "Saturday Night" but really liked "Lovers Sinfony". No need for the pathetic play on the word but I like a nicely constructed rock song now with McAuley being the difference on the vocal. Production is also nice with guitar work well forward, a big improvement on "In the Midst of Beauty". Likeable in part then but not as much as the aforementioned last album which had better songs in my view. Decent guitar driven stuff through out losing a star plus for being 50% spoiled by some pretty awful song titles and lyrics. I really thought Michael Voss was a talented producer and great guitarist following Gary Bardens excellent solo album "Past & Present". Singer and front man though I don't think so. Characterless. Never rated Herman either. Germany has produced some great guitar players but don't let them loose writing lyrics or playing drums.

In summary some very nice stuff, good riffs and guitar work crying out for an "A List" song writer, an accompaniment that has so often been absent.
I recently bought the latest offerings from Black Country Communion and Chickenfoot and these are both Premier League in terms of rock albums. Great classic songs with stellar vocalists and guitar work. Also bought The Union new album "Sirens Song" which is amazing, great guitar based rock with terrific compositions from singer songwriter Pete Shoulder. Compared to these artists this is definitely Second Division.