Music OK but not as good as his earlier work - my opinion.OkI've read some of the other reviews on this CD and am surprised- It really rocks and the sound quality is good. Some very different stuff from Michael, more modern sounding rock and some updated lead guitar riffs.I want to turn the cover of this thing upsidedown for some reason.. Anyone else feel that way?Love it well done and its Michael Schenker can't go wrongWhile Tales of Rock 'n' Roll (2006) is not like an early MSG album, it is a fantastic piece of work. Not only is this album different than earlier MSG recordings, it's frankly different from anything the Mad Axeman has EVER done! It is somewhat of a concept album and is a pre-cursor to Michael's current Michael Schenker Fest outings in that he utilizes the talents of older MSG singers on some of the tracks. You'll find songs written and recorded by Gary Barden, Graham Bonnet, Robin McAuley, Leif Sundin, Kelly Keeling and Chris Logan; all former MSG singers.What sets this apart from the Michael Schenker Fest work is that the majority of the songs feature a unique Finnish (I believe) vocalist named Jari Tiura whose voice is quite powerful. Some people may not like the fact that this singer's accent comes through on many of the songs. Regardless, he has a great voice and is nothing like any vocalist with which Michael Schenker has ever worked. The songs flow into each other such that, if you want to burn a compilation with any of these tunes, you'll need to fade-in and fade-out each track. I remember being disappointed when Michael's next album saw him get back together with Gary Barden and Jari Tiura was gone! I think keeping Jari Tiura would have seen much better work from Schenker in the years that followed.The album is very well-produced and the song-writing is strong throughout. If you are looking for lengthy solos, you won't find them here but the solos Michael lays down are very nice. I would say this is more akin to the Unforgiven (1998) album in the sense that it's heavily reliant on the strength of the songwriting over simply showcasing Michael's soloing.If you like Michael Schenker's work but have never heard this album, I think you'll find this to be a hidden gem in his lengthy discography. Don't go in expecting Assault Attack; you won't get that here. You will; however, find an MSG album that is far superior to anything Michael Schenker has done since 2006. In fact, this is probably his best work of the 21st century. The song, "Blind Alley," is my personal favorite.People go on about Schenker's material being much better in his early UFO or MSG days, or about his 'personal problems'. But they just don't get it: Schenker repeatedly emerges from the darkness into the light. Repeatedly there are problems, but repeatedly he comes up with something fantastic. He knows this - that's why he had his guitar fashioned on a black and white motif. As a rule I would say that, as somebody owning all but one of his studio albums, his guitar-work is as a whole unsurpassed in the history of rock - it is his personal experience that goes from black to white and vice versa, not his music. Thus, as I expected, Tales of Rock 'n' Roll is another masterpiece. It is heavy, intense, full of complex and powerful riffing that makes most heavy rock sound weak and uninventive, and provides plenty of tasteful, original, and sometimes stunning lead breaks, often in completely different styles. The album is intense, all 19 tracks merging with one-another, but deserves the 5 or 6 listens required to 'get into it'. Of course, Schenker's own view that the album requires 100 listens sounds completely egotistic and OTT. However, the sophistication of the work is such that it probably will indeed take that many listens to fully appreciate. Schenker is not so much being egotistic as blunt and matter-of-fact. After about 25 listens, my view is that the 19-track blend works well for the first 15 tracks, which in itself is a fantastic achievement. The album really does sound like one great long track up to that point, which makes listening to it a real commitment. The last four tracks seem more like bonus tracks to me - three bonus tracks rather, followed by an outro. In my view, the outro should fade out on a stunning guitar solo of the sort found at the end of Old Man with Sheep on Mars on Adventures of the Imagination. Then, the outro track should be blended with the end of track 15 to form a 16 track unit, followed by the three bonus tracks. Yet, this is to split hairs. If you want the highest quality heavy rock, this album is where you will find it. Buy the CD and let Schenker blow your head off.To me this album is something like Dreams & Expressions Michael's second electric instrumental album but with vocals,ofcourse there's a lot more non stop guitar jamming than Tales.. I like it for the fact that the former singers came back to record one song each,I like the new singer Jari Tiura this album I had to listen to it twice to get into it as there's no break in between each song,but the thing about MSG albums is that they're allways different, you don't know what they're gonna sound like but the guitar playing it's allways gonna be great and since he's had different singers it has to sound different with this album you get a little taste of every singer that's been in MSG and that Pete Way plays the bass on it even do I like Reverand Jones on bass better not to take anything away from Pete Way,so I would recomend this MSG item to any Schenker fan!It is not easy to review this album, but I have attempted a detailed review of it at Amazon.com. Taken as a whole the album is a very complex piece of music. There are no chances to get bored as styles and pace are constantly in flux. Schenker never fails to surprise with his stylistic and compositional versitility, sounding different almost from track to track. At some points he can sound like Billy Gibbons, at others like Ritchie Blackmore, at others like Alex Lifeson, and at others like his more well-known sounds.The tracks are on the short side, but as there are 19 tracks the album is a full-length epic. Since the tracks run into each other, heavy demands are made on the listener. This album is a little like Dreams and Expressions with vocals added, but this comparison fails to do Tales of Rock n Roll justice as the material is completely new.At first, I thought the album was very strange, but I was left just wanting to play it repeatedly. I am on the 7th or 8th listen now, and the record has grown on me tremendously - I just want to keep on playing it. I think that listeners should not be put off making the effort with this album. Since it combines heavy rock with a more progressive feel, it is much more of a 'grower' than an 'immediate impact' project.Now, I just the think the record is fantastic. Full of diverse powerful riffs, stunning lead breaks, great vocals - an extremely well executed and intelligent rock CD that will be wasted on those just looking for pyrotechnics. As usual with Schenker, technique serves the music and not the other way around. As that famous philosopher Wittgenstein said: 'when genius fades, technique begins to show'. With Schenker, though, the genius certainly has NOT faded. A stunning effort from the not-as-mad-as-we-thought axeman. I my view, Schenker has always been without rivals - buy the album!Sorry to hog the review space - it was not deliberate. Amazon amalgamated my reviews of different versions of this release.As I have reviewed this album elsewhere on this site, I can only add here that this is a masterpiece waiting to be discovered. It is on a par with Strangers in the Night in my view - possibly even the best rock album in my collection. Schenker deserves a Knighthood for this - again, he is without rivals.Schenker's latest offering is probably the best MSG album of all - and given the competition, that's saying something. This work is a masterpiece - probably the best rock album in my collection. All 19 tracks blend into one another, so intense demands are made on the listener. But this album has everything: flawless original gutsy riffing, beautiful lead playing, brilliant composition that even Rush could learn from, excellent vocal parts, quality drumming and keyboards, and... Pete Way (what more could one ask for?!) The album does have a progressive edge to it - so it may take a few listens to get into it. Also, I think the first 15 tracks work as one great rock magnum opus, but tracks 16-18 sound more like bonus tracks. Track 19, the outro, could have included one of those fade-out solos that only Schenker can accomplish, but instead finishes with keyboards. Yet, these are trifles - the album is an absolute rock essential.When I heard Finnish singer Jari Tiura had joined Michael Schenker's group of musicians I was very happy for him. I saw band live at Sweden Rock Festival and they were great. But...This album is difficult. It is basicly a long piece of music that has been chopped to the pieces that are the songs. Michael solos well. Riffs are ok even a bit traditional. If you have the first two MSG albums you know what the riffs are like. The singers are the weak link. Well the melodies and lyrics are. Singers do sing well I've played this album a plenty of times and still can't remember the songs. Maybe it needs and deserves more concentration but I'm not sure if I'm willing to put in the effort this album needs.THBON ALBUM MAIS JE M ATTENDAI A MIEUX