852. The Michael Schenker Group / One Night at Budokan. 1982. 3/5

I love a live album. A good live album. One that emits energy and shines like a beacon amongst the music being played elsewhere. The kind that brings out the best in those songs that have been written and recorded in a studio, where they have been polished to a sheen and not allowed any rough edges to show. Where perhaps the performance is not perfect, but the enthusiasm of the band outweighs any imperfections. That's a good live album. Unfortunately for One Night at Budokan, most of that doesn't apply here.

I don't want to sound unfair here, because the little things have been done right. The song list contains a great selection from both albums to this time, The Michael Schenker Group and MSG. The band plays well, the songs are given reasonable justice. There's even the requisite UFO number thrown in, Schenker's almost-signature tune in "Doctor Doctor". So what is it that hurts this album? Well, the production isn't terrific. Levels of instruments just don't seem to work, and at different times the bass and keyboards and even drums get lost in the mix. I mean, how on earth could Cozy Powell's drums ever get lost in a mix? But it happens here. This results in the songs sounding tinny, without that real solid loud rhythm section which would provide a base for the live sound. Schenker's guitar is always there, but because the rhythm at times seems non-existent it can't make that full sound that is needed in a live concert. His guitaring is still great, but because he either has to take on the rhythm himself or play lead with nothing underneath it really does destroy the impact of some of the songs. And the limitations of Gary Barden's vocals has been discussed for 35 years. While he doesn't crack under the pressure of a live performance here, and does for the most part hit all the right notes, his vocals still come across reedy and wispy at times, without the power needed to make the performance his own. Again, the mix didn't help this.
There are some great songs here, but the versions just don't do justice to them. "Armed and Ready", "Attack of the Mad Axeman", "Into the Arena", "On and On" and "Are You Ready To Rock" are great songs that should smoke live, but they just don't hold it together on this album.

More than anything else, these limitation end up making the album overdrawn to the point of boring, and it really shouldn't be that way at all. Live albums down the track with better production brought many of these songs to life, but here, One Night at Budokan simply becomes an album with a great concept that sits gathering dust on a shelf due to a lack of foresight.

Rating:  On and on and on and on and on.  3/5