So...... Mechanix. Now, I got into UFO with the two Chrysalis compilations (each with five albums, one with Schenker and one with Chapman and Atomik Tommy M). They are a complilation, so each disk has an album - or part of an album - and something else (live tracks, b-sides). For some reason, on the second set, Mechanix and the b-side are their own CD.
So I put on the CD and heard that opening riff to "The Writer" and it was all downhill from there. I love that riff, and I love that song. Second or third favorite on the record. I'll say this now, but I'll repeat it later too: this is Phil Mogg's best LYRICAL album if you ask me. Every song is a story, every song has a meaning, and every song is just wierd enough to be Phil without getting into "what the FUCK is he talking about?" territory. REALLY strong lyrically if you ask me. Second, the difference for me between Schenker and Chapman is that Chapman does a way better job of setting up his solos; the solo breaks either have a different rhythm, or there's something interesting going in or coming out of the solo. They seem more a part of the song than some of Schenker's. I still think Michael is the better player, but I also don't think the gap is that great (the comp has a live version of Love To Love with Chapman that just SLAYS).
The Writer: nuff said.
Somethin' Else: Eddie Cochran, and the second Eddie Cochran song they covered (C'mon Everybody, off the very first record, was the first). I like it. It's a bit out of place on the record, but it's not as bad as it could have been. Full disclosure: with a few expections - Baker Street for one, Billy Joel another - I dislike saxophone in rock. I don't get it, I don't think it's "cool" or "party" and usually ignore it. But there's a sound or a treatment on the sax on this record and I kind of dig it (like on the ending of "The Writer". It's on about three or four songs.
Back Into My Life: "It's another night, out on the avenue"; Phil is like the Bruce Springsteen of British hard rock. Haha. I love his stories and the way his lyrics are so... lyrical. They suck you in and as I've said, there's enough there that there's a payoff for the story. I like this song a lot, though with a heavy rocker, a 50's cover, and this ballad, the album is off to an uncertain start; which way is it going to go?
You'll Get Love: We have our answer; heavy, hard rock. Like most of the rest of the songs on this album, they start off unassuming, rock, but have a twist. I LOVE LOVE LOVE that riff in the chorus; so heavy, and so appropriate to the sort of creepy and sinister angle to the lyrics. This is a good example of what I mean by the solos; it starts off with the verse background, but he keeps soloing while the band kicks into the chorus and it's the perfect cap to the solo. The notes themselves are not up to Schenker's par, but the whole bit is almost necessary to the song.
Doing It All For You: More Mogg creepiness, but it fits the music almost perfectly. The intro and the verse sounds almost like Priest from Sad Wings of Destiny, but mid-verse the tempo picks up and the song kicks into high gear, only to slow back down - in a very different way - for the chorus. This is an amazing song, and an amazingly crafted song. This is not a 12-bar blues with a chorus. Again the solo is played over a completely different part, a rhythm we haven't heard before, but before Chapman is done, we cut back into the chorus, and it's almost a perfect segue for Mogg's vocal (and some new keyboards). Then after the chorus, an outro solo over another, different background with keyboards more prominent. This is an epic, in my view, and the strongest song on the main album.
Honestly, at this point I can't believe they were "short of material" and "wrote this in the studio". I know they did (I think Mogg says as much in the liner notes to the compilation it's on) but that is so amazing to me. These are not songs dashed off; there's a lot of thought and design in them and that's a big part of why I like them (reminds me of Randy's Ozzy in that way).
We Belong To The Night: The only song I really don't care for much; I think it's a let down from what came before (thankfully it picks back up). It's not a BAD song, another good story from Phil, but it doesn't have the variety and the unpredictability of the rest of the material. It almost seems like an interlude, or a "programmed", "hey this will go over great live as an encore!" stab at something.
Let It Rain: Thankfully, we're back after a short break. I love everything about this song; the intro, the little brief solo before the verse, and the way Phil sets the whole story with "Two lovers in a desperate game!" No joke, even though this sounds silly, he has the BEST first lines on on this album. EVERY lyric has a first line that grabs me and sucks me into the story. The chorus is a bit lighter than some of the darker stuff here, but it's catchy and it fits Phil's voice almost perfectly. Good melody without really exposing his limitations (range). Another Chapman solo that almost sneaks it's way in, half mid-verse fill and half full-on solo.
Terri: I'd pay hard money to listen to Phil sing this in a small smoky club. Lyrically it's bleak, but Phil's performance here carries the song. Again, another solo break from out in left field that fits back into the song (in the form of the chorus) perfectly. I love Chapman's fills on this song. I daresay he does that as well if not better than Michael. Little hits and runs that elevate the song and reinforce what Phil is singing about (listen to the last chorus; the way Chapman underlines "everyone laughing at me".)
Feel It: I love this song. It almost has that weird feel of "On With The Action" the way he sings the chorus, but it's not as jarring and it words. Great legato playing by Chapman in the part immediately following the chorus where he lays down a sort of foundation for Phil's vocals (the "ooh ooh, it's a love that makes you burn" part). Then the bridge that leads from the legato part immediately into the solo. Another solo that starts off with the verse rhythm and takes you somewhere else, leading into that "ooh ooh" part, not the chorus.
Dreaming: A good closer; nothing really to say here that hasn't been said already, just done really really well. This might be Chapman's best "fast" solo on the main record, though. I love the outro, with the backing vocals, so dreamlike and evocative.
Heel Of A Stranger: The b-side, and my favorite song from the whole package. It helps (hurts?) that the lyrics have a certain relevance to me, but I just love the way the music seems to run counter to lyrical message (happy upbeat music with saxophone, depressing lyrics) but still highlighting them and elevating them. The promise of both wonder and pain in "I was 17 and I thought you were one in a million!".... makes it that much more powerful when Phil sings "I saw the signs, but not the danger"; he projects that sort of wistful regret that I know I've felt before. Who hasn't gone through a relationship, and in the burning wreckage of it's end, realized that they should have seen it all coming? That all the signs were there? Add to that a chorus that just sticks in my head like glue (I was literally singing it all morning this morning even before I knew that Tim had posted this album), and another KILLER Chapman solo (his best in the package for me) and this is perhaps my favorite UFO song (or at least top three).
Topic: The UFO Discography And Listening Party Thread (Read 143315 times)
