Search - UFO :: The Visitor

Once again poor songwriting

LIF | Long Island NY | 10/03/2009

(1 out of 5 stars)

"First off I have always like UFO and their past history. They have produced some of the best classic rock despite commercial radio stations ignoring their incredible past. The pinnacle of their career was of course the Live album "Strangers In The Night". The Visitor is another story.



As bands age and produce newer records they do leave proof as to whether or not they still possess musical integrity. There has been a string of past newer CD releases from UFO and they all suffer from the same problem.



First off, the playing and sound quality is superb on this CD. You cannot argue with that. The songwriting on the other hand is less than to be desired. Listen closely to the material, (and also the prior last releases) and you will find the verses of the songs are all in the same meter and the same "melody". In other words songwriting wise there are no interesting woven catchy melodies to stick in your ear like proper ear candy should.



Every single verse of each song is exactly the same. The vocal parts thereby kill any of the wonderful instrumentation. This is the main problem with this release. It's cookie cutter paint by numbers vocals which translate to a dull and uninteresting product. This happens to be one big problems with a majority of heavy metal acts. To prove my point listen to the verse of Black Sabbath's "Symptom of the Universe" and then listen to all the verses on this CD. It's the same stock I, IV, V chord progression generic meter. It's just boring, dull and uninteresting.



Someone needs to tell whoever is writing the vocal parts (I am assuming Phil Moog) to cease writing and use well written songs by someone else in any future releases. A change like that will let them do what they do best and produce a release worthy of buying. He still has the pipes but he just needs to stop using the same lazy songwriting style. This is what will separate the cream from the dull and uninteresting."

Still going strong

Mr. C. S. Amoroso | Essex, UK | 09/23/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Ufo have matured over the years and yet again have produced another quality album. This album reflects their movement towards the blues side of their music and will not only be enjoyed by existing fans but will also attract a new audience who will then want to explore their history."

Bluesful ufo

Michael P. Dobey | colorado springs | 11/01/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"To me the greatest UFO discs are the straight hard rock ones (classic metal) and the band put out one of their best 'you are here" a few years back only to be followed by the bluesier 'monkey puzzle" which was a decent disc but not what 'you are here' was in quality or style. This disc is much better than 'monkey puzzle' even if it's a blues based hard rocker too. The songs are sharper and harder and phil moggs vocals and lyrics are better than the last disc by far. This is worth buying for hard rock fans who love and want melodic stylings as well. I had to buy this version to get the extra track; "dancing with st. peter" which is only on the import digipack. Every song is pretty good here and this disc should satisfy most Ufo fans even if they are hoping for a return to straighter hard rock like 'You are here' provided. Ufo keeps proving that they are excellent musicians and artists and this is a solid entry into their fantastic catalog that includes some of metals alltime best discs. If you have never heard UFO start with 'lights out' , "No heavy petting" , 'walk on water" , or 'you are here" and then grab this one. But if you are blues rockin fan then you'll dig this one too regardless."