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Progland was founded by John Gabbard in 2005. It's purpose has been to provide you, the music community with the latest music and dvd reviews. It will continue to be your link to the most popular music reviews in the progressive world.

 

(UFO) – "The Visitor"- (Wayne's Review)

Reviewed by:

Wayne Klein

Genre:
Classic/Hard& Blues Rock
Country:
England
Length:
42:27
Release Date:
6/2/09
Band Members: Phil Mogg (vocals), Paul Raymond (guitar, keyboards)
  Andy Parker (drums) Vinnie Moore-Guitars
 
     
Track Listing: 1.)-Saving Me 9.)-Villains & Thieves
  2.)-On The Waterfront 10.)-Stranger In Town
  3.)-Hell Driver 11.)-Dancing With St. Peter (Bonus Track)
  4.)-Stop Breaking Down  
  5.)-Rock Ready  
  6.)-Living Proof  
  7.)-Can't Buy A Thrill  
  8.)-Forsaken  

Review:

Like those mysterious Unidentified Flying Objects seen mostly during the 60’s. 70’s and 80’s (and that still have a cult like following who insist that aliens are visiting us, probing us and for some obscure reason having sex with us as well), UFO “visits” us again with a dramatic and strong album. I’m not sure if they want to probe us or have sex with us but they sure want to pull in both a new and existing audience. The band’s 40th anniversary present to their fans (they were founded in 1968) lands in the form of a new album featuring two original members lead singer Phil Mogg and drummer Andy Parker joined by mid-70’s member Paul Raymond and Vinnie Moore who joined the band in 2002. The veteran hard rockers have made a variety of terrific albums over the years and had a virtual who’s who of other musicians pass through their ranks (Anysley Dunbar best known for his stint in Journey and former German born guitarist Michael Schenker best known by many fans for his work in the Michael Schenker Group and his brief tenures with the Scorpions that UFO lured him away from in the 70’s)which makes it all the more remarkable that they have endured and produced a remarkably diverse body of work over the last 40 years. The resulting album “The Visitor” isn’t the band’s best but it manages to provide enough memorable songs so that the band won’t be embarrassed by it either. ***

“The Visitor” may lack Schenker’s memorable guitar attack and style but the strong writing and performances certainly make for a fun and entertaining album. Recalling the band’s 70’s style of hard rock and bluesy performances, “The Visitor” stays just long enough to be a welcome diversion for fans at 42 minutes. The band clearly recognized that producing an old fashion album’s worth of songs would be the best way to celebrate their past and still move forward at the same time. There really isn’t a bad track to be found on the album. Some are a bit derivative of UFO in their prime but there’s no crime in that since this is, well, UFO.

--- Sound: “The Visitor” sounds decent on CD (I can’t comment on the LP version being released at the same time)with a bit of head room in the dynamic range department and while it is a loud sounding album and there is some noticeable compression in the mastering, this isn’t as bad as the worst sounding metal album I’ve heard the last Metallic release. So while this doesn’t represent the potential of an ideal sounding CD, it’s pretty decent for a new release CD. ---

Final Words:

A strong bluesy sounding hard rock release featuring two of the original members of UFO along with members from two different decades to round out the line up (original member bassist Pete Way wanted to be a part of this release as well but has been ill). The sound on the CD is pretty decent although it’s hardly audiophile quality. The album doesn’t over stay its welcome clocking in at just over 42 minutes which in today’s over long, over stuffed CDs is a bit refreshing as well.

 

 

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