UFO

Covenant

UFO still got the magic touch

Review Score:

(8/10)
Most UFO fans were thrilled with the excellent "Walk on water", and the reunion of the classic line up seemed like a prayer that had been answered. Phil Mogg and Michael Schenker have not been the best of friends over the years but they sure have a certain chemistry that creates magic. Some people believe that "Covenant" (2000) is not a worthy album and that it sounds like the songs are left-overs from the "Walk on water" sessions. That is so wrong!

As the opening "Love is forever" kicks off, there's no doubt what-so-ever that UFO have done it again. The blend of the hard and heavy with the soft and melodic shows song writing and performance in absolute world class. With "Unraveled", UFO give us a modern approach with influences from vintage classics like "Mother Mary" and "Natural thing". Both "Miss the lights" and "Midnight train" are strong rocker that bare resemblance to early UFO. "Fool's gold" is a song that starts as an average ballad but develops into a steamy rocker with a very good chorus, while "In the middle of madness" is a melodic piece and maybe the album's most catchy tune. "The smell of money" is another track that combines the fast and furious with the slow, while "Rise again" sadly not thrill me in any way and is perhaps the album's low mark. In "Serenade", Mogg & Co have managed to write another original song that sure has an very appealing and moving approach and this number is clearly one of the album's highlights. "Cowboy Joe" is average UFO, and the closing "The world and his dog" can not be considered as one of one UFO's finer moments. Maybe this album is not equally great as "Walk on water", but to say that it contains of left over material is not fair. I think this is a strong UFO album and in comparison to other rock acts it's without doubt a pleasant encounter.

The second disc is a live set of seven tunes, and if the chosen tracks are best choices might be discussed. The sound is a bit thin, and since I usually have a hard time seeing the purpose of live albums I do not get particularly excited. The song listing on the cover is out of order and that's disturbing.

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