About this Endless Jam album, I feel the same vocal-wise, especially on those songs which I used to hear many times in the past. UFO version of Track 11 itself was a cover. But, it is the original to me and the impression of Phil's vocal is so strongly burnt into my brain that I can't help but feel uncomfortable with Davey Pattison's vocal. Even on the tunes that I am not so familiar with, I feel perplexed a little by his singing probably because Davey's voice and rendering are simply not my type. It's still too early to make a decisive comment, but it seems at present to me that his summit is much lower than Michael's. Of course, he is not bad at all. Maybe he is Varney's choice, so he can't be bad. It's just a matter of personal preference, and actually his singing on I Got The Fire has been circling in my head right now. Maybe it will grow on me.

Now getting down to brass tacks, i.e., Michael's guitar playing! It sounds like most of the backing and rhythm guitars were played by another guitarist (Kevin Curry?) including some cool single-coil tones. Michael plays solos and fill-ins on those backings. I know some of his fans wanted longer solo of Michael on recent MSG albums except instrumental albums. This album should completely satisfy such fans as he plays the lead almost 'endlesly' as the album title shows. His tone on this CD is similar to that on Arachnophobiac, with less distortion depending on the songs. To me, it's not the best tone over his entire career; however, it is definitely the Schenker tone, and it fits well in these '70s materials.

Unlike the case of vocals, how strong I feel about the originals does not affect my evaluation of guitar playing because no lead play on the originals selected for this album remains in my memory. Even I don't remember well how Jimi played, or whether there were actually lead play parts on some of the originals. Moreover, as can be seen from the runtime of each track, solo parts have been extended on many of the tracks. Therefore, it's not like "what if Michael covers other guitarists' playing?" There is no subject of comparison to me. (Well, should Michael participate in a cover project where the songs are played with the same configuration of the originals, it must be interesting, too. I am not interested in other guitar players doing that, but Michael is absolutely different from other players, so some magic would happen there.) I had thought that Michael didn't like playing other people's material. But, regardless of whether he likes it or not, his playing on this album is more than anyone's expectation, I believe. Especially, the lead on Track 7 is one of Michael's coolest play in recent years. The solo on Track 1 is also brilliant. As can be see from their runtime, these leads are not so extended, compared to those on other tracks, but they are beautifully constructed with amazing, fast passages inserted in spots. I assume these leads were pre-arranged to some extent. If they were totally off the cuff without any preparation, I must say it's a miracle. On the other hand, the leads on Tracks 2, 6, 8 and 10 are more extended than the originals, and Michael endlessly and spontaneously plays improvised phrases as his emotion leads him. Such kind of long solo played by ordinary players including professionals tends to be monotonous not entirely but from part to part. But, none part of Michael's solos is boring. It's just like every part of the phrases has some meaning, which is a paranormal thing to me. And, as Gunter mentioned in his interview, Michael's play on Track 4 is also superlative, where such spontaneously improvized phorases are beautifully combined with many cool licks and repeat renditions taken out of his limitless magic drawer. You can also hear guitar harmonization with Wah on this track, which is really cool!

Regarding other members, Aynsley did really reliable and stable drumming with cool fill-ins as always. Gunter keeps tight performance all through the album. And Leslie as a guest never betrays his reputation. It is amazing that his phrasing with simple notes has such a presence that we can recognize it is HIS play by only hearing it.

In summary, I personally think this is none like the other cover album projects with a totally different concept especially in terms of lead guitar playing. I firmly believe it's a must CD for Schenker fans.

Related Links:
Mascot Records' new releases
Battttty's Endless Jam page and review
Tom's Endless Jam page