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Last year, Pat Travers released his “P.T. Power Trio”, an album of
classic blues rock covers, on Mike Varney’s BBI label. “The Endless
Jam” by the Schenker-Pattison Summit might be considered its
companion album. Schenker is of course Michael Schenker, fabulous
guitarist of Scorpions, UFO and MSG. Vocalist Davey Pattison was
Ronny Montrose’s sidekick in Gamma, who later joined Robin Trower’s
band. Backed by Varney’s regular rhythm section of Aynsley Dunbar
and Gunter Nezhoda, they go back in time to the 60’s and 70’s and
tackle some of the best and best known tracks of the time. And to
come straight to the point: this effort is so much better than Pat
Travers’s.
The choice of songs doesn’t appear very inspired, though. “Shapes Of
Things”, “The Stealer” and “Built For Comfort” have been covered
countless times (the latter was recorded before by Schenker on UFO’s
“Phenomenon”). “Hey Joe” even has a website dedicated to it; it
lists over 750 versions! “A Whiter Shade Of Pale” has also been done
better (the best cover being Mark Bonilla’s, featuring Glenn Hughes
on vocals). But the performances here are excellent. There’s a
remarkable cohesiveness to the album and although the arrangements
are not exactly original, Schenker and Pattison succeed in leaving
their marks upon these songs: these are not just covers, this is two
guys putting their hearts into some of their favourite songs and
making them their own. Lots of variation and refinement, two things
that lacked on the Pat Travers album. Hard rocking blues tracks like
“Shapes Of Things” and “I Got The Fire” are nicely balanced by
slower tunes and ballads. “Long Misty Days” and “Voyager” in
particular are breathtaking. Pattison’s soulful vocals are very
pleasant and blend well with Schenker’s typical sound. Michael
Schenker has always been one of my favourite guitarists, but it’s
been many years since I was so much in awe of his performance. On
his website, he writes “My fun part is lead
breaks (…). Song writing is fun too but the solos are my most fun
part.” This album must be a dream come true for him, because he can
concentrate full-time on his soloing and he’s doing that as if his
life depended on it.
There’s only one gripe I have with this album and it concerns the
title. An “Endless Jam” is exactly what the record is not. The
various instruments and vocals were recorded in different studios,
and the musicians were probably never together in a studio. The
recordings lack just a touch of spontaneity because of that. Put
these musicians together on a stage, let them jam on the same tracks
and you’ll get an album that is even better. As it is, it’s a
fantastic CD and I wouldn’t mind hearing some original work by this
duo. Would it be too much to ask for Schenker to sidetrack his
flagging MSG for a while and start a proper band with Pattison? |
