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UDO DIRKSCHNEIDER
My Way

Atomic Fire (2022)
Rating: 4/10

Okay, let’s get this straight – I’m not a big fan of cover versions let alone albums wholly dedicated to them. My Way is legendary heavy metal veteran Udo Dirkschneider (U.D.O. / ex-Accept) putting his own stamp on some classic tunes, but it just doesn’t sit right with me.

Backed by son Sven who handles drums, guitarists Stefan Kauffman (U.D.O.) and Peter Koobs, and bassist Peter Baltes (ex-Accept) – who do more than their job is worth at dragging these songs into some sort of credible realm – Dirkschneider attempts to apply his inimitable tone to Frank Sinatra’s ‘My Way’ and fails miserably, and it hurts so much to say so.

And you can take your pick of numerous other dire rehashes throughout this 17-song effort, such as The Rolling Stones’ ‘Paint It Black’, Tina Turner’s ‘They Call It Nutbush’ – complete with cheesy horns – and the cringe stomp of The Sweet’s ‘Hell Raiser’.

I understand as to why Udo has tried to be versatile here, and at times his coverage is decent, especially with the more predictable hard rock and metal numbers such as Motörhead’s ‘No Class’ – although the vocals here seem a real struggle for the German warbler.

Elsewhere, Dirkschneider fares much better with Led Zeppelin’s ‘Rock And Roll’, bolstered by the work of his band. AC/DC’s ‘T.N.T.’ is also suitably raucous, as is Judas Priest’s ‘Hell Bent For Leather’. But I’d expect Udo to be able to slip into these modes with ease.

Although Udo’s band is more than competent with every track, the more fiery numbers are a tad tepid musically. The Sensational Alex Harvey Band’s ‘Faith Healer’ is competent in its plodding, and Arthur Brown’s ‘Fire’ just does enough musically but not vocally, as does Uriah Heep’s ‘Sympathy’. But for a guy whose vocals have been an acquired taste for me for years, they really do seem unfit and uncomfortable with such a record… even if all done for fun.

Rainbow’s ‘Man On Silver Mountain’ lacks the power and feels like a pub rock jam, while Billy Squier’s ‘The Stroke’ is just an average romp. By contrast, the rendition of the Scorpions’ ‘He’s A Woman, She’s a Man’ really does do it justice, the combo rattling hard and fast.

Unfortunately even the solid cover of Frankie Miller’s ‘Jealousy’ fails to fully stir the soul, and Queen’s ‘We Will Rock You’ is just a version I’d rather not even talk about… it’s that bad.

The reality is, what My Way does is showcase a vocal style that is now worn and tired, battered by years of metallic yelps and fireball wails. That’s not to say that Udo Dirkschneider doesn’t still have the vim, but maybe this record, for all the fun that was probably had in making it, just wasn’t a good idea.

Neil Arnold

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