Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *
Michael Schenker’s contribution to the world of rock is such that it doesn’t bear thinking about what might have been had the young man not joined The Scorpions or U.F.O., what the world would have missed out on in the last few years with the outstanding Temple of Rock. The brain of the Rock fan, one that is always cerebral and contemplative due to the sheer cool of the genre, would go into meltdown if Michael Schenker had gone on to sit in a bank or become an estate agent; the waste of exciting and guitar brutal talent would just be too much too cope with.
It is a realisation that hits you when watching Michael Schenker’s Temple of Rock in a venue near you or that you may have travelled a distance to see. However that realisation is only as good as the speck you have inside the building, the chances are that in the modern era you will be stuck behind an annoying light emitting from the gadget of the person in front, the light of someone who believes they are a better photographer because they happen to have a tablet and that they are clever for capturing the whole show on a grainy scale or that you won’t have the worse for wear and six pints later patron crying on your shoulder because one of the final songs reminds them of the love of their life who dumped them in 1986. It is the risk an audience takes in making sure they see the glory of Michael Schenker.
As part of the last world tour, an experience that truly struck home the hard edged beauty of the band, the group were filmed On A Mission at the tremendous Joy Eslava in Madrid and whilst seeing them for example in Berlin, Paris, Birmingham or even Liverpool will be seen as the highlight of a fan’s year, what the DVD brings home is the absolute pinnacle of a close knit bunch of musicians and the blistering sound that encompasses every chapter in the career of Michael Schenker. In a venue where the sweat pours with glorious intent from every pore and glistens in the lights shining down as if there was a new star in the heavens pulsating with life; it is easy to enjoy the spectacle that opens up before you; however truly being able to witness the musical mayhem, the sheer elegance of the artists on stage is a pleasure that is rewarded by owning Michael Schenker’s Temple Of Rock: On A Mission-Live In Madrid.
The blissful frame of mind that is in the heart and soul of all that night in the Joy Eslava is there for all to see and had you been there for real, it surely would have been one of the top gigs of your life; instead the chance to still be part of it is the offer and one that should be grasped with pure intent. Michael Schenker may have been on a mission but it is the audience member at home who reaps the rewards of such musical brilliance.
Ian D. Hall 2016