Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Artist: UFO
Label: SPV Records
Release: 2015
Running time: 47:52
Rating: 4/5
Believe it or not, this is the 22nd studio album from the great British heavy rock veterans UFO. The Londoners, who have been rocking nonstop since 1969, keep putting out seriously good albums even in their golden years. And the latest, »A Conspiracy of Stars«, is no exception!
Sure, bringing in American guitarist Vinnie Moore in 2003 as the permanent replacement for the legendary Michael Schenker nudged the songwriting style a bit, but not drastically. Just the right dose. UFO have kept their recognizable core musical identity the whole way through, while with Moore’s arrival the blues became a more noticeable ingredient in the arrangements. And since the album »You Are Here« (2004), UFO have kept building on exactly that kind of musical footing.
The combination of three original members and Vinnie Moore works great in the new era too. The British side of the crew supplies the trademark building blocks of mystery, darkness and the occasional dip into the occult, reined in by the typical sarcasm of black British humor, which is still the job of Phil Mogg’s famous vocals (Mogg remains a real “rascal”). The American, meanwhile, is a phenomenal treasure chest of guitar tricks who has beefed up UFO with a juicy blues premise. With his arrival the band stretched the field of their musical experimentation even further, so in the post-millennium era flirtations with southern rock are no surprise for UFO, nor are bluesy touches that can reach all the way down to the Mississippi Delta (Ballad of a Left Hand Gun). The album’s longest track, Sugar Cane, is the best example of that fusion of erotic blues with rock charge and musical value. As a rule, every song in its own little theater ends dramatically.
When UFO lay down a piercing riff that sinks under your skin in an instant, and Phil Mogg dives into the verses with his one-of-a-kind, instantly recognizable vocal trademark, it’s clear the legends are sitting firmly in the saddle of their rock ‘n’ roll gallop. The band sounds chunky, organic, alive, and the spark hasn’t gone anywhere. Devils in the Detail, for instance, is dressed up with a massive wash of Hammond sound that strengthens the guitar phrase. Rustic and classic old-school. It doesn’t get more authentic than this when you look at the core heritage of rock ‘n’ roll. The band still handles shifting the mood within a song with great skill, one turn after another, especially when a “mid-eight” passage arrives with a sudden modulation of the melody. UFO make very clever use of those parts on the new record, just as they have since time immemorial. And on top of that, Vinnie Moore delivers a downright fairy tale of a “comedy” of guitar soloing. It’s a pleasure to listen to this master of six-string music theory!
»A Conspiracy of Stars« is an album with a clearly defined musical vision and focus, and the old veterans stay loyal to it like grizzled desperadoes who haven’t lost an ounce of punch or shine with age. UFO don’t hold back. In the years when the farewell is near, they create with remarkably convincing artistic maturity and refined feel. Rock’n’roll simply runs in their veins and (luckily) they just don’t know how to do it any other way!
Lineup
Phil Mogg – vocals
Vinnie Moore – guitar
Paul Raymond – guitar, keyboards
Andy Parker – drums
GUEST MUSICIAN:
Rob De Luca – bass guitar
Production
Chris Tsangerides
Track list
1. The Killing Kind
02. Run Boy Run
03. Ballad Of The Left Hand Gun
04. Sugar Cane
05. Devils In The Detail
06. Precious Cargo
07. The Real Deal
08. One And Only
09. Messiah Of Love
10. Rolling Rolling
