Well no surprise; Michael Schenker is as fast, flashy and melodic on accoustic guitar as he is on the Flying V. With the right promotion, some of this could cross over to the "soft & warm" market--but make no mistake, there is awesome riffing on this!

BTW, the reason it sounds a bit like Al DiMeola is because he is playing one of those Ovation plastic guitars, which give that "thickity-thickity" sound.

I was very disappointed.So much that I sent it back the day I recieved it! WAY TOO SLOW

great album. every song is very good to excellent on it. maybe not of the heavy metal genre but if you don't have it you are missing a great album. very deserving of commercial sucess but would never make it to american radio or rap dominated mtv but it should.

This one's been out for awhile as an import. It has finally been released domestically. This is an all instrumental (except "Out of the Box" which includes a "dramatic reading" by Michael) all acoustic effort. The playing focuses on melody and atmospere, rather than speed and power. The result is a group a beautifully played and exacuted songs. It is mostly mellow and while at times sounds very much like Al DiMeola (for me not a bad thing) it stays pretty interesting. I would give it 5 stars but that should only be for the greatest CDs of all time. This one is not there, but its very good. However, if you are looking for hard rock stick to the most recent MSG & UFO releases.

As always, Michael is brilliant! On "Thank You" he shows his artistic virtuosity, creating beautiful, soaring melodies on acoustic guitar. The whole CD evolves, with major and minor themes running throughout, and progresses with stunning and powerful under currents. I found the CD to be emotion filled, focused, and flawless, with zero fluff and usual meaningless riffs.

The samples listed here are nice, but don't do justice to the subtle tones and majesty heard in full stereo. A better sample of the entire "Positive Forward" song can be heard at Michael Schenker.com, where Michael provides two samples from Thankyou, and two other samples, one from "The Michael Schenker Story Live", and the other from "Written In the Sand". They're both in Shockwave, which is easier to download than Real Audio, and sounds much better. You can also buy it at Michael Schenker.com.

The progressions on Thank You are so good that the last 3 songs, beside Positive Forward, are naturally favorites: Truth, Open And Willing, and Escape From The Box. Open And Willing has really wonderful overtones and inspiration, like the Ode to Joy from Beethoven's 9th. Escape From The Box by contrast is a deep and powerful accounting of the soul, where the vocals are narrated by Michael.

Michael also a true master of composition. Like all great composers, from Bach to the Beatles, each song has a strong melodic foundation. But he has the added advantage of being the complete master of his instrument, and goes well beyond, with flawless and lightening fast playing. He always leaves the listener wanting more performing his trademark solo's that go on and on, only fading into the audible finish of the song, showing there's no shortage of great ideas. Michael is only limited by the CD format, and the expectation in the music business that everything fit into a neat package.

I bought the CD at his most recent concert in Seattle WA, on May 1, 1999. He was gracious enough to autograph it, with his wife Linda at his side, for me and my wife Chris. For the Michael Schenker fan, it was truly a memorable experience!