The UFO Discography And Listening Party Thread

[TAC]

Stadler is going to post his Edge Of The World report in the morning, and then it's onto Chocolate Box when I get home from work.

Everyone, get listening!!!

I'll run through Edge of the World again after Sand.  Hopefully both by tonight.

Hell yes!!!!!!

That doesn't explain my good ears then haha.

Your ears defy explanation!

[wolfking]

I'm on the edge of my seat to be honest lol.

[TAC]

I'm on the edge of my seat to be honest lol.

Don't get too hyped. It's not a big deal, seriously.

I do have a surprise album coming on Friday that I think you'll like.

[Zoom E]

I just listened to the first half of Written in the Sand. I must say, I’m impressed. Will have to try and track down a copy.

[TAC]

I just listened to the first half of Written in the Sand. I must say, I’m impressed. Will have to try and track down a copy.

 

[wolfking]

I'm on the edge of my seat to be honest lol.

Don't get too hyped. It's not a big deal, seriously.

I do have a surprise album coming on Friday that I think you'll like.

Sweet as.

[wolfking]

Written in the Sand;

Brave New World:  This is a great start.  As I mentioned before, such a Steelhouse Lane melodic rock vibe.  I hear the Eric Martin comparison right away also.  Love that groovy chromatic riff in the verses there.  The chrous is great and that middle section is really really cool.  Love that key change into the solo.  Schenker is somewhat restrained here but it works perfectly, it's smooth.  The harmonies behind the solo works wonderfully well too.  Good start.

Essence:  I was a bit put off by an instrumental being the second song.  It kind of made me switch off a little.  But for the song, the ZZ Top/Satch Boogie feel is pretty cool.  Reminds me a lot of Ulcer for obvious reasons.  There's some cool stuff in this, but I just feel it would have been better around track 8 or 9.

Cry No More:  Interesting riff at the start there.  Again, this is nice and smooth, almost funky.  I love the rhythm in the chorus, kind of off beat, it's cool.  I do love that softer section 'who are the tears for' part.  That reminds me heavily off something from Malmsteen's Facingthe Animal actually.  That's a cool contrast to the rest of the song.  I like how it shifts into that part after the solo too. 

Back to Life:  The intro gives off a totally different impression of what the song is.  That's a nice groove.  That chorus is so simple, but damn so groovy and catchy.  Cool Schenker UFO type melodies midway through the song too behind the vocals.  I really like that.  One thing I like about this album is that it's about the songs but Schenker is there.  He doesn't overplay at all.  He just compliments the songs.

Written in Sand:  This one wasn't really my style, but it's passable.  The chorus is nice enough but those Schenker melodies really helps.

Love Never Dies:  More melodic rock feels here.  I hear Seventh Key in this one actually more than Steelhouse Lane which is funny.  This one again rolls along nicely.  You can't help but to bob and that chorus is very melodic.  This one shows Schenker off, that extended outro solo is much appreciated and works well.  It's long but doesn't overstay, nice and tasty.

I Will Be There: A bit moodier this one, but that chorus is light.  Reminds me of Jeff Scott Soto I think this one.  I must say, props to Schenker for mixing it up and doing something different.  This is very fresh sounding for him.  It's soft, but enjoyable, this whole thing.  This one is pretty subdued throughout but it's a really nice listen.

Take Me Through the Night: More of the same, but some different melodies here.  The chorus is pretty cool, something different again.  Again, a bit moodier.  This one gives me an Adrian Smith Psycho Motel feel, you know, something from Welcome to the Real World.  I can hear him soloing on this one.  I love how it picks up slightly in tempo for the solo, nice touch. 

Down the Drain:  More of the same vibe in this one.  Nothing too special, but it's short and nice.  Schenker is great on this, and again his solo and the key change at 2:19 is epic.  I love how this album is mixed too.  Some great split channel guitar stuff going on.

I Believe:  A bit of Tony Iommi in the riffing here, but Iommi lite.  The chorus is just wonderful and Schenkers melodies are oh so good.  Again, key changes in the middle give this such an uplifting vibe.  Simple melodies but just beautiful really.  Those clean licks at the end of the solo section is fantastic.  Such a tasteful guitar player.

Really nice album this one.  Wish I found it 10 years ago when I was in my AOR stage.

[TAC]

One thing I like about this album is that it's about the songs but Schenker is there.  He doesn't overplay at all.  He just compliments the songs.

That's actually one of the things that I feel is a negative about this mid career era of MSG. He's there, and you can hear him, and he sure sounds nice, but...let me have it!!!!

[wolfking]

Edge of the World

Change Brings A Change:  Straight away those clean Bellas licks I knew this would be something I could dig.  Phil sounds great and yeah, the UFO vibe is strong.  His melodies are strong as usual.  I love the simple riff but there's so much tension there.  Almost like the apprehension of change.  The riff at 2:15 odd is so cool and those little gallops in there are so good.  I did say Bellas is mixed a little low, but his tone probably doesn't help.  He doesn't use a lot of gain, but he's such a super clean player.  His playing in the solo is instantly recongnizable to me. Great start.  Nice metal edge on this with the UFO hard rock vibe in the chorus. 

All Out of Luck:  This is pure UFO and Phil's melodies instantly bring that to mind.  I do like Bellas' rhythm tone though, it's nice and crunchy.  Those leads before the second verse are almost Schenker like and his fills in the verses again give that Schenker/Mogg call and answer type thing.  I like the heavier darker chorus here.  Bellas shreds here, I just love his style. 

Gravy Train:  Oh yeah, what an intro here, blistering.  Love Bellas here and his solos between Phil's verse lines are just so damn good.  These two work surprisingly well together actually.  This song rocks and reminds me of later Vinnie era UFO.  I think it was Paul that said that Bellas overplays but it just works really well.  Nice rhythm section in this one too keeping it together.  Nice and tight.

Fortune Town:  Great riff at the start here.  The verses here are great.  Wasn't totally blown away by the chorus, I thought it was a little weak, but everything else is very strong.  That chorus again reminds me of later UFO. 

Highwire:  Get a Rock Bottom vibe from the riff here but that major feel in the riff is a nice touch.  Phil sounds great here.  He's pushing but sounds great.  This one shouldn't really be my style at all, but I really enjoy it.  I really like that old school 70's type chorus.  Bellas again does some nice Schenker like melodies underneath Phil too.  The rhythm section under the chorus is solid too.  That middle bridge section is old school Obsession type UFO also, so fucking good, and a perfect Schenker like solo backing that Bellas rips on. 

Saving Me From Myself:  Nice darker feel here.  I love Bellas being all over this album.  This one's cool, and I like the change of pace.  Bit more atmosphere on this one and Phil shines.  The melodies are a little more subdued, a bit more mature in the songwriting here.  I love the section around the 3 minute mark and again Bellas supports Phil so damn well.  I like how this one finihses too, nice change in stucture.

Mother Mary:  The beat is a little different and not quite as fluent and natural as the original.  It's a bit stiff, but it's decent enough.  Respect to Bellas for keeping parts of this true to the original while adding his own flavour.  I do love how he keeps that run down in the key change the same too.  He knows what to keep and what to add his own touch too, class.

House of Pain:  Another song paving the way to Vinnie era UFO.  It's fine, nothing special however.  Pretty stock standard but placed in a perfect position in the album.  I do like that piano in the solo section too, cool shit.

It's A Game:  Again, another stock standard tune.  Similar to Highwire though in the chorus.  Very High Stakes sounding this one to me.  Really like the solo in this one though.

History of Flames:  Oh yeah, a bit of metal at the start here!  Great chorus here, really great actually.  The melodies aren't super strong but work really nicely.  Again, cool solo section with some Yngwie feels in there.  Love that riff coming back in too and again tight rhythm section. The chorus is even better towards the end, a nice grower.

Spell On You: Cool intro and powerful enter to the chorus.  I love those backing vocals actually.  Great harmonies around the 2 minute mark.  And that metal tone for the solo is fabulous.  Great outro too, nice and strong.

Totaled:  Didn't expect an instrumental here to finish things off but this is really nice.  Almost Dream Theater sounding in that first minute to my ears.  Then around the minute mark I hear Jason Becker even though it's not his playing style.  That section around 2 minutes is so emotive and Bellas shows a little more than just shred.  But even in his shred, I find it pretty expressive.  Not a lot to this one really, but a nice finish to the album.

Good stuff all round this one, and definitely a UFO album.

[wolfking]

One thing I like about this album is that it's about the songs but Schenker is there.  He doesn't overplay at all.  He just compliments the songs.

That's actually one of the things that I feel is a negative about this mid career era of MSG. He's there, and you can hear him, and he sure sounds nice, but...let me have it!!!!

I have to go back to a couple of the McAuley albums but while I'd normally feel the same, I think what he offers here is adequate.  He COULD do more, but I don't think he really needs to.

[TAC]

Awesome Kade! Just got to work so I’ll dig into those tonight. Looking forward to it!

[TAC]

COMING SOON!!

[wolfking]

 

[Stadler]

Edge Of The World:  I dug this far more than I thought I would.  Unfortunately, most of the UFO- related stuff lives in the shadow of Schenker and Chapman, but this holds it's own.   

Change Brings A Change:  I dig Bellas' relatively clean sound and playing; I'm with Wolfking on that little riff at 2:15, and the solo is varied enough that the little "Shrapnel-isms" work instead of distract.  Mogg is a bit buried behind the dense keys and the chugging riff, but he sounds good as usual.

All Out Of Luck:  Dig this too; a little poppy for what I expect from UFO/Mogg (he's like the quintessential bar band singer), but again, it works.   I think the only thing I don't like is the backing vocals; they seem a bit... weak compared to the rest of the track.  The solo is okay, but the fills through the end of the song are killer.

Gravy Train:  A little too Shrapnel for me, at least at the start, but Mogg salvages that, pretty quick, and I really like the rhythm guitars behind the vocal.  Again though, have to question the back ground vocals a bit.  I love the break after the first solo.

Fortune Town:   I really liked this.  It kept reminding me of something that I couldn't place, but it was a good reminder.    That guitar sound was really... I don't have a word; it was very "close" and I liked that.    Good Mogg vocal, good Mogg lyric, good solo.

Highwire:  I REALLY liked this song a lot.   Driving, good vocals, good guitars. I'd listen to this in my truck or on the highway.   

Saving Me From Myself:  Really nice change of pace; I liked this.  Tasteful guitars, typical Mogg lyric/vocal.  It's hard not to listen to this and not think he's not singing about Pete Way, maybe.   Good solo; kept the histrionics to a minimum, and that's a good thing.   

Mother Mary:  Hmmm.  Don't know what to make of this.   It's not bad, not at all, and Mogg kills it, but is it necessary?  I don't think George brought anything new to it, honestly.

House Of Pain:  LOVED this song.  One of the best on the album; just a straight ahead rocker.

It's A Game:  Average song.  I listened to it, then went back, and as I dropped in on three different parts of the song ,I heard the same quick ascending run on guitar all three times, and that signified the song for me: Samey.

History Of Flames: Another really good song.  I liked this a lot.  Mogg sings the shit out of this.

Spell On You:  It's A Game, Part II, which says it all.

Totaled: I REALLY liked this; some of George's best playing, and a step above the sort of "Shrapnel wankery" that is on the rest of the album.


I liked the album; I wish this had a more bluesy or classical guitarist.  I'm hit or miss with the Varney stable, and I generally prefer it like Yngwie, where it's the star of the show.   The widdly-widdly bits are harder to fit into Mogg's more melodic, meat-and-potatoes ethos, so it was sort of like a car crash of sorts. 

[wolfking]

Interesting thoughts Bill.  As I said personally I think the guitar style works quite well with Phil.  Maybe because it's just one album It's a bit of a novelty.  I can see a few albums with this combo probably getting a bit tiresome though.

[TAC]

I liked the album; I wish this had a more bluesy or classical guitarist.  I'm hit or miss with the Varney stable, and I generally prefer it like Yngwie, where it's the star of the show.   The widdly-widdly bits are harder to fit into Mogg's more melodic, meat-and-potatoes ethos, so it was sort of like a car crash of sorts.

This is why I think you'll like Chocolate Box more. the difference between the two album is that Edge Of The World fucks you, while Chocolate Box makes love to you.*






* I'm so sorry, that was awful.

[TAC]

I'm going to run through Edge tonight with both reviews up.

[TAC]

Chocolate Box




Chocolate Box (1999)


Released 1999


1. Muddy's Gold
2. Jerusalem
3. Too Close To The Sun
4. This Is A Life
5. Living And Dying
6. King Of The City
7. Death In The Family
8. Whip That Groove
9. Last Man In Space
10. Sparkling Wine


Phil Mogg-Vocals
Jeff Kollman-Guitar
Pete Way-Bass
Simon Wright-Drums
Paul Raymond-Keyboards

After the disasterous '98 tour with Schenker, Phil and Pete record their next album, with Paul Raymond and Simon Wright in tow from the touring band. Cosmosquad guitarist Jeff Kollman fills in on guitar.

With a gun to my head, I prefer Chocolate Box over Edge Of The World. It just has a lot more character. The solos are a lot more melodic, and more fitting to the music. But the music itself is quite different to Edge. Much more groovy and has more variety.

[ProfessorPeart]

COMING SOON!!

We'll just say this is the Eddie of Mogg/Way. Stripe as a Mogwai.

By the way, since this seemed mostly me, but the cute things are called Mogwai and the nasty things they turn into if you screw up and don't follow the rules are Gremlins.

Stripe as a Gremlin:

[TAC]

Wrong listening party!

[wolfking]

I liked the album; I wish this had a more bluesy or classical guitarist.  I'm hit or miss with the Varney stable, and I generally prefer it like Yngwie, where it's the star of the show.   The widdly-widdly bits are harder to fit into Mogg's more melodic, meat-and-potatoes ethos, so it was sort of like a car crash of sorts.

This is why I think you'll like Chocolate Box more. the difference between the two album is that Edge Of The World fucks you, while Chocolate Box makes love to you.*






* I'm so sorry, that was awful.

I'd rather a good hard fucking personally. 

[wolfking]

Mogwai Sweet?

[devieira73]

I liked the album; I wish this had a more bluesy or classical guitarist.  I'm hit or miss with the Varney stable, and I generally prefer it like Yngwie, where it's the star of the show.   The widdly-widdly bits are harder to fit into Mogg's more melodic, meat-and-potatoes ethos, so it was sort of like a car crash of sorts.

This is why I think you'll like Chocolate Box more. the difference between the two album is that Edge Of The World fucks you, while Chocolate Box makes love to you.*

* I'm so sorry, that was awful.

I'm not sure what those albums did to me, but definitely, Chocolate Box did it better!   

[TAC]

Highwire:  I REALLY liked this song a lot.   Driving, good vocals, good guitars. I'd listen to this in my truck or on the highway.  

But what if your truck was actually on the highway? 



Kade and Bill, great job, guys!

I liked the album; I wish this had a more bluesy or classical guitarist.  I'm hit or miss with the Varney stable, and I generally prefer it like Yngwie, where it's the star of the show.   The widdly-widdly bits are harder to fit into Mogg's more melodic, meat-and-potatoes ethos, so it was sort of like a car crash of sorts.

This is why I think you'll like Chocolate Box more. the difference between the two album is that Edge Of The World fucks you, while Chocolate Box makes love to you.*

* I'm so sorry, that was awful.

I'm not sure what those albums did to me, but definitely, Chocolate Box did it better!   

 

[wolfking]

Thanks teach!

[TAC]

[devieira73]

I think this album is really more convincing as UFO than Edge of the World, although, if you tell me that Derek Sherinian made a guest appearence on Jerusalem, I would believe that in a heartbeat. Different for UFO and also a great track! But the rest of the album sounds very much like UFO and yet has its own personality. Muddy’s Gold is one of the best UFO openers; This Is a Life has a killer riff, another great song! I also love King of the City. I think it could be a bit more energetic album. Indeed, it has more bluesy songs, but almost all of them are inspired and have dynamics, so they never draggs the album.

Ranking (revised):

OBSESSION (my favorite)/MECHANIX- 10+/10
FORCE IT/NO HEAVY PETTING/LIGHTS OUT/ THE WILD THE WILLING AND THE INNOCENT – 9.5
MAKING CONTACT/WALK ON WATER – 9.0
PHENOMENON/HIGH STAKES & DANGEROUS MEN/? – 8.5
NO PLACE TO RUN/MOGG-WAY – CHOCOLATE BOX – 8.0
MISDEMEANOR/MOGG-WAY – EDGE OF THE WORLD – 7.5
AIN’T MISBEHAVIN’/? – 7.0

[TAC]

Jerusalem is a GREAT tune!

Too Close To The Sun Phil is great on it.

[ProfessorPeart]

Woo, these riffs on the first 2 Chocolate tracks! Very nice. Loving the heaviness. This is gonna be another fun one.

[wolfking]

Woo, these riffs on the first 2 Chocolate tracks! Very nice. Loving the heaviness. This is gonna be another fun one.

This has me excited.

[ProfessorPeart]

Woo, these riffs on the first 2 Chocolate tracks! Very nice. Loving the heaviness. This is gonna be another fun one.

This has me excited.

I'm on track 6 and I think TAC is right, this is better than Edge. Not that Edge is bad or anything, but the guitar is just different here. It's more of a riff fest. Many high energy, fast-paced rockers here.

Also, just ordered Edge off Discogs. Looking for Chocolate now.

EDIT: and just locked down a copy of Chocolate on Discogs.

[wolfking]

Woo, these riffs on the first 2 Chocolate tracks! Very nice. Loving the heaviness. This is gonna be another fun one.

This has me excited.

I'm on track 6 and I think TAC is right, this is better than Edge. Not that Edge is bad or anything, but the guitar is just different here. It's more of a riff fest. Many high energy, fast-paced rockers here.

Also, just ordered Edge off Discogs. Looking for Chocolate now.

I'll get onto this tonight or first thing tomorrow morning.  Really looking forward to it now.

[Lowdz]

Played it for the first time the other day and really liked it. I think I prefer Edge just because the guitar playing was a bit more OTT. Both excellent though.

[Stadler]

I liked the album; I wish this had a more bluesy or classical guitarist.  I'm hit or miss with the Varney stable, and I generally prefer it like Yngwie, where it's the star of the show.   The widdly-widdly bits are harder to fit into Mogg's more melodic, meat-and-potatoes ethos, so it was sort of like a car crash of sorts.

This is why I think you'll like Chocolate Box more. the difference between the two album is that Edge Of The World fucks you, while Chocolate Box makes love to you.*






* I'm so sorry, that was awful.

There are so many jokes there....   

[TAC]

Played it for the first time the other day and really liked it. I think I prefer Edge just because the guitar playing was a bit more OTT. Both excellent though.

Nice. So glad you checked it out.