“I’d always said to the Scorpions, ‘If any band from England asks me to join, no matter who it is, I’m doing it’”: Michael Schenker celebrates his tenure with UFO with a new reimagined greatest hits record – and it features Slash
Michael Schenker's new album, My Years with UFO, marks the 50th anniversary of the guitarist's tenure with the British classic rock band
(Image credit: C Brandon/Getty Images)
UFO's Michael Schenker has just announced a new album that celebrates the guitarist's tenure with the band – with a twist. Aptly titled My Years with UFO, the record finds Schenker inviting a Rolodex of rock luminaries to join him – including Slash, Adrian Vandenberg, Joel Hoekstra and Axl Rose.
My Years with UFO marks the 50th anniversary of Schenker's era with UFO between 1972 and 1978. Schenker joined the band when he was just 17 years old. He not only toured the world as a teenager, but also became the driving force behind some of the band's most popular tracks, including Rock Bottom, Doctor Doctor and Only You Can Rock.
MICHAEL SCHENKER - Mother Mary feat. SLASH & ERIK GRÖNWALL - YouTube
The first single from My Years with UFO is Mother Mary, originally released in 1975. The new version features Slash's signature guitar work, including multiple ripping solos. H.E.AT's ex-vocalist Erik Grönwall lends his vocals to the reimagined track, which still manages to stay true to the quintessential UFO sound.
The other artists involved in this project are Axl Rose, Hansen, Roger Glover, Joey Tempest, Biff Byford, Jeff Scott Soto, John Norum, Dee Snider, Joel Hoekstra, Joe Lynn Turner, Carmine Appice, Adrian Vandenberg, Michael Voss, and Stephen Pearcy.
The full tracklisting is as follows:
Natural Thing feat. Dee Snider & Joel Hoekstra
Only You Can Rock Me feat. Joey Tempest & Roger Glover
Doctor Doctor feat. Joe Lynn Turner & Carmine Appice
Mother Mary feat. Slash & Erik Grönwall
This Kids feat. Biff Byford
Love to Love feat. Axl Rose
Lights Out feat. Jeff Scott Soto & John Norum
Rock Bottom feat. Kai Hansen
Too Hot Too Handle feat. Joe Lynn Turner, Adrian Vandenberg & Carmen Appice
Let It Roll feat. Michael Voss
Shoot Shoot feat. Stephen Pearcy
(Image credit: Michael Schenker)
In a recent interview with Classic Rock, Schenker discussed how he ended up joining UFO after the band he was in at the time, Scorpions, supported them in Germany. “About one month after the tour, they contacted me and asked me to join. I’d always said to the Scorpions, ‘If any band from England asks me to join, no matter who it is, I’m doing it.’
UFO - Live at Don Kirshner's Rock Concert 1974 - YouTube
“No-one in Germany understood what I was doing, and the scene was lame. I said to Scorpions, 'Sorry guys, I told you I would do this,' and I left. It wasn’t so much about UFO, it was about the opportunity to play in England. I wanted to develop and go to the next level. I was full of energy and ideas, and I wasn’t afraid of anything.”
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My Years with UFOwill be released worldwide on September 20 and is now available for pre-order.
Janelle is a staff writer at GuitarWorld.com. After a long stint in classical music, Janelle discovered the joys of playing guitar in dingy venues at the age of 13 and has never looked back. Janelle has written extensively about the intersection of music and technology, and how this is shaping the future of the music industry. She also had the pleasure of interviewing Dream Wife, K.Flay, Yīn Yīn, and Black Honey, among others. When she's not writing, you'll find her creating layers of delicious audio lasagna with her art-rock/psych-punk band ĠENN.
