┌───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │■ ■│ │ .-/ .-. │ │ _.-~ / ___ | ~-._ │ │ \:/ -~| / __/| .\:/ │ │ / || (:/:| \ │ │ / /\/| |:\___\| |\ \ │ │ / /:::|.::/:::/:.|:\ \ │ │ / /:::/ \\/:::/::/:::\ \ │ │ / .::\ \-~~~~-/\/:.. \ │ │ /..:::::\ /:::::..\ │ │ /::::::::- -::::::::\ │ │ \:::::-~ ~-:::::/ │ │ \:-~ ~-:/ │ │ METAL CLASSICS ARCHIVE │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ P R E S E N T S │ │ │ │ │ │ + UFO - Covenant + │ │ │ │ │ │╔═════════════════════╗ │ │║ Release Information ║ │ │╠═════════════════════╩══════════════════════════════════════════╗ │ │║ ║ │ │║ Release Date.Mar-20-2015 Encoder......L3.97 -V2 --vbr-new ║ │ │║ Genre........Hard Rock Graber.......EAC ║ │ │║ Year.........2000 Khz/Bitrate..44,1/ Br ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ Ripper.......anthem Songs........11 ║ │ │║ Covers.......Yes Url... www.ufo-music.info ║ │ │║ ║ │ │╚════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │╔═════════════════════╗ │ │║ Release Notes ║ │ │╠═════════════════════╩══════════════════════════════════════════╗ │ │║ ║ │ │║ Artist : UFO Rating : You Decide! ║ │ │║ Album : Covenant Label : SPV ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ ║ │ │╠════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣ │ │║ ║ │ │║ Description : ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ Speaking about UFO is certainly a synonym of ║ │ │║ talking about guitarist Michael Schenker. A ║ │ │║ guitar player that, without being one of those ║ │ │║ heroes of the continuous extraterrestrial ║ │ │║ pretension like Joe Satriani or Steve Vai, has ║ │ │║ got a very good reputation and respect due to ║ │ │║ all these years of powerful and hard classic ║ │ │║ guitar style, which is focused in two different ║ │ │║ bands that Michael has used to give life and ║ │ │║ create different approaches caused by unique and ║ │ │║ open musical character. There are some musicians ║ │ │║ who have just too many ideas considered for ║ │ │║ various different bands at the same time, or in ║ │ │║ this particular case, for changing his projects ║ │ │║ constantly like Ritchie Blackmore, a talented ║ │ │║ musician who could not stay only in one band ║ │ │║ like Deep Purple and had to create other bands ║ │ │║ like the fantastic Rainbow, and later in the ║ │ │║ nineties, something completely different from ║ │ │║ that band and still interesting as Blackmore's ║ │ │║ Night. ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ The band with whom Michael has always shared his ║ │ │║ talent has been (and still is) Scorpions. A ║ │ │║ group in which he has shown a harder side and ║ │ │║ that took advantage of one of the greatest times ║ │ │║ for heavy metal, the early eighties, when they ║ │ │║ reached a lot of people and got some ║ │ │║ extraordinary sales with ôhitsö that became ║ │ │║ hymns like "Still loving you". But the group ║ │ │║ went down quickly during the second half of the ║ │ │║ eighties and throughout the nineties, a time ║ │ │║ when they began to publish some mediocre works ║ │ │║ for a more reduced (but also more radical and ║ │ │║ demanding) heavy metal who were hypnotized by ║ │ │║ people like Metallica. ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ Anyway the most interesting time for UFO, to my ║ │ │║ point of view, is that of the albums that came ║ │ │║ out in the second half of the seventies. It is ║ │ │║ true that the first works are those that sound ║ │ │║ more powerful and fresh with any group or solo ║ │ │║ composer, and in this case it is completely ║ │ │║ certain. "Phenomenon", "Not heavy pettin", ║ │ │║ "Lights out", or "Obsession" are all records ║ │ │║ with a great quality, in which Schenker shows ║ │ │║ with his band that hard-rock style based on an ║ │ │║ impressive and attractive rhythm and blues with ║ │ │║ songs like "Doctor, doctor", "Love to love", ║ │ │║ "Lights out", "Out in the streets", "Only you ║ │ │║ dog rock me", that produced an extraordinary ║ │ │║ result, as the whole work turned out to be in ║ │ │║ one of the best live albums in seventies rock ║ │ │║ and roll: "Strangers in the night", a record ║ │ │║ that shows all their power. It includes Phil ║ │ │║ Mogg on the vocals and Pete Way on bass guitar. ║ │ │║ The truth is that, Michael Schenker and the rest ║ │ │║ of his band are certainly at their best on ║ │ │║ stage; they display a great force while playing ║ │ │║ live. A band that gets even better in concert. ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ A bit after "Strangers in the night", Schenker ║ │ │║ left the band, causing immediately its break up, ║ │ │║ all that due to problems with drugs. In the ║ │ │║ eighties there were various reunion attempts, ║ │ │║ but the results were practically disappointing. ║ │ │║ It was during the nineties that the band seemed ║ │ │║ to come back to work and they published some ║ │ │║ interesting albums once more, like "Walk on ║ │ │║ water" (1993) and, finally, after some ║ │ │║ hesitations form the famous guitar player, they ║ │ │║ returned with "Covenant". A fantastic double CD, ║ │ │║ with a whole disc including only new songs whose ║ │ │║ sound still are that of the traditional UFO, and ║ │ │║ a second live disc that includes some of their ║ │ │║ best works during the bandÆs different periods. ║ │ │║ A perfect album that proves what I said before ║ │ │║ about their great quality on stage. ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ "Love is forever" (4:22) and "Unraveled" (4:16) ║ │ │║ are the first two pieces and have a unique, 100% ║ │ │║ original sound, full of hot "riffs" that can ║ │ │║ incite you to move all your body and sing a ║ │ │║ catching refrain with a great "feeling" and high ║ │ │║ quality rock and roll. The rhythm section is ║ │ │║ spectacular and gives the music an extraordinary ║ │ │║ projection. And it means that I have always ║ │ │║ believed that UFOÆs sound had something that ║ │ │║ reminded of The Who. It is probably due to the ║ │ │║ rhythmic section, that there are those ║ │ │║ similarities with the famous rhythms created by ║ │ │║ Moon and Entwhistle that sounded as if it were a ║ │ │║ band with 25 musicians. The album goes on, ║ │ │║ oscillating between some quick and powerful ║ │ │║ pieces and more relaxing themes like "Miss the ║ │ │║ Lights" (4:43), that is something in between and ║ │ │║ has some of the best guitar parts you can find ║ │ │║ on a record with an extraordinary Schenker. ║ │ │║ "Midnight Train" (4:55) is pure dynamite, a ║ │ │║ quick, aggressive and exciting track of an ║ │ │║ American-like sound, and it is amazing that, ║ │ │║ having such a star like this German guitarist, ║ │ │║ the music sounds completely Yankee. "Fools Gold" ║ │ │║ (5:35) is a bit tricky because it begins as a ║ │ │║ ballad and suddenly becomes more spectacular. ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ There are not that many big changes in songs ║ │ │║ like "The middle of madness" (3:47) or "Smell of ║ │ │║ money" (3:42) that continue with this lesson ║ │ │║ about powerful and controlled hard-rock well ║ │ │║ played. In "Rise again" (4:27) they use vocals ║ │ │║ and play with them in a beautiful refrain with ║ │ │║ keyboard parts that, even though are softly ║ │ │║ heard through the whole record, are finally ║ │ │║ heard clearly. The following track, "Serenade" ║ │ │║ (4:58) is very similar, elegant, with exquisite ║ │ │║ counterpoints and a direct and clean melody. ║ │ │║ "Cowboy Joe" (4:13) and "The world and his dog" ║ │ │║ (3:34) close the list of pieces in studio. They ║ │ │║ are definitely the tracks that come closer to ║ │ │║ heavy metal, a bit of Scorpions maybe?. A CD ║ │ │║ full of good music made by excellent musicians. ║ │ │║ Although, (and now we will place a little ║ │ │║ critic) it seems that the musiciansÆ energy is ║ │ │║ gone right in the middle of the album. The first ║ │ │║ themes are the most spectacular and brilliant ║ │ │║ ones. It may be a bit long, it could have been ║ │ │║ better if they had removed two or three songs, ║ │ │║ even though it is a very good record. ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ On the "live bootleg" CD we find a brief summary ║ │ │║ of the groupÆs career that includes seven songs ║ │ │║ from their most successful and healthy period as ║ │ │║ well as some lesser known ones. "Let it roll", ║ │ │║ "Out in the streets" & "Love to love" are a ║ │ │║ sample of what made them great back in the ║ │ │║ seventies; songs that had a great commercial ║ │ │║ success and an extraordinary acceptance; pieces ║ │ │║ that now seem to be out-of-fashion for an ║ │ │║ audience that has got used to listening to ║ │ │║ things that destroy the headphones and whose ║ │ │║ spectacular side resides in the one who breaks ║ │ │║ the strings of the guitar before. UFO have spent ║ │ │║ their time (and they still spend it) doing music ║ │ │║ of high quality, based on rock and hard roll in ║ │ │║ a pure American style, a direct and very ║ │ │║ effective style. "Mother Mary", "This Kids" and ║ │ │║ "Venus" are also amazing in this live album, ║ │ │║ though it was not recorded with the same ║ │ │║ enthusiasm as "Strangers in the night", the ║ │ │║ sound could have been better, but I think it was ║ │ │║ not their purpose to publish another super live ║ │ │║ album, but completing a good CD of songs ║ │ │║ recorded in studio with an extra gift. ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ My goodness, but if this album is not even ║ │ │║ progressive at all!!. should I have written all ║ │ │║ that?. Of course! and I personally recommend it ║ │ │║ to you. And I do that because I think that a ║ │ │║ good prog-head should enjoy, or at least ║ │ │║ recognize, the quality of good music, wherever ║ │ │║ it comes from. Yes, I already know that the ║ │ │║ progressive fan is someone special and different ║ │ │║ from the others, but if you have a look at the ║ │ │║ Patrick MorazÆs interview that our founder did ║ │ │║ some weeks ago, you will find a sentence that he ║ │ │║ said: "music is music and in a reverse way music ║ │ │║ is still music". ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ ║ │ │╚════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │╔═════════════════════╗ │ │║ Release Tracklist ║ │ │╚═════════════════════╩══════════════════════════════════════════ │ │ │ │ 01 - Love Is Forever [04:22] │ │ 02 - Unraveled [04:16] │ │ 03 - Miss The Lights [04:43] │ │ 04 - Midnight Train [04:56] │ │ 05 - Fool's Gold [05:36] │ │ 06 - In The Middle Of Madness [03:48] │ │ 07 - The Smell Of Money [03:44] │ │ 08 - Rise Again [04:30] │ │ 09 - Serenade [05:01] │ │ 10 - Cowboy Joe [04:13] │ │ 11 - The World And His Dog [03:35] │ │ │ │ Total Length : [48:44 minn │ │ │ │ │ │ ▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ ╔═════════════════════╗ │ │ ║ Greetings To: ║ │ │ ╚═════════════════════╝ │ │ │ │ Too all people who contributes to make this │ │ archive of good music in a exceptional conditions │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │■ ■│ └───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘