If Michael Schenker is to be believed in our new interview, he hasn't actively listened to music by other artists in over 50 years. Still, it's hard to avoid radio and television, and once in a while the German guitar icon will hear things – including self-confessed Schenker fans Metallica.
“Do I ever listen to Metallica and hear my own licks? Not intentionally," he tells us, "But I’ve accidentally heard amazing songs by Metallica like The Unforgiven. They're a fantastic band." That Black Album song features one of Kirk Hammett's finest solos, and Hammett has never been shy in namechecking Schenker as an inspiration. So what does the former Scorpions and UFO man hear his influence?
I think Kirk is very good at the classical stuff – it’s maybe not so much to my taste when he plays electric lead guitar
"I think Kirk is very good at the classical stuff," Schenker tells us. "It’s maybe not so much to my taste when he plays electric lead guitar…
“To my ears, it sounds like me when I was 15 years old, when I was playing on [Scorpions debut] Lonesome Crow," he adds. "People who copy that particular style will sound a little undeveloped because my vibrato wasn’t right. But some people liked how I played early on and copied that style. When I listen back to what I did now, it feels like a very different stage of my development to where I am today. It took me years to develop a more natural vibrato and get my guitar to sing the way I like it!"
The theme of reflecting on his own progression is something the guitarist touches on elsewhere in the chat. “If I listen back to my recordings from the beginning of my career, they almost sound undeveloped, you know?" notes Schenker. "It’s easier when there’s nothing to compare to. A vintage car that once really stuck out won’t be able to compete with the cars made today.”
Schenker's new album My Years With UFO – released 20 September as part of a new three-album deal with earMUSIC – sees the guitarist revisiting his seminal '70s era, this time with a host of special guests including not only Slash, but surprisingly his bandmate Axl Rose too.
“It’s a bit of a coincidence, just like everything else," says Schenker of the coup in securing the elusive vocalist. "Life is all about circumstances. Slash came into the studio in Frankfurt for recording. While he was getting ready, he told me that he’d mentioned the collaboration to Axl Rose and Axl said ‘I want to sing on this album too!’ So I told Slash to help make it happen.
Slash obliged.
“In the end, Axl ended up singing three songs – Too Hot To Handle, Only You Can Love Me and Love To Love – but he didn’t like his performances on the first two, so we decided to just focus on the latter," Schenker reveals. "He did a fantastic version of that song, I really like how he sang it. All of the musicians on this album are fans and friends. It’s like I did for them what Led Zeppelin did for me. And it keeps going. Guns N’ Roses ended up doing things for the next generation. It’s a very natural thing.”
Check out the full interview with Michael Schenker and preorder the new album My Years With UFO, here.
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