Heavy Hitters in Bloomington, MN

There have been countless "cover albums" over the years, where established
rock
artists redo favorites from their formative years (
David Bowie
's
Pin Ups
,
Rush
Feedback
, etc.), and the 2005
Michael Schenker
release
Heavy Hitters
treads upon similar terrain. Put together by renowned studio musician
Bob Kulick
(best known to
Kiss
fans as the brother of
Bruce Kulick
, and as a guest guitarist on numerous
albums),
puts
Schenker
together with quite a few notable names from both the
heavy metal
and classic
genres. Featured are covers of
Black Sabbath
"War Pigs"
(featuring
Tim "Ripper" Owens
on vocals),
Pink Floyd
"Money"
(with
Tommy Shaw
),
Mountain
"Blood of the Sun"
Leslie West
), and
Nazareth
"Hair of the Dog"
Paul Di'Anno
). Also featured are a pair of tracks that are "
related" -- a cover of
UFO
's classic
"Doctor Doctor,"
while former
MSG
singer
Gary Barden
reunites with
on a cover of
Gary Moore
and
Phil Lynott
"Out in the Fields."
Other featured special guests include
Aynsley Dunbar
Mike Inez
Edgar Winter
Tony Levin
Rudy Sarzo
Sebastian Bach
Eric Singer
, and
Mark Slaughter
, among others. While undoubtedly longtime fans would have rather had a new studio album by
the Michael Schenker Group
is your typical fun cover set, which at times serves as a glimpse into
's musical roots. ~ Greg Prato