Customer Reviews

Regenerator

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Think of Britain's hard-rocking UFO and you'll almost always think of bassist Pete Way, singer Phil Mogg, drummer Andy Parker, keyboadist/rhythmn guitarist/backing singer Paul Raymond and axeman extraordinaire Michael Schenkar. Well, this 1982 concert recording is from a sadly underappreciated later lineup that had Paul 'tonka' Chapman on guitar and Neil Carter on keyboards and rhythmn guitar.

This lineup produced two fine, fine studio recordings (Mechanix and Wild, Willing and Innocent) and as Regenerator proves, certainly was no slouch on stage.

That's what I like about this album: not only is the setlist filled with songs that simply aren't played by today's version of UFO (only 4 of the 12 are from Schenkar-era albums), they're played with typical energetic, raw abandon.

Of course, sound quality is often a problem with UFO live albums. Too often they're made from inferior audience recordings (check out the brutal bonus live CD with the Covenant album). Regenerator may or may not be from an audience tape; most of the time it sounds better than that, but there are a few moments where you wonder. Still, to have a well-designed Chapman-era live package, complete with essay and lots of good pictures, is a serious bonus.

As Owner of many UFO concert recordings, I find this to be one of the best sounding shows of the Paul Chapman era. Sure, the band makes some mistakes and Mogg misses a few notes, but they were definitely having fun and rockin' out on this night! Recorded at Hammersmith Odeon London during the early stages of their "Mechanix" Tour of 1982 this show contains different trax from almost all of the previous UFO albums. A welcome addition to my collection and highly recommended for all other UFO fans out there!

Although I am waiting to get hold of this CD I have a copy of the original 1982 BBC Radio 1 broadcast on tape and it's a great gig (yep I was in the UK pressing the record button on my hifi 21 years ago!). There is a great mix of UFO tracks on it, and I guess it's good quality because the Radio 1 broadcasts back then were too. My copy has Doctor Doctor at the end (and Phil telling the audience to say hello to their mum as they were being recorded for radio), but I gather these are not on the CD. Well it's obvious why they cut out the hello mum bit - they didnt want a reference to a "radio broadcast" on a commercial CD. As to why Doctor Doctor was cut I can't say...

Although the vast majority of UFO fans regard Michael as the seminal UFO lead guitarist, it's hard to overlook the Paul Chapman era for incredible music as well.
The Wild,the Willing and the Innocent is an example of an absolutely Brilliant album from this period.
Regenerator features several tunes from this album as well as other songs rarely found elsewhere. The band sounds great. Phil Mogg misses the odd note here and there but you can hear a real cohesion within the band. One highlight here is the awesome drumming of the incomparable Andy Parker. One of rock's finest
(and overlooked) drummers. He propels the songs on Regenerator with his usual thunderous beat. A good CD to have for Chapman -era tunes. recommended for Mystery Train alone!

UFO are still kings of melodic hard rock. They were
ignored when Schenker left but Paul Chapman proved that he
was worth the job and this live disc shows how powerful and
good they still were! This rocks just as much as Strangers and
and real UFO fan would love it! No Place To Run rocks and if
"the boss" had released it, it would've been a massive hit!
This is a great live album and highly recommended.

This recording is deeply flawed, both in sound quality and performance quality. Chapman did an admirable job taking over from Schenker on No Place to Run, and even Wild, Willing, & Innocent had some decent songs. But by this time, the band was running on fumes (high-proof, at that). The result is uninspired, muddy, and downright embarassing at times. Chapman's inability to string together a memorable hook or melody in his awful improvised solos is painful to experience. I remember seeing the band at this time, and even then, at the gullible age of 17, I knew I wasn't seeing a tight group. Pete Way was visibly plastered (when isn't he, I guess?), Chapman and Mogg only marginally less so.

Frankly, this one's forgettable, as was this entire stage of the band. Don't waste your money.