Axl and Slash featured on Michael Schenker's UFO tribute album (to be released Sept. 20th)

About a year ago, Michael Schenker's producer, Michael Voss, shared pictures of Axl and Slash from separate studio sessions:




Eddie Trunk said that it was for a tribute album to one of his favourite bands. It wasn't hard to combine the dots and guess it was for a U.F.O. tribute album (since Schenker has been part of that band). And a bit later, Vanessa (Axl's assistant) randomly shared this U.F.O. song on her IG story:



And now there's finally a release announcement for Sept. 20th, 2024, and Axl is indeed featured on the cover version of Love To Love, whereas Slash is featured on Mother Mary:

Michael Schenker Calls On Heavy Friends To Celebrate UFO

It’s been fifty years since UFO issued “Phenomenon” and the world came to know their new guitarist, Michael Schenker, who stayed with the ensemble until 1978 and left his mark on four classic studio albums and one concert offering. Of course, he would be back for a few more stints further down the line, yet none of those later releases could compare to the material laid out on the likes of “No Heavy Petting” – to name but one another platter. And it’s the original run of gems that the Teuton axeman celebrates on a record which will be out on September 20th.

Simply titled “My Years With UFO” – which might mislead some listeners and suggest it’s just a compilations of old tracks – the eleven-piece album finds Schenker play crowd favorites in the company of stellar guests, including Roger Glover and Biff Byford, Axl Rose and Slash, Dee Snider and Adrian Vandenberg alongside artists associated with RAINBOW, WHITESNAKE and EUROPE. Feels alluring to say the least.

MICHAEL SCHENKER –
My Years With UFO

1. Natural Thing – feat. Dee Snider and Joel Hoekstra
2. Only You Can Rock Me – feat. Joey Tempest and Roger Glover
3. Doctor, Doctor – feat. Joe Lynn Turner and Carmine Appice
4. Mother Mary – feat. Slash and Erik Grönwall
5. This Kid’s – feat. Biff Byford
6. Love To Love – feat. Axl Rose
7. Lights Out – feat. Jeff Scott Soto and John Norum
8. Rock Bottom – feat. Kai Hansen
9. Too Hot To Handle – feat. Joe Lynn Turner, Adrian Vandenberg and Carmine Appice
10. Let It Roll – feat. Michael Voss
11. Shoot, Shoot – feat. Stephen Pearcy

https://dmme.net/michael-schenker-calls-on-heavy-friends-to-celebrate-ufo/

Really looking forward to hearing Axl's vocals. I think I will be really happy.

Thanks for sharing the Slash track! Too bad these "generic" singers are just disheartening. And the song also has a very "generic" production. Boring! Hopefully the Axl song will be much better!

Very cool!

https://blabbermouth.net/news/michael-schenker-on-his-collaboration-with-axl-rose-for-my-years-with-ufo-album-he-is-a-perfectionist-i-have-noticed

Michael Schenker On His Collaboration With Axl Rose For 'My Years With UFO' Album: 'He Is A Perfectionist, I Have Noticed'

In a new interview with the "Appetite For Distortion" podcast, Michael Schenker discussed his upcoming album, "My Years With UFO", celebrating the 50th anniversary of Schenker's years with UFO. Asked why he decided to make the LP now, Schenker replied (as transcribed by Blabbermouth.net): "In '72 I joined UFO. I was 17 years old. In '73 we recorded 'Phenomenon'. In '74, it was released. So it's 50 years, a long time. And that's when it started with UFO. And, of course, that gave me the idea to celebrate, 50th anniversary. And I have also noticed in the past few years that re-releases, they had no information — they just had the name UFO and the songtitles, but there's no info, no details. And so I thought I'd take this opportunity to inform people, to re-educate or educate newcomers that have — maybe they sing the songs, but have no clue what it is. And also, [UFO's 1978 live album] 'Strangers In The Night' is basically the best of UFO. When we used to tour after 'Phenomenon', we would pick a couple of songs to play on tour, and then 'Force It' — every album we made, we would decide collectively which songs we are going to present live. And then by the time we did 'Strangers In The Night', we had that all together and basically it became best of UFO. And also, it just happened to be that most of the songs, the music, were written by myself. And so I wanted to also add that to the info and all together. And then, of course, invite famous musicians, singers and players that have been influenced and inspired by UFO and myself and celebrate with them. They were teenagers themselves or even younger than that, and they got inspired by that. And now II can have them. And it's a great pleasure to have those guys joining me on this album."

Regarding how he got Guns N' Roses members Slash and Axl Rose involved in the album, Schenker said: "Yeah, when Michael Voss, my co-producer, and I, we started putting down my guitars, and as we did that, we had no idea what we were gonna do… nothing had been discussed. And so as we were putting down the music, we thought, 'Oh, what about this?' 'What about that?' What about who?' Everybody had some ideas. And so, actually, everybody who participated on this album was added to the whole idea from different sources and different times. So, basically, with Axl and Slash — Slash, I was always interested in doing something with him, but I guess when Michael [Voss] first approached him that we're doing the best of UFO and read him the songtitles, he was for it. And when we met in the Frankfurt recording studio, we were both going jam there to 'Mother Mary'. And I had my technician there and my amplifier, and Slash brought his guys and his amplifier, and actually Slash ended up playing with my amplifier. And we were supposed to do a jam, but then I realized, 'Hey, Michael [Voss], I already put all my guitars down. Why we are wasting time doing additional stuff. I already like what I did.' So I was more into focusing on Slash and getting great takes and add them to what I already had done. And Slash liked that idea. And then also, when he came in, he said, 'Michael, I just told Axl that I was going to do this, and that I'm on my way to do this. And he said, 'I wanna sing a song too.' And I said to Slash, 'That would be fantastic. Ask Axl which song he would like to do.' And so actually Axl ended up singing 'Too Hot To Handle', 'Only You Can Rock Me' and 'Love To Love'. But I think they also were on tour at the time, and so Axl was not actually happy with his performance on 'Only You Can Rock Me' and 'Too Hot To Handle'. And I guess it was too many songs, because they were in the middle of a tour, and he preferred to just focus on 'Love To Love'. And he is a perfectionist, I have noticed, and so we waited until he was ready, and then finally he went, 'Okay, 'love to love'. I approve. You can release it. And that was it."

"But I think they also were on tour at the time, and so Axl was not actually happy with his performance on [...]", possibly indicating that Axl felt he would have done better if he hadn't been on tour, that his vocals were a bit fried from the touring. It's gonna be interesting to hear Love To Love.

Another interview with M. Schenker (says the same as above, more or less):

Interview with Michael Schenker, Sweden Rock magazine, August 2024:

Original text in Swedish:

Auto-translation:
_______________

How did you divide your and Slash's solo parts in "Mother Mary"?

- I had brought my guitars to the studio, because I thought we would jam on the spot. When we opened the files it turned out that I had already put a great solo into the song and Slash thought it was perfect as it was. He just wanted to add some stuff where he felt there was room.

Among the singers are Axl Rose, Dee Snider, Joe Lynn Turner, Stephen Pearcy, Joey Tempest and Biff Byford. How did you decide which singers would sing which songs?

- I let them decide for themselves. I told my co-producer Michael Voss (who also sings on the album and has worked with Michael since 2011's "Temple of rock") that I wanted it as close to the versions on "Strangers in the night" as possible, but of course the singers got free hands to add their personalities.

Which singer was the most difficult to involve?

- Axl Rose had agreed to do it, but then followed... How can I say it, he wasn't happy with his effort at first, so he asked for more time. He wanted to make it as good as possible. He had chosen "Love to love", which is an important and difficult song to sing. There was first a month's delay, then another. Axl wanted to be able to stand behind his effort on "Love to love" 100 percent. When he was finally satisfied with what he had done, I got to hear it and it sounded absolutely amazing.

Did you contact any singers who couldn't be there for one reason or another?

- I actually don't think so. Michael Voss has a good connection with all these artists, especially when he uses my name. With the help of my lawyer, we managed to get hold of everyone I wanted to include. My record company also has many contacts. That's how we got hold of Deep Purple's Roger Glover, who laid the foundation for "Only you can rock me" (and also produced "The Michael Schenker Group" in 1980). I have previously worked with the producer Mike Clink, who arranged for Slash to be on "Mother Mary". There were many people involved to make this possible.

[...]

Are you planning to tour with these UFO songs?

- The idea is to put together an all-star band. I aim to hire, among other things, Derek Sherinian on keyboards and Brian Tichy on drums and then find a singer from among those who participated in making a whole UFO show. Or someone can sing most of the songs, like Erik Grönwall, and then Axl Rose comes up and does a few songs. Or Joey Tempest sings a whole show. Joey does a fantastic job on "Only you can rock me" and according to Michael Voss he is interested in being part of the whole gigs. There are many different ways to do this. First, I will present this idea to Japan, they are still very interested in this kind of music. They always do their best to present everything in a good way and find good venues. After that, we can spread it further in the rest of the world.

Blackstar wrote:Interview with Michael Schenker, Sweden Rock magazine, August 2024:

Which singer was the most difficult to involve?

- Axl Rose had agreed to do it, but then followed... How can I say it, he wasn't happy with his effort at first, so he asked for more time. He wanted to make it as good as possible. He had chosen "Love to love", which is an important and difficult song to sing. There was first a month's delay, then another. Axl wanted to be able to stand behind his effort on "Love to love" 100 percent. When he was finally satisfied with what he had done, I got to hear it and it sounded absolutely amazing.

"There was first a month's delay, then another."

Interview with M. Schenker, Classic Rock:
*
"Phil Mogg sings so unusually so it's difficult to copy, but Axl did a fantastic job": Michael Schenker's track-by-track guide to his new album My Years With UFO

[...]

Only You Can Rock Me (Feat. Joey Tempest and Roger Glover)

“This was one of three songs that Axl Rose picked. He did this, Too Hot To Handle and Love To Love, but he didn't like his version of Only You Can Rock Me and Too Hot To Handle so he decided to only focus on Love To Love. Joey Tempest ended up doing it instead and it’s fantastic singing.

[...]

Mother Mary (Feat. Slash and Erik Grönwall)

“Most of the guests recorded their parts on their own. The only time I was going to play together was with Slash in Frankfurt. I had my guitar technician there, I had my amps there and my guitar I was on my way to meet Slash and he was telling Axl that he was on his way to do this and Axl was saying that he wanted to take something, which is how he got involved. Then I realised, I said to Slash, ‘We have limited time, maybe we're better off just focusing on your guitar, because I have already done all my takes.’

He’s been influenced by me a lot and Guns N' Roses loved Strangers In The Night. They got Mike Clink, who was our tape operator, and had him as their producer, so it's kind of a small world, passing things on from generation to generation. And then having Eric Grönwall on top of that is just amazing. I heard his vocal coincidentally when he replaced Sebastian Bach [in Skid Row], so when I head Mother Mary, I was really pleased.”

[...]

Love to Love (Feat. Axl Rose)

“So Axl forgot about Only You Can Rock Me and Too Hot To Handle and focused on Love To Love. But then he took time, you know, and he's still not ready, he’s still not ready. Eventually, he gave us the approval, confirmed, you know, this is it. And it was just fantastic. It’s almost a mixture, because it's a slower song, it almost has a little bit of a country & western touch, with his vocal approach. Because Phil Mogg sings so unusually, it's so difficult to copy that, but Axl did a fantastic job.”

[...]

https://www.loudersound.com/features/michael-schenker-my-years-with-ufo-track-by-track-guide

I liked Axl's vocals.

Released in Europe (it will be available in the Americas at midnight according to the local time zones).

Classic Rock, Sept. 2024 issue:



*
At last! A rare new vocal from Axl Rose as Michael Schenker's cover of UFO's classic Love To Love finally emerges
Guns N' Roses man Axl Rose joins a stellar cast of guest musicians on Michael Schenker's new album My Years With UFO

Back in June, Michael Schenker announced that his upcoming album would be a celebration of his years with UFO, and that a stellar cast of musicians had recorded parts for the album.

On Michael Schenker: My Years With UFO, the German legend is joined by a host of stars including Europe's Joey Tempest and John Norum, Joe Lynn Turner, Deep Purple's Roger Glover, Dee Snider, Michael Voss, Joel Hoekstra, Carmine Appice, Adrian Vandenberg, Stephen Pearcy and Guns N' Roses guitarist Slash.

Most excitingly, the album also features a rare new vocal from another member of Guns N' Roses, frontman Axl Rose, who recorded three songs during sessions in Germany. Today, the album finally arrives, and Rose's contribution can be heard.

“Axl is a perfectionist,” Schenker says in the new issue of Classic Rock. “He puts everything under the microscope. He was not happy with his performance on Too Hot To Handle and Only You Can Rock Me, but he did such a great version of Love To Love.

“He would go back into the studio and do something else: ‘It’s not right yet, it’s not right yet!’ We waited and waited, and eventually, he got it. It’s a really good song for Axl to sing."

Written by Schenker and UFO frontman Phil Mogg, Love To Love originally appeared as the final track on UFO's 1978 album Lights Out, and also featured on the band's classic live album Strangers In The Night, released the following year.

https://www.loudersound.com/news/michaerl-schenker-axl-rose-love-to-love

How Michael Schenker Got ‘Hardcore Fans’ Axl Rose and Slash on New LP

Michael Schenker achieved a rare feat on his star-studded new album, My Years With UFO: He lured Axl Rose into the studio to record a guest vocal on an updated version of UFO's "Love to Love."

In fact, Schenker tells UCR, he didn't even have to ask Rose to participate — the famously elusive singer requested to be part of the project.

Schenker had already recruited Slash to play on My Years With UFO, and the top-hatted guitarist appears on a scorching rerecording of "Mother Mary" alongside short-lived Skid Row frontman Erik Gronwall. Once Rose learned about the collaboration, he wanted in as well.

"When Slash came to the recording studio in Frankfurt to record with me, he said, 'Oh, I told Axl I'm coming here today to do this with you,'" Schenker tells UCR. "And Axl said, 'Oh, can I sing a song?' So I said, 'Oh, really? Ask Axl which song he wants to sing.'"

Rose recorded vocals for multiple tracks, though only one — the seven-and-a-half-minute epic "Love to Love" — appears on My Years With UFO. "He ended up singing 'Only You Can Rock Me,' 'Too Hot to Handle' and 'Love to Love,'" Schenker explains. "And I guess because they were in middle of a tour, he didn't like his performances. He wanted to focus on one song. He's a perfectionist. ... I liked them all, but I left it up to him. And he said 'Love to Love' is the one. So eventually, he had it all together and texted us or gave us a message that his version was ready."

How UFO Influenced 'Hardcore Fans' Guns N' Roses in the Studio

If anybody could get the two figureheads of Guns N' Roses to guest on an album, it would be Schenker, who says that Slash and Rose have been "hardcore fans" of his work for decades. In fact, Slash has been guesting in Schenker projects since before Guns N' Roses even rocketed to stardom.

"In the '80s I did a video, 'Rock Will Never Die,' with Michael Schenker Group," Schenker explains. "And in the background, there were a bunch of celebrities, but they were doubles, like a Michael Jackson double. But there was one, Slash, that was the real one. He is a real fan, and he heard about this, and he came ... and you can see him rocking there."

Schenker says the sound of UFO's classic albums also had a profound impact on Guns N' Roses. "Slash has always expressed his love — Axl and Slash and Guns N' Roses," he continues. "They really loved the UFO productions, in the studio and the live recordings. And Ron Nevison [UFO producer] had a tape op called Mike Clink, and so he actually ended up producing Guns N' Roses. And because Mike Clink had all the information on how Ron Nevison did it, Guns N’ Roses were basically kind of trying to stick as close as possible to UFO's sound, and, of course, added their own individual ideas to it. But basically, they are really, really hardcore fans."

https://ultimateclassicrock.com/michael-schenker-axl-rose-slash-new-album-interview/