UFO COVENANT

PRICE: $19.98 [ Buy Now ] Reviews: 50 Average Rating: 6.80

Best UFO album in nearly 20 years

I can't believe all the reviews i've read where people say this album has a muddy sound and that it sounds as if it was recorded in the 70's. It's the exact opposite, this album has real power and punch and makes the last official studio album by UFO, "Walk on Water", sound like *it* was done twenty years ago. Walk on Water is the one that was weak, the production on that album sounded pure mid 80's with very little bass and tinny sounding guitars and vocals, but Covenant has major punch, the bass is very thick and full without being overbearing, the vocals are clear and strong and the guitars sound really full and heavy, this album has one of the best productions of any UFO album ever put out. I'm guessing that all those complaining about the "muddy" production sound just have very bad stereo's. To all of you i suggest you try listening to it on a good stereo (mine's worth 8k) and then you'll likely be rewriting your reviews. But even on a normal cheap stereo all you have to do if you find the sound muddy is turn the treble up and the bass down a little, or better yet invest in a good equalizer. In fact, I encoded the entire album into mp3's so that i could listen to it on my pc which only has $400 dollar speakers and it still sounds great there, so i don't know what you guys are complaining about concerning the mixing.

Anyway, before my review of the new album, let me give all those who may not be very familiar with the UFO story a little refresher as it will help to understand my review that follows. UFO began in 1970 with Phil Mogg on vocals, Pete Way on Bass, Andy Parker on Drums and Mick Bolton on guitar, but the most succesful/famous lineup was in the mid-late 70's when they featured guitar god Michael Schenker on guitar, however he left/was fired from the band in 1978 and the band went on with various different guitarists until he returned in 1993 and the result was the aforemention Walk on Water album which came out in Europe 1995, and, although it was filled with good songs in the classic UFO vein it was a bit weak sounding production-wise in my opinion. The band toured in support of that album but Schenker walked out on them mid song at one show and once again quit the band (something he has a habit of doing). Anyway, the band then went on, with Mogg and Way as the core they recruited a new guitar player named George Bellas and in 1997 released "Edge of the World" however that album could not be called UFO due to an agreement they signed in '95 saying they would no longer use the name UFO on releases that did not feature Michael Schenker, so the album was listed as a Mogg/Way solo project, even though there had been albums called UFO in the 80's where the only original member of the band was Phil Mogg (lost yet?).

In 1998 Walk on Water was finally released in the US and the band was reformed in California to to 3 warmup gigs prior to a Japanese tour, but once again Schenker walked off stage during one of the warmup gigs, he did return but left halfway through the Japanese tour. A semi official live album from the Japanese tour called "Werewolves of London" was released following the halted tour and despite the obvious tensions in the band it shows they were still at the top of their game playing live in the 90's, i'd rate it every bit as good as the much ballyhooed "Strangers In The Night" live album they put out in '78.

Anyway, after that latest Schenker flake out, Mogg and Way decided to keep going and started work on their 2nd album, but this time former UFO keyboarist Paul Raymond came along as well making it 3/5's of the classic UFO lineup but with a new drummer named Simon Wright (who was on the '98 tour) and a new guitarist from America named Jeff Kollman. The resulting album was Mogg/Way's "Chocolate Box" and it is really a sin that it was also not allowed to be called a UFO album because it is 100% pure UFO all the way through, i think it's one of the best albums they've ever released, it is very heavy and they sound really into it, i think it blew the 1995 reunion album Walk on Water out of the water quite frankly. And this leads to my review of the new album "Covenant".

You see, Covenant was recorded in the same studio as Mogg/Way's Chocolate Box, and the sound mix is very similar, both have a very heavy sound with much more bass than past UFO albums, so my thinking is that after Schenker heard the amazingly new heavy sound the guys came up with on Chocolate Box with Kollman on guitar he became a bit envious and wanted to come back and do the same thing, because Covenant sounds like just and extension of Chocolate Box, only with Schenker on guitar.

The album kicks off with "Love is Forever" which is a mid tempo power ballad type song with a really cool Thin Lizzy/Phil Lynott sounding chorus. That's followed by "Unraveled" which is quickly becoming one my favorite UFO tunes, Mogg's voice is in top form here, he shifts between singing in a deep low growl at the beginning to his trademark shouting seemlessly and the effect is really powerful. Other highlights include "Fools Gold" which starts off with a really bluesy winding guitar intro and a soulful vocal from Mogg. "In The Middle of Madness" would be a sure top ten hit if we were still living in a time where they actually played real rock music on the radio, however since we don't this great would-be single will likely live in anonimity on this album. "Rise Again" and "Serenade" and "Cowboy Joe" are also all worth nothing as they're all powerful tracks. Also included is a second cd with seven bonus live tracks from the 1995 tour, however they aren't as good as the versions on the 1998 live album.

Overall i'd say Covenant is the best UFO album since Mechanix, the sound is thick and full and more up to date sounding than Walk on Water was so it stands up not only to UFO albums past but to other hard rock being made today, something i think Walk on Water didn't with it's weak production. Covenant is a naturual progression into a new heavier UFO sound that has been developing during the last two Mogg/Way albums.


More "Covenant" reviews:

[2004-04-20] Better than they say! Inconsistant but worthy! (8)
[2004-03-22] Best if taken in context with "Walk on Water" and "Sharks" (8)
[2003-03-24] UFO still got the magic touch (8)
[2002-11-11] COmparison are unavoidable... (4)
[2002-10-04] OFF THE MARK (4)
[2002-09-27] THIS CD IS BETTER THAN WALK ON WATER! (8)
[2002-03-21] The party is officially over (2)
[2002-01-04] Bonus Disc's live tracks steal the show (8)
[2001-11-07] MASTERPIECE! UFO,S FINEST HOUR! (10)
[2001-09-14] Excellent new UFO tunes (10)
[2001-08-16] A Great CD (10)
[2001-08-02] Excellent c-d (10)
[2001-06-27] WORTHY (8)
[2001-01-28] Better luck 15 years ago (2)
[2001-01-21] Not Even.. (2)
[2000-12-29] just buy it! (8)
[2000-12-21] thinking this is a good record is just flat-out denial (2)
[2000-11-15] Could have been....should have been (6)
[2000-11-13] Not a masterpiece, but oh my! What a rocker! (8)
[2000-11-01] SAD ... (4)
[2000-10-07] Great Stuff!!!! (10)
[2000-10-05] Lets play Rock, Paper, Scissors:) (10)
[2000-09-26] UFO still rocks (10)
[2000-09-09] What Happened? (4)
[2000-09-01] covenant-a sneaky album that's a real "grower"!! (8)
[2000-08-29] A good UFO album (10)
[2000-08-23] Best UFO album in nearly 20 years (8)
[2000-08-18] Thank you UFO fans (2)
[2000-08-17] hope there is a USA tour (10)
[2000-08-12] Classic rock....never fades away !!! (8)
[2000-08-09] Convenant one of the best (10)
[2000-08-05] Two stars - and I'm being kind... (4)
[2000-08-05] Ufo, Covenant (6)
[2000-08-05] TO MUFFLED.. (6)
[2000-08-04] Could've been so much better... (6)
[2000-08-03] A little let down. (6)
[2000-08-01] it really hurts me to do this! (2)
[2000-07-31] Schenker should stay solo (6)
[2000-07-30] This cd just lacks something (4)
[2000-07-29] Good,but not great like W.O.W. (6)
[2000-07-29] Great CD (8)
[2000-07-29] Disappointing (4)
[2000-07-29] UFO is back with a vengence! (10)
[2000-07-28] They're Back! (8)
[2000-07-28] not as original as walk on water but good (6)
[2000-07-27] Promising material short-changed by amateurish production (4)
[2000-07-27] covenants got it! (10)
[2000-07-25] Quite good! (8)
[2000-07-25] A slight disappointment. (6)
[2000-07-25] Back in the Saddle! (10)

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