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Released in 1991, the third and final studio album by the McAuley Schenker Group, a project born from the collaboration between singer Robin McAuley and guitarist Michael Schenker.
The album comes with yet another lineup change: keyboardist and second guitarist Steve Mann leaves the group without being replaced, bassist Rocky Newton is replaced by former Dokken member Jeff Pilson, and drummer Bodo Schopf leaves to make way for James Kottak (future Scorpions).
The album departs from the commercial elements that characterized the previous "Perfect Timing" and "Save Yourself" (though less evident in the last one) to return to a Hard Rock - Heavy Metal sound more in line with Michael Schenker. The result is an album of rare beauty, where pure Hard Rock tracks alternate with beautiful and memorable ballads.
There isn’t a single weak point in the entire album, except for "Crazy", the only track that slightly clashes with the others.
Right from the opener "Eve", it's clear that we're dealing with a masterpiece: guitar and drum intro, great chorus, and a super-fast solo by Schenker. It continues with other excellent songs, the next "Paradise", slower than "Eve", but stunning, the fast "This Broken Heart" and "We Believe In Love" (with lyrics worthy of the best ballads), "Invincible" featuring a great chorus and a series of super-fast mini-solos, "Lonely Nights", and the already mentioned "Crazy", which indeed, does clash a bit with the others (maybe due to some strange verses by McAuley), but is still enjoyable.
As mentioned before, this album also includes some wonderful ballads, such is the case with the magnificent "When I'm Gone", the magical and unforgettable "What Happens To Me", opened by a delightful and melancholic arpeggio and boasting a goosebump-inducing solo, the extremely catchy "This Night Is Gonna Last Forever", but above all "Never Ending Nightmare", the best ballad of the album (which says a lot), where Michael Schenker gives us a performance that shows all his worth with the acoustic guitar (silencing all those who accuse him of being only good with the distorted guitar) and Robin McAuley manages to create an incredibly melancholic atmosphere with his voice.
We have reached the end of an extraordinary album, the swan song of a great formation, which would dissolve shortly after the release of this "MSG". The breakup was perhaps a wrong move for this great band, as the new incarnation of the Michael Schenker Group would not reach its success level or match the compositions. Let's be clear, it’s not that the new Michael Schenker Group is bad, quite the contrary, but the McAuley Schenker Group is something practically unattainable in comparison. So, we continue to listen to "Perfect Timing", "Save Yourself", and this "MSG", while awaiting a new, (hopefully) good album by Michael Schenker.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
08 What Happens to Me (05:04)
Everyday I think about you
All the time crazy for you
Tell myself, again and again
'll be patient but then
I feel you deep in my heart
Sell my soul for just one part
Could it be ooh! That easy
After all you've said to me
You broke my confidence
Took it all. why wn'l you see
Makes no difference, to you it seems
What happens to me
Everyday I Wake without you
One more way to face- what is true
Life goes on, what else can I do
You're not here 'cause you don't need me
Never had to worry
Didn't need to care
Said you really loved me
But you're not there
Everyday when I think about you
Like a prayer to a child is new
In my thoughts you'll always be
The only one who could make me happy
11 Nightmare (06:27)
Nightmare lying here in the dark
Scared like my dreams made their mark
I wonder
Dreamer always alone
Lost in a part of myself I can't find anymore
I wonder if it's gonna end tonight
I can't sleep alone anymore
I need you here with me
Even though I closed all the doors
There's somethin' holdin' me
Never Ending Nightmare
Always there instead of you
Never Ending Nightmare
No escape this time from you
Lately been around someone new
Needed to fill in the space
That once sheltered you
Still I worry, if you're gonna be alright
I can't sleep alone anymore
Need someone here with me
All I ever wanted and more
My dreams are fighting for
Never Ending Nightmare
Always there instead of you
Never Ending Nightmare
Punishing me for the things I do
Never ending Nightmare
No escape this time from you
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