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UFO. The no frills, hard-rocking English act that gave us gems like Too Hot To Handle and Lights Out, releases a brand new set of tracks after more than three decades together. A large lot of you would not call anything without guitar god Michael Schenker, UFO; and, believe me, I understand. One of the first things that comes to mind when someone says UFO to me, isn't Roswell, or even E.T., ...its Michael Schenker. The power shredder is missing on this new set, and it really is quite evident.

If you can't get Michael Schenker to do the album, who do you call? Well, former members Pete Way, Phil Mogg, and Paul Raymond gave virtuoso Vinnie Moore a ring. Definitely not a bad choice, but it's just not Schenker. That raucous, but beautifully rhythmic style; the brutally raw licks, followed sweetly by a gentle touch; that's only one thing this record lacks. Make no mistake, I'm not saying that if the guys had Michael in the mix here they would have a great record. They did a record called "Sharks" a few years back, in which Schenker did play on, and it was really nothing special. It was great guitar work, surrounded by mediocre songwriting. For this set, I think we get a kind of "double whammy". Most of these songs are average at best, with a great guitar player just playing his chart. You get the feeling that Vinnie Moore is taking a bit of a stroll here. I'm reminded of Steve Vai's brief stint with Whitesnake, and his performance on their Slip Of The Tongue record. Even with his amazingly distinctive sound and style, you couldn't tell Vai was the guitarist, it could have been anyone. This is a similar situation with Vinnie Moore sounding like just a hired hand playing what was put in front of him. They are decent pieces, but nothing memorable or inventive.
Next question: If you can't get former drummer Andy Parker to do the record, who do you call? Well, the boys gave "the prodigal son" Jason Bonham a jingle. Again, not a bad choice. I would even say that this choice yielded much more fruit to the feast. You know it's not Andy Parker. Jason plays his own style, with his sharp snare sound and incessant cymbal work, this is a fresh new drum sound for the group; not necessarily a better sound, just a new sound.

Whenever a band puts their best efforts as their first tracks, I just get the feeling that they were lacking for material. Whether this is true or factual, I don't know, but that's the case here. When Daylight Goes To Town is a simple, well written rocker with a solid guitar part and worthy contributions all around. We even get to hear Jason Bonham chime in on backing vocals. Nice stuff.
All the best tracks rise to the top of the set list here. The next track, Black Cold Coffee is a furious, rumbling track that is definitely one of the highlights of the record. After that we get three more tracks that rock steady, and are slightly better than the average. It's when we get to the center of the record that it starts to suffer. With Slipping Away sounding like they stole it from Def Leppard's smelly locker, it's just not what we come to expect from our beloved UFO. Sympathy or Baby Blue are better attempts at a ballad, but still just average at best. Yeah, I know, too many ballad attempts, ...I agree. We are treated to what I think is the best track on the record, here in the second half, though. Mr. Freeze is old school UFO. This is really a magical track. Something came over the entire band on this one. Check out the jaw-dropping guitar solo on this one. You could put this one on the Lights Out or Obsession lp's, and it would not sound out of place really.
The musicianship is great in this band. These are some of the best players rock music has to offer, without a doubt. I think the songwriting is what's lacking here. These songs are average at best. With Phil Mogg sounding as great as ever though, he gives the hapless tracks enough spark to leave them bearable.

All in all, I get about six keepers out of twelve here. Six was half of twelve when I was in school, and five was half of ten, so .....it only makes sense....

OVERALL RATING: 5 (1-10 scale)
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I tend to not like much new rock. But this UFO disc that came out in 2004 rocks. I go back to the UFO from the late 70s and 80s. "Too Hot to Handle", etc. But this disc kicks. You wouldn't find an A&R man in the US OK'ing this CD (because it sounds "too 80s"), but leave it to the Germans to produce this. It has the classic vocals of Phil Mogg and the bass of Pete Way, with enough new blood of Jason Bonham and Vinnie Moore to give it some great energy. The tone is tight and contemporary. But the grooves are very tight. Allot of riffing, ala 70's and 80's hard rock (That is a compliment). I listened to this disc while on a 4 hour road trip to Omaha. And was impressed with every song. From my perspective this is classic UFO. UFO was "British Metal" before the term existed. A great band, along with Bad Company and Thin Lizzy, that came out in the 70s. Check this disc out, then go back and explore some of the older UFO from their library. "Lights Out", "Too Hot to Handle", "Rock Bottom", etc.

From www.MaximumMetal.com

Legendary rockers U.F.O. have returned with a kicking piece of rock and roll for the world to enjoy. Singer Phil Mogg still has one of the more pure voices in rock music and he has held up over the years quite well. Some of the CD reminded me a little more of Bad Company style than that of earlier UFO, yet this is not a bad comparison to hold.

Membership has changed in UFO over the years. While this band once had the provincial Michael Schenker on lead guitar, it now is the home for Vinnie Moore who's style and speed are a welcome addition to the band. On the drums is Jason (son of the Legendary John) Bonham. I feel he plays some of his best drumming on the piece. Nice and solid throughout. Original members Pete Way (bass) and Paul Raymond (keyboards) comprise the rest of the lineup and touring structure. However the USA Fans would see Barry Sparks playing bass on the shows due to VISA issues that were faced by Way at the onset of the visit to these shores.

Numbers of note on the CD right away to me are "Black Cold Coffee" (fast and hard rock filled piece), "Daylight Goes To Town" (a good radio single if they tried one), "Mr Freeze" (nice work in it and feel). There is also a semi-power ballad called "Baby Blue". Quite honestly as far as rock records go the whole piece is a constant when it comes to listening to it. There are no tracks that you will find yourself skipping to get to the next at all. I feel this is always a good thing. I recommend this piece for the die-hards and new fans as well.

This is a really cool CD. You should definitely give it a listen. I am a huge fan of UFO, Michael Schenker and Vinnie Moore so this is a great line up for me. Jason Bonham adds something cool to the band also. A little more energy. Vinnie is the ultimate guitar player. He is the perfect combination of feel, taste, and technique and I doubt that anyone else could have fit into this band so well. I am a bit surprised by some of the comparisons of Vinnie and Michael in these reviews. Michael is Michael of course but Vinnie is altogether on another level as a musician. Check out THE MAZE and DEFYING GRAVITY to see what I mean. It's true that no one no matter how great, can step into someone elses shoes and replace them. So I can see how people could say things like "it's not Schenker". But, if you reverse the situation, as a guitarist who has learned a lot from both these guys, I tell you that Schenker could never replace Vinnie either. Honestly, he doesn't have the ability to play like Vinnie and doesn't have the musical diversity. They are both great in their own ways though. I am just happy that UFO got someone so talented and who fits in with the band so well. I have been less than thrilled with some of the other guitarists in UFO and Phil's other projects. I think with Jason and Vinnie, and Paul back in the band, this is the most exciting UFO has been in quite some time. Phil's vocals sound better and a lot of the lyrics are really cool. I think the band is once again at the top of their game. It's worth a listen.

I have been a fan of UFO for about 17 years. Great individual players does not a great CD make. And this CD is rather boring. The best song is the first. The music isn't memorable enough and the lyrics are sadly lacking this time around. Just telling it like it is. Let others indulge in hero worship. Let's hope for better next time around.

I'm a huge UFO fan. For several months I kept anxiously waiting for this release, especially because of the "new blood" that UFO was badly lacking and that looked so promising this time around.

Jason Bonham is the best addition the band has had in ages. His contribution makes quite a difference. Jason's style, attitude and sound fit perfectly with UFO (I hope he stays with the band for a long time!). Vinnie Moore has always struck me as a great guitarist, although playing a very different style from UFO's. Thus I was wary he was gonna be shreading it all over (like George Bellas did in Moog/Way). Fortunately, he does play in a more melodic, soulful and musical way. UFO's music does not require lightning fast guitar playing all the time, and Vinnie understood this.

And here I am still trying to hear something trully GREAT in "You Are Here", like only UFO can do it, but I still can't find something exceptional. I was dissapointed by the songwriting, not the musicianship. All the songs (except Jello Man) are very good, but not a single one where I can honestly say "great". As it happened in several songs in this CD, Moore recycled his riffs from his solo albums, but why did choose his worst one and use it for Jello Man?

The great thing about "You Are Here" is that the sound is absolutely amazing, very loud and powerful yet crisp and clear. Very well engineered by meister Tommy Newton (Elegy, Helloween). The low tones are huge. Finally UFO feels and sounds like a band without internal turmoil and bad attitude (would this be ever be possible?). Phil Mogg's voice is in great shape and emotional. Pete Way is brilliant, as always. Paul Raymond is necessary in the equation, but his participation is very subtle and subdued.

For UFO's high quality standards, I rate "You Are Here" 7/10. I hate to admit it, but this was not the great CD I was expecting. I guess my expectations of a future GREAT UFO CD will never be fulfiled after all, which I find very sad.

I saw UFO a few months back in Santa Cruz, and was reminded of what a great band they are (and pleasantly surprised that they were top notch live). Since then, I've been buying their back catalog on CD. I just got this one a few days ago, and I'm very impressed. It's NOT something just to fill a gap in my collection, but a CD I'll listen to a lot in years to come.

I'm not one of those reviewers who seem to have aspirations for securing a gig as a music critic, so I'll be brief. I think this CD matches "Lights Out" and "Obsession," the two albums frequently cited as UFO's best. It's a lot different and clearly bears the mark of Vinnie Moore, but that's a good mark. It's a solid hard rock album, great guitar, riffs, and the always strong voice of Phil Mogg. You won't go wrong buying it.

This is a superb album - of the 400 or so albums in my collection, I often reach for this one. When Daylight Comes to Town is a superb opener. Cold Black Coffee loses some of the melody, but none of the guitar mastery from Vinnie Moore. Track three is ansolutely superb - Wild One brings in both a superb opening riff and wonderful melodic soloing from Moore. Give it Up has a brilliant groove - Mogg's vocals are really up to par on this album. He is a delight to listen to. Call Me is another very strong track - Moore's octave-interval riffing on this and on Slipping Away is wonderful. Slipping Away deserves a special mention. It has to be one of the best ever UFO tracks, and has a wonderful ethereal quiet melodic guitar part in the middle which takes you into a world of imagination - it reminded me of the film The Beach of all things, and would have fitted well on that sound track. Spark that is Us continues the trippy feel - Moore does wonderful little melodic touches throughout. Sympathy is a superb ballad - Mogg and Moore go together excellently. Mr Freeze has one of my all-time favorite mid-sections - quiet melodic break, powerful riff coming in, then overlain by blistering but tasteful shred. Very powerful - one of rock's all-time great moments in my view. Jelloman retains the strong vocal parts - though I'm a little less keen on the chorus. Baby Blue is a superb song - a lovely slower ballad. Swallow rounds off the album very well with more great vocals with Vinnie's trademark riffing and high melodic parts.

It is not true to say that UFO are only good with Schenker. This common misconception completely overlooks Mogg's ability to bring out the best in his guitarists. What is perhaps true is that UFO were at their very best with Schenker's tortured genius complimenting Mogg's world-class song-writing ability. But what is also true is that UFO albums immediately post-Schenker tend to be superb as well, but then tail off. Thus, after Strangers in the Night, which was superb, No Place to Run was also actually superb. Similarly, after Sharks, which is superb, You Are Here is also superb. After No Place to Run and You Are Here, though, standards kind of remained high for The Wild, The Willing and the Innocent and for The Monkey Puzzle - but I suspect that in both the seeds of a downward trend are evident. This need not remain the case however - as the follow-up to Monkey Puzzle hasn't been released yet! You Are Here, though, follows the 'immediately post-Schenker' pattern of being superb. Definitely get it!

You know, I really must be bored tonight, because I have read every review of this cd. I bought this cd about a week ago and I really enjoy it. I have been listening to UFO since the late 70's ( I am 42). I used to think Michael Schenker was a God, and I still think he is ONE INCREDIBLE guitar player! I still think he rocks, to be quite honest (and I know he has been through quite a bit lately, personally), but that aside, Vinnie Moore really put his stamp on this cd. He realized who he was going to be compared to and did a GREAT JOB of channeling MS and made a great piece of work. I really don't understand the bad reviews. I know it is just a matter of opinion. Listen to this cd a few times. It really rocks!! I saw Vinnie Moore in a night club one time and, believe me, he held back big time for the SPIRIT of UFO on this cd. Great job guys. I really think this is one of my favorite cd's this year ( I know it was released about two years ago).

This album rocks. Moog and Way haven't lost a thing. It's
good to see Paul Raymond back! hope he stays. I was a little
surprise when I saw Vinnie Moore playing but was not in the
least upset after listening. I can't stop! Mr. Freeze and
Cold BLack Coffee are classics. The rest of the album is
also a killer. If you have or haven't heard UFO before,
you should get this NOW!