it's not like it used to be

Late sixties and my beloved seventies gave us original rock band after original rock band. Great album after great album. Such a big landscape to discover. As the eightees approached lots of bands. Big, medium and small started to sound more or less the same with a few exceptions offcourse.

 

Instead of the wide musical difference of King Crimson, Led Zeppelin, Ramones and Thin Lizzy it got harder and harder to seperate one band from the other. Everyone did "Eddie Van Halen" tapping, had big choruses, was done in about the same tempos, all had destorted guitars and even the songs were getting the same names. 

 

Among all these albums that "sounded the same" there are plenty nobody ever needs to hear again, some are quite good but dated in a few ways and luckily some did lots of things right under the circumstances. Michael Schenker Group's Built to Destroy does belong in the last category if I get my say.. Which I do, right now!

 

Michael Schenker has done a lot of material in various groups I wouldn't consider any song here a top ten song. But the key point to this album isn't the songwriting it's just pure entertainment. Slower parts are mixed with faster parts. Emotional play is traded for fast solos on both guitar and keyboards. Not a dull moment on the whole album. I am not one for "skipping" songs in general even though they are some songs I could live without on most albums. Not here. This a joy to hear from start to finish. 

 

While this record never will become one of the most influential records of the eighties it is a enoyable treasure for those willing to search beyond Iron Maidens "The Number of the Beast", Van Halens "1984" and Metallicas "Ride The Lightning".