Michael Schenker’s Temple Of Rock were filmed playing On A Mission Live at the tremendous Joy Eslava in Madrid, at the tail end of their 2015 tour. This DVD features the full live show along with a couple of extra behind the scene features.
Whilst Schenker is associated with Temple Of Rock in name, this incredibly recorded concert showcases over forty years of his sheer genius. With former Scorpions, Hermann Rarebell and Francis Buchholz holding a tight as can be rhythm section, the indomitable Wayne Findley on keys, rhythm and lead guitars and Doogie White in excellent vocal form, this DVD is a good one to add to your Schenker collection.
Running for over two hours, it is classic rock at its very best. There are a few MSG numbers, a few UFO tunes, some Scorpions and a lot of the very solid Temple Of Rock tunes from their three studio releases to date.
The set list is very strong and includes Lights Out, Victim Of Illusion, Rock My Nights, Blackout, and Too Hot To Handle. Rock You Like A Hurricane is a particular highlight whilst Rock Bottom is just immense as Doogie handles all of the vocal duties with his incredible voice bringing it all together.
But there is a down side; this great performance is almost ruined by the poor editing and camera shots. Most of the edits range from one to two seconds which make it hard to focus on what you are seeing. Almost all of the camera shots are from above, below or behind the artist, and there are very few face on shots that help you see what this very talented band is all about.
This is a DVD which is best to pop into the machine and just sit back and listen to, because the amateurish filming reminds you of the camera work from the very early episodes of Top Of The Pops; simply all over the place.
Whilst this DVD gets a low rating for watchability, it gets high marks for its musicality with Schenker and Co taking the Joy Eslava by storm.
Musicality: (5 / 5)
Watchability: (1 / 5)