Well I just got through my first listen of the new UFO and it does very little for me. Take that in the context of my being a very casual UFO fan. They have a couple of albums I really like but for the most part I've never been a big fan aside from a track or two off each album - in terms of Schenker stuff I much prefer his MSG output.
One thing that has become a bit clearer (having read a swag of new reviews on the album) is that diehard UFO fans almost universally love it. So if you're a big fan.........it's probably an auto purchase.
For me though it's missing the two elements I like in my music - big melodies and/or some fire/balls.....preferably both. It's typical of the sort of bluesy/plodding 70's rock that I've never liked much and the sort of vibe Europe are trying to get these days.......at least Mogg has a voice better suited to it than Joey Tempest. As far as the vocals go - I'll cut the guy some slack............for a 66 year old it's a very solid performance but it is very monotone/range free stuff that's not unlike Ian Gillan since he lost his range. I don't like much modern DP either - the difference here is that I do prefer Vinnie Moore to Steve Morse. And Moore's playing does save a few songs for me - he seems to have imposed himself on the music a bit more here and it helps. There's a couple of ripping solos.
I will say that the Chris Tsangirides production is a big step up from other recent efforts-it's a very good sounding album. But of the 11 songs (including a pretty decent bonus track) I rated 4 that I might want to listen to again and nothing got 5 stars.
So my rating is around 69% which isn't terrible by any means but it's really just not my style of music .
If I'm being completely honest, Brent, there's a lot of truth in your post.
I'm a lifelong UFO fan and they've always been a favorite band of mine. Just hearing Phil Mogg's voice transports me to being a 15 year old kid again, so I'm not all that objective.
Vinnie era UFO, in all honesty has been a huge disappointment. I thought they had great energy on You Are Here, but I realize a lot of that had to do with Jason Bonham, similar to how Russel Gilbrook has driven recent Uriah Heep. He's made a huge difference. Andy Parker's drumming is purely pedestrian at this point.
UFO has settled into this almost Rolling Stones-ish vibe under Vinnie.
The bar, unfortunately is set pretty low at this point. I'm halfway through my second listen, and I still say I really like this, but your Deep Purple analogy is actually a great one. I think you really have to be a strong DP fan to get into their recent output. I just cannot make it through one of their albums.
UFO's last album was terrible. That sucks. This album is a huge step up. All this coming from a huge UFO fan.
One point I will disagree with though is that Schenker's work in MSG has never approached anything he did on those classic UFO albums.
He has some nice work on the early MSG albums, but for the most part, he's hasn't really done anything special in a very long time. Now Bridge The Gap is the best band oriented thing he's done in MSG since Save Yourself, but other than Adventures Of The Imagination, everything he's done has been pretty forgettable. That is until Bridge The Gap which is incredible. Also Doogie White's best performance. Can't wait for their new album in a couple weeks!