MSG

MSG is a fulfilling early-MSG work on which Gary Barden’s soaring voice powerfully supports Michael Schenker’s sharply biting riffs and singing lead guitar. The second album, it refines the direction established on the debut. Rather than showing off complexity, it carefully stacks striking, beautiful guitar phrases to create a strong lift in the listener. The straight drive of the opener “Ready to Rock” and the dynamic “Attack of the Mad Axeman” both brim with Schenker’s powerful character as a guitar hero and the band’s powerful drive, while the lyricism of “On and On” and cuts like “But I Want More” and “Never Trust a Stranger” give the work breadth. Its appeal is holding both sharp aggression and the heart-clenching, melancholy melody particular to Schenker at a high level. His guitar draws the listener strongly not with speed alone but with the songcraft in every single note. Inheriting the debut’s momentum and deepening its musicality further, it is one of the fulfilling works representative of early MSG — Barden’s singing also in fine form.