UFO: The Monkey Puzzle

Cover	Release	Style
	2006-09-25	Classic hard rock
	Label
	SPV / Steamhammer
	Website
	UFO
	Contact
	-
	Playing Time	Cat. N°
	46:15	SPV 97792 CD
	Review by	Rating
	Edwin	8,5/10
nederlands	Review
With You Are Here (2004) and the subsequent tours, UFO finally seemed to have found a steady team of musicians again, after countless of line-up changes. Last year, though, drummer Jason Bonham decided to leave and join FOREIGNER, which I thought was rather sad, since I really liked his powerful drumming. The good news is that original skin basher Andy Parker has returned, which means that 4/5 of the classic UFO line-up is at work here on their 19^th(!) studio album: Parker, Phil Mogg, Pete Way, Paul Raymond, along with ‘new’ guy Vinnie Moore, who replaces Michael Schenker. If you weren’t convinced yet that Moore is a more than able replacement for Mr. S, this album surely will. Moore proves himself to be so much more than the shredder I always thought him to be. He provides both inventive riffs and memorable solos – I’m pretty sure that the Schenker of today wouldn’t have been able to come up with such great guitar work. Paul Raymond manages to insert lots of pleasing keyboard work, which was all but missing from previous albums. And of course there’s still those wonderful crooning vocals of Phil Mogg. Sure, UFO sounds decidedly more laid-back than in the old days. But that doesn’t mean their recent work is bad. The Monkey Puzzle features some nice boogie rockers, solid hard rock songs and tasty blues tracks. I am particularly impressed by the superb (semi)ballads ‘Drink Too Much’ and ‘Who’s Fooling Who’ (which has the most wonderful guitar solo). ‘Kingston Town’ is another great, slower song. Also noteworthy is the slow and heavy ‘Heavenly Body’, which puts Way’s bass way upfront. The Monkey Puzzle is much better than You Are Here (which wasn’t too shabby either) and miles ahead of the poor Covenant and Sharks albums. It probably won’t turn out to be a classic along the lines of Lights Out, Obsession or Walk On Water, but it does show a band that has aged gracefully, and it is more than worthy to carry the UFO name.
Musicians
Phil Mogg: vocals Pete Way: bass Vinnie Moore: guitars Andy Parker: drums Paul Raymond: rhythm guitars, keyboards
Tracklist
Hard Being Me Heavenly Body Some Other Guy Who's Fooling Who? Black And Blue Drink Too Much World Cruise Down By The River Good Bye You Rolling Man Kingston Town
Discography
UFO1 (1970) UFO2: Flying (1971) Live (1972 - live) Phenomenon (1974) Force It (1975) No Heavy Petting (1976) Lights Out (1977) Obsession (1978) Strangers In The Night (1978 – live) No Place To Run (1980) The Wild, The Willing And The Innocent (1981) Mechanix (1982) Making Contact (1983) Misdemeanor (1985) Ain’t Misbehavin' (1988) High Stakes And Dangerous Men (1992) Lights Out In Tokyo (1992 – live) Heaven’s Gate (1995 – live 1988) Walk On Water (1995) On With The Action (1997 – live 1976) Werewolves Of London (1999 – live) BBC In Session And Live In Concert (1999 – live 1974/75/77) Covenant (2000) Regenerator (2001 – live 1982) Sharks (2002) Legends Of Rock (2002 - live with U.J. Roth and Jack Bruce) Big Apple Encounters (2003 – live 1975) Live On Earth (2003 – live 77/95/98) You Are Here (2004) Showtime (2005 – live) The Monkey Puzzle (2006)


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