By Martin Popoff
Except people as innocent as Michael claims to be, at least when it comes to the buzz of thirty years of metal around him. So the album closes with the children, and as with many things Michael explains, there's a bit of bewilderment about how it all happened.
"Well, let's see, for this particular song, Chris really didn't have anything, words, but he was overwhelmed because we actually had 16 songs. So it was quite a bit of work for him. So he really didn't have anything for that and somehow I had this idea. I had some words about how children see life, so I put some words together on that level and then Chris modified it and then I felt that it would be nice to have children singing because it is from the children's point of view. And my daughter, Essence, her school, somehow, I don't know how it happened... her mother I guess, when I mentioned the children's choir... Essence's school would be interested in doing that. First I wanted to get a professional choir and then I thought maybe it would be nice to have imperfect voices, just like cute little children singing out of tune."
So there you have it. Maybe when (or if) the UFO album drops, I'll talk to Michael about it. But what would be the point? It'll be like he wasn't even there. It'll be a brief chat about a process that has remained consistent for a lot of years and a lot of great music. It'll be not so much about him, but about these jewels, these perfect but somehow modest guitar runs that have been lined up and executed. Yes, for Michael, it will not be about him, and God forbid, it would be about anyone else in the band. The English and the Germans never ever got along that well anyway. Hopefully Phil or Pete'll talk to me. Maybe I don't or can't understand them either, but at least we can all participate in the beery practical joke that we are speaking approximately the same language.