Can You Feel The Shred?
D. Isley | 11/22/2004
(3 out of 5 stars)
"As noted in the album description, this is from the Misdemeanor album Tour for UFO, so a lot of people will probably be turned off right away. By this time in the band's history, Schenker was many years gone and now departed also were Chapman & Way. This probably should've been called the Phil Mogg Band or something during this era, but obviously using the UFO name kept the band at a higher profile. Guitar is handled by Tommy McClendon (or Atomik Tommy M as was his moniker) and his playing style was 80's shred similar to the many guitarists coming out during that time on the Shrapnel label. Many notes and fast playing were the norm during this time period at times pushing the envelope of what could be considered keeping a melody context in a song structure. UFO's material at the time was therefore created around this and came off sounding very commercial. It actually works on some tracks, especially on the title track and opener of the show. At other times, the commercial sound doesn't work so well such as This Time and Night Run. Everything on this record is from Misdemeanor except the last two songs which are Schenker-era staples. Thankfully, Tommy shows some restraint in these songs not trying to put in hundreds of notes that don't belong or wouldn't fit. He doesn't try to replicate Schenker solos either and instead just improvises his own take on the song. The reason to own this release is to hear Phil sing less familiar material live. His voice is in fine form and the recording is decent albeit not stellar considering todays live recording standards. 3 stars may seem a bit much for this, but it does sound like a reasonably inspired performance and that the band were enjoying themselves."
Track Listings (10) - Disc #1