UFO - 'The Visitor'

UFO celebrates their 40th anniversary as hosts of a very entertaining seventies/eighties rock party.

There’s no denying when one approaches something with honest intentions, frequently the results come out a pleasant surprise. In UFO’s case, The Visitor is both sincere and satisfying considering a band this far along the curve shouldn’t deliver so much of an impact.

Though hints of a returning Pete Way inadvertently floundered due to health issues, by no means does UFO suffer on The Visitor. No Way and no Schenker? No problem. Vinnie Moore originally stepped into UFO’s hot seat position for their 2002 Sharks album and his familiarity allows him to perform hassle-free. By attrition, The Visitor bears a lot of soul and jerk amidst its groovy rock vibe.

The Visitor gets back to the basics of seventies rock, blues and honky tonk along with modes of the tubular eighties which once gave UFO a hotfoot despite the fan-popular Mechanix. Beginning with the pumping “Saving Me” and ending with the beefy, Deep Purple-esque “Stranger in Town,” The Visitor appeases UFO themselves instead of plying to their audience.

Fortunately UFO’s fans ought to be pleased with The Visitor as Vinnie Moore dials with slick riffs and discerning solos while Andy Mogg, Andy Parker and Paul Raymond blend right in. Cuts such as “Villains & Thieves,” “Rock Ready” and “Hell Driver” are tuneful and twangy, far more vibrant in their booming simplicity than if UFO sought to replicate “Lights Out,” which would assuredly backfire on UFO at this point.

“Living Proof” is a fine example of mature, slinking blues rock, while the quixotic “Can’t Buy a Thrill” would’ve been perfectly settled on a David Lee Roth album of the eighties as much as it would’ve served UFO better then; for good measure Paul Raymond sprinkles on a dash of eighties machina noodling.

Better this comes now at a point when UFO has more to say on the forty mark than midway when they were left for dead.