The UFO Discography And Listening Party Thread

[wolfking]

I posted that show.

Nice live show..
Waysted Sheffield December 1986

And yes, its really good.

  Of course you fucking did! 

[TAC]

You Are Here



You Are Here (2004)

Released March 14, 2004


1. When Daylight Goes To Town
2. Black Cold Coffee
3. The Wild One
4. Give It Up
5. Call Mee
6. Slipping Away
7. The Spark That Is Us
8. Sympathy
9. Mr. Freeze
10. Jello Man
11. Baby Blue
12. Swallow

Phil Mogg-Vocals
Vinnie Moore-Guitar
Pete Way-Bass
Jason Bonham-Drums
Paul Raymond-Keyboards

UFO returns in 2004 with American guitarist Vinnie Moore. Vinnie is well known for his instrumental albums. I remember hearing that Vinnie had joined UFO, and I thought it was an interesting and surprising pairing. I am generally skeptical of things when they happened, and I remember thinking that this was probably going to be a one off thing, and honestly, it really held me back from enjoying it properly in real time.


So how did Vinnie come to join join UFO? In his own words...

https://youtu.be/npV8Ywv40Hk?t=685



Also joining Vinnie in UFO was drummer Jason Bonham. Another interesting choice. After briefly joining the London Quireboys, Phil asked Jason to play in UFO. Jason would ultimately leaving to join Foreigner.

Pete Way says, "It was, though, a bit of patchwork and it felt to me as if certain people were only now doing it for the money."


You Are Here is produced by Tommy Newton.  The former Victory guitarist was well known for his work with Helloween and Gamma Ray. This caught my eye as well.

Vinnie Moore? Tommy Newton? UFO?

Suffice it to say that UFO did not go neoclassical power metal.

What I did like about You Are Here is that Vinnie really plays with such little effort. He remined me of Schenker like that, but also in the approach. The noodling during the verses, the melodic lead runs. While it is the heaviest of the Vinnie Era, I didn't think every song was that great. But it has aged really well, and I like it a lot more now than I did when it came out. In fact, I actually think this album is really strong.

Also, the return of Paul Raymond!!

I have always loved three songs on this. Mr Freeze is really cool, and Black Cold Coffee, with some great playing by Jason, but is basically a reworked version of Vinnie's With The Flow.

But three songs in is The Wild One, which to me is the best song in the Vinnie Era. Amazing track!


EDIT: Forgot to mention, the Japanese version comes with the bonus track, Messing Up The Bed..
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X0sqJ1jsYJY

[devieira73]

I think this album was a promising start of the Moore’s phase, with a lot of very good songs: When Daylight Goes To Town is a really nice opener; Black Cold Coffee has great riffage and bass lines; The Wild One and Jello Man are very cool; Slipping Away and The Spark That Is Us have excellent melodies; and Baby Blue is one of the best and beautiful UFO songs IMO.
5 of them are songs from Moore’s Meltdown and Out of Nowhere, that were written originaly as instrumental songs. From what I’ve heard, indeed those instrumental albums fitted UFO’s style nicely. Like I said, this album was a promising start, but unfortunately to me the UFO’s albums with Moore are around 7.0 and they never really take off as a whole, despite his always excellent guitar work.

Ranking:
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
NO PLACE TO RUN/HIGH STAKES & DANGEROUS MEN/MOGG-WAY – CHOCOLATE BOX – 8.5
PHENOMENON/MOGG-WAY – EDGE OF THE WORLD/COVENANT  – 8.0
MISDEMEANOR/YOU ARE HERE/? – 7.5
AIN’T MISBEHAVIN’/? – 7.0
? – 6.5
SHARKS/? – 6.0

[TAC]

Hah! I actually think The Spark That Is Us is one of the worst songs off of the five Vinnie albums.

Like I said, this album was a promising start, but unfortunately to me the UFO’s albums with Moore are around 7.0 and they never really take off as a whole, despite his always excellent guitar work.

Yeah, I agree with this. I have found that time has been generally kind to these albums. The 15 best tracks from this era, which I have on a CD compilation, is an amazing collection of music.

Depending on the day, this is my 2nd or 3rd favorite album of the Vinnie albums.

[devieira73]

Yes, taste/perception sometimes is a strange thing! 
I agree that the best (my best at least!) of Vinnie Moore era is an amazing collection of songs

[TAC]

We'll have to compare at the end.

[wolfking]

Hah! I actually think The Spark That Is Us is one of the worst songs off of the five Vinnie albums.

Like I said, this album was a promising start, but unfortunately to me the UFO’s albums with Moore are around 7.0 and they never really take off as a whole, despite his always excellent guitar work.

Yeah, I agree with this. I have found that time has been generally kind to these albums. The 15 best tracks from this era, which I have on a CD compilation, is an amazing collection of music.

Depending on the day, this is my 2nd or 3rd favorite album of the Vinnie albums.

Indeed it was.

[wolfking]

I always liked this one, but will need to revisit it.  It was my fav Vinnie album for a while but I think it comes in second now. 

I tried getting into UFO because of Vinnie Moore.  Obviously, being a guitarist, I like a bit of his stuff.  This made me try and get into the band.  While I was never quite sold on the UFO lighter sound back in the day, going through the bands discography from the start and let's be honest, falling in love with them, I'm hoping I can warm to these albums a lot more than I did in the past.  They were albums they were just nice for me.  Nothing really got repeated listens but Vinnie made me enjoy quite a few tracks.  Tim's compilation is indeed really strong and I'm sure he'll share it at the end.

[ProfessorPeart]

For some reason I had really low expectations coming into You Are Here. No idea why, just did.

I just finished listening to it. Halfway through I was already looking for physical copies to buy. I absolutely loved this record. After being fairly disappointed with Sharks and the last Waysted album, this was exactly what I was looking for. That mid-section in Mr. Freeze is just awesome.

So yeah, I'm looking to buy this thing. I really enjoyed it.

[wolfking]

This thread is the gift that keeps on giving.

[Lowdz]

So I am a huge Vinnie Moore fan - he's probably my favourite guitarist and when he joined UFO I was really excited. Unfortunately, I haven't enjoyed any of the albums.
What put me off from the start was that three of the songs here are reworked tracks from Vinnie's solo albums. With Mogg's voice now aged, and not as pleasant to my ear as the earlier days, I'd rather hear the instrumental versions.

When Daylight Goes To Town is Vinnie's Ridin' High riff.

Baby Blue is She's Only Sleeping

Slipping Away is Echoes.

I haven't really given any of the Vinnie era albums much of a chance to be fair, but initial impressions weren't great. I'll revisit each of them for the listening party.

Live, Vinnie does a great job. He's playing well within himself but he does tend towards a bluesier vibe these days in his instrumental stuff.

I always thought that he would have fit well in a prog metal band. I always thought that Time Odyssey was very Images and Words ish.  The Maze was more power prog. A missed opportunity perhaps.

[wolfking]

To the Core was one of his later ones I actually quite enjoyed.  Nothing beats Minds Eye though.

[Bentower]

I've stayed away from the Vinnie Moore era despite having been a fan of a bunch of his albums in the early 2000's (I'm talking Time Odyssey, Out of Nowhere, The Maze and Defying Gravity). The thought of them utilizing some of his old tunes didn't excite me and I hadn't heard anything besides Lights Out (the song) by UFO at the time. That's all changing now thanks to this thread.

This album was alright. Solid line-up, a few rocking tunes. Those old Vinnie tracks worked better with Phil's vocals than expected and overall the vibe was like I imagined it would be. So, nothing spectacular, but I'll be sure to give this another listen.

Another thing that's for sure, I wish I'd been this into UFO by 2010 when they had their show here in Helsinki. I'm sure I would've loved every minute of it, but as it turned out instead I didn't even go.

[Lowdz]

Mind's Eye is the best instrumental album of all time for me. A perfect mix of melody and fire. I could have done without the drum solo from Tommy Aldridge but other than that, a flawless album.

I loved that each album sounded very different to the others.
Mind's Eye was full on neo classical metal, typical of the time. Time odyssey was a fusion album. Meltdown was a Satriani-ish rock widdle fest.
Out of Nowhere was a mixture of the above.
The Maze was prog metal.
All his albums are worthwhile, though the last one didn't thrill me.
He also had a Zeppelin-like album with Red Zone Rider which was very good.

[wolfking]

Didn't check the last one.  Wasn't that thrilled with Red Zone Ride truthfully.  TO is brilliant also as you say.

I always loved how TMac plays keyboards on ME.  Just found that really cool.

[Lowdz]

Didn't check the last one.  Wasn't that thrilled with Red Zone Ride truthfully.  TO is brilliant also as you say.

I always loved how TMac plays keyboards on ME.  Just found that really cool.

Mike Varney keeping it in the family to keep costs down.

[wolfking]

Didn't check the last one.  Wasn't that thrilled with Red Zone Ride truthfully.  TO is brilliant also as you say.

I always loved how TMac plays keyboards on ME.  Just found that really cool.

Mike Varney keeping it in the family to keep costs down.

Absolutely. 

[wolfking]

Will dig out my You Are Here CD in the morning to crank in the car tomorrow.

[Lowdz]

So I'm eating humble pie again here. I've been playing you Are Here and it's pretty good actually. I'm enjoying Phil's vocals where previously I thought they were a bit lacklustre on this album.

It's always great to hear Vinnie. Such a musical guitarist.

At least I don't have to buy this one as I already have it! 

[Lowdz]

Forgot to include Black Cold Coffee as an old Vinnie riff - i just can't remember which one!

[devieira73]

 The Black Cold Coffee's riff is from With The Flow (from Out of Nowhere).

[devieira73]

I identified those origins:
From Out of Nowhere:
With The Flow (Black Cold Coffee), Echoes (Slipping Away) and She's Only Sleeping (Baby Blue);
From Meltdown:
Ridin' High (When Daylight Goes to Town) and Midnight Rain (Jello Man).
I don't mind this approach, I think it's cool to give a different take on a previously existent song. And I think Baby Blue upgraded She's Only Sleeping to almost a masterpiece

[Lowdz]

First time I've heard the bonus track too. that was pretty good. Enjoyed the listen. now I'm listening to Vinnie's The Maze 

To link in, Shane Gallas is on drums on this. Dave La Rue on bass.

[Bentower]

Just listened to the $ign of 4 album. Damn nice, I must say. It might be an admission of old age, but I was thoroughly entertained by the relaxed, rootsy, bluesy vibes of this one. Songs like Song Keeps A Coming and Clap Hands went down smooth as can be. I enjoyed Phil's gruff vocal delivery on that one heavy tune, the name of which escapes me at the moment. He's in fine form here and gives a very soulful performance. What a guy!

[ProfessorPeart]

This thread is the gift that keeps on giving.

.....and taking my money.

Since this thread began, here is what I have purchased:

First 12 UFO albums (physical)
Strangers (digital)
Strangers (physical deluxe box)
Waysted catalog (digital)
Both Mogg/Way albums (physical)
You Are Here (physical) - just scored a sealed copy today

I'm out around $200 or so. TAC is draining my wallet.

[wolfking]

Tim is licking his lips on the commission of that haul!

I've bought that 10 album collection plus a second hand copy of WOW.  I also picked up Schenkers Temple of Rock DVD.

I'll probably end up ordering Save Your Prayers too.  Will look at the Strangers box if I can get it for a decent price too.

[TAC]

Just got home after a 10 hour day. Really enjoyed reading skimming the comments today at work. I'll dig in after dinner.

[TAC]

I always liked this one, but will need to revisit it.  It was my fav Vinnie album for a while but I think it comes in second now. 

I tried getting into UFO because of Vinnie Moore.  Obviously, being a guitarist, I like a bit of his stuff.  This made me try and get into the band.  While I was never quite sold on the UFO lighter sound back in the day, going through the bands discography from the start and let's be honest, falling in love with them, I'm hoping I can warm to these albums a lot more than I did in the past.  They were albums they were just nice for me.  Nothing really got repeated listens but Vinnie made me enjoy quite a few tracks.  Tim's compilation is indeed really strong and I'm sure he'll share it at the end.

I think one reason for this is that UFO are really in the twilight of their career during the Vinnie Era. Phil Mogg is 56 when You Are Here comes out, and 67 when A Conspiracy Of Stars is released. He was 71 when I saw them last year.

After You Are Here, Vinnie's writing and playing is remarkably restrained. Almost like a heavier Rolling Stones. It took me a while to fully accept it, but what has happened is that it gives the Vinnie Era a totally distinct personality, which ironically has nothing to do with Vinnie shredding his way through it.

[TAC]

For some reason I had really low expectations coming into You Are Here. No idea why, just did.

I was just the opposite. I had huge expectations for this. Almost unfair expectations.

I just finished listening to it. Halfway through I was already looking for physical copies to buy. I absolutely loved this record. After being fairly disappointed with Sharks and the last Waysted album, this was exactly what I was looking for. That mid-section in Mr. Freeze is just awesome.

That's awesome!!!

[TAC]

I've stayed away from the Vinnie Moore era despite having been a fan of a bunch of his albums in the early 2000's (I'm talking Time Odyssey, Out of Nowhere, The Maze and Defying Gravity). The thought of them utilizing some of his old tunes didn't excite me and I hadn't heard anything besides Lights Out (the song) by UFO at the time.

If any of you watched the video link of Vinnie joining, he mentions that the band asks for some tracks, and he sends Phil 11 tracks. Apparently Phil was like, "I can use these."
But in a way, I think Vinnie was fine seeing his compositions become full fledged songs.

[wolfking]

Just following on from what Tim was saying above;

As I mentioned, I dabbled in UFO because of Vinnie.  Back in the day when I was discovering him, TMac, Becker etc checking out Vinnie era UFO was a give.  As I said, I always didn't mind the albums but was never blown away.  I thought perhaps going from the start and appreciating the history might make me enjoy these and appreicate these albums more.  Listening to YAH, I think the opposite has actually happened.  Quite frankly, I've fallen in love with this band a lot and this album doesn't compare to any of the classic stuff.

I never dabbled much into the older stuff and didn't really see the hype over Schenker quite honestly.  At the time though, I was into those guys I mentioned and while learning the guitar, wanted to play and shred as fast as I could.  I really loved the technical aspect of that sort of playing.  Nothing has changed and while I've gotten pretty good, I was a fool not to discover the magic of Schenker.  Maybe it's as I get older but now I 'get' his playing.  I should have gone back to him earlier, but it is what it is.  When getting the Vinnie UFO albums, I would always prefer him and was in the mindset back then that he was a shredder and a better guitarist than Schenker cause of the technical aspect, blah blah blah.  I was a fool to think in that mindset, but when you look at players like Gilbert, Moore, they all expand their horizons as they get older with their playing.

I'm rambling on here, but listening to this album now, I feel flat.  Yes, the band are in their twilight years, but Moore's playing now doesn't impress me here at all.  This whole album is missing something even the Chapman stuff had.  It's a different, flat and dare I say, uninspired sound.  I will say the 3 run of Spark to Freeze is very good but I find now a lot here generic, especially after discovering the likes of Obsession and Making Contact.  Moore's playing is too bluesy and uninspired and quite frankly I'm finding it boring.

It's like I was biased towards Moore but now I'm biased towards Schenker/Chapman.  I'm actually a bit confused at the moment.  I think I need to relisten with a clean slate and try again.

[TAC]

This thread is the gift that keeps on giving.

.....and taking my money.

Since this thread began, here is what I have purchased:

First 12 UFO albums (physical)
Strangers (digital)
Strangers (physical deluxe box)
Waysted catalog (digital)
Both Mogg/Way albums (physical)
You Are Here (physical) - just scored a sealed copy today

I'm out around $200 or so. TAC is draining my wallet.

Tim is licking his lips on the commission of that haul!

I've bought that 10 album collection plus a second hand copy of WOW.  I also picked up Schenkers Temple of Rock DVD.

I'll probably end up ordering Save Your Prayers too.  Will look at the Strangers box if I can get it for a decent price too.

[TAC]

Just following on from what Tim was saying above;

As I mentioned, I dabbled in UFO because of Vinnie.  Back in the day when I was discovering him, TMac, Becker etc checking out Vinnie era UFO was a give.  As I said, I always didn't mind the albums but was never blown away.  I thought perhaps going from the start and appreciating the history might make me enjoy these and appreicate these albums more.  Listening to YAH, I think the opposite has actually happened.  Quite frankly, I've fallen in love with this band a lot and this album doesn't compare to any of the classic stuff.

I never dabbled much into the older stuff and didn't really see the hype over Schenker quite honestly.  At the time though, I was into those guys I mentioned and while learning the guitar, wanted to play and shred as fast as I could.  I really loved the technical aspect of that sort of playing.  Nothing has changed and while I've gotten pretty good, I was a fool not to discover the magic of Schenker.  Maybe it's as I get older but now I 'get' his playing.  I should have gone back to him earlier, but it is what it is.  When getting the Vinnie UFO albums, I would always prefer him and was in the mindset back then that he was a shredder and a better guitarist than Schenker cause of the technical aspect, blah blah blah.  I was a fool to think in that mindset, but when you look at players like Gilbert, Moore, they all expand their horizons as they get older with their playing.

I'm rambling on here, but listening to this album now, I feel flat.  Yes, the band are in their twilight years, but Moore's playing now doesn't impress me here at all.  This whole album is missing something even the Chapman stuff had.  It's a different, flat and dare I say, uninspired sound.  I will say the 3 run of Spark to Freeze is very good but I find now a lot here generic, especially after discovering the likes of Obsession and Making Contact.  Moore's playing is too bluesy and uninspired and quite frankly I'm finding it boring.

It's like I was biased towards Moore but now I'm biased towards Schenker/Chapman.  I'm actually a bit confused at the moment. I think I need to relisten with a clean slate and try again.

  at the bolded part.

That's interesting.

I find it's best to listen to these albums without any expectations. Let them wash over you. When you stop looking at what they aren't, it's easier to appreciate what they are.

I ain't gonna lie. I have generally classified the Vinnie Era as disappointing overall. But it is still sure as hell enjoyable.

[TAC]

I thought I'd share this.

We actually met Vinnie after a Rush show that he opened. My memory of it is hazy, but he did sign my ticket. Unfortunately no camera that night..

[wolfking]

Just following on from what Tim was saying above;

As I mentioned, I dabbled in UFO because of Vinnie.  Back in the day when I was discovering him, TMac, Becker etc checking out Vinnie era UFO was a give.  As I said, I always didn't mind the albums but was never blown away.  I thought perhaps going from the start and appreciating the history might make me enjoy these and appreicate these albums more.  Listening to YAH, I think the opposite has actually happened.  Quite frankly, I've fallen in love with this band a lot and this album doesn't compare to any of the classic stuff.

I never dabbled much into the older stuff and didn't really see the hype over Schenker quite honestly.  At the time though, I was into those guys I mentioned and while learning the guitar, wanted to play and shred as fast as I could.  I really loved the technical aspect of that sort of playing.  Nothing has changed and while I've gotten pretty good, I was a fool not to discover the magic of Schenker.  Maybe it's as I get older but now I 'get' his playing.  I should have gone back to him earlier, but it is what it is.  When getting the Vinnie UFO albums, I would always prefer him and was in the mindset back then that he was a shredder and a better guitarist than Schenker cause of the technical aspect, blah blah blah.  I was a fool to think in that mindset, but when you look at players like Gilbert, Moore, they all expand their horizons as they get older with their playing.

I'm rambling on here, but listening to this album now, I feel flat.  Yes, the band are in their twilight years, but Moore's playing now doesn't impress me here at all.  This whole album is missing something even the Chapman stuff had.  It's a different, flat and dare I say, uninspired sound.  I will say the 3 run of Spark to Freeze is very good but I find now a lot here generic, especially after discovering the likes of Obsession and Making Contact.  Moore's playing is too bluesy and uninspired and quite frankly I'm finding it boring.

It's like I was biased towards Moore but now I'm biased towards Schenker/Chapman.  I'm actually a bit confused at the moment. I think I need to relisten with a clean slate and try again.

  at the bolded part.

That's interesting.

I find it's best to listen to these albums without any expectations. Let them wash over you. When you stop looking at what they aren't, it's easier to appreciate what they are.

I ain't gonna lie. I have generally classified the Vinnie Era as disappointing overall. But it is still sure as hell enjoyable.

No, why I'm confused is because I knew a lot of these albums before already.  your compilation made me check a lot of the songs again but my perception has totally changed after hearing the rest.  The bar got raised once checking the rest of their catalog that this album dropped significantly.