Remarkably holding together without a single lineup change ever since their debut in 1980, at the time of the release of this album in 2008, UB40 had suddenly lost two of their eight founding members. Singer Ali Campbell announced he was leaving in January & keyboardist Michael Virtue followed soon after. What exactly caused the split remained in dispute between the band & its ex-members, but there remains the fact that UB40 would now have to master this new situation. Coincidence or not, th ...

UB40 was the first indication that the band was abandoning the political inclinations of their earlier work & concentrating solely on pop-reggae. Of course, pop informed all of their albums since Labour of Love, but on UB40, the group concentrates solely on the grooves, from the instrumental " Dance with the Devil" to a sultry cover of " Breakfast in Bed, featuring Chrissie Hynde on vocals. Even though the album & all of its mellow grooves are thoroughly enjoyable, it's hard not to long for s ...

The British version of The Very Best of UB40 1980-2000 offers a large collection of songs that are often associated with the group (" Red Red Wine") & many that later-period fans may not be familiar with. Although the album may not be complete, there is enough quality material to make this an excellent way for casual fans to buy much of the essential tracks from the b&. [ This disc has little in common with the American release that shares the same title.] ~ Bradley Torreano, AMG ...

The first studio recording after the departure of guitarist Michael Schenker, No Place to Run, with its midtempo guitar rock, bore much more of a resemblance to '70s rockers like Bad Company than the coming NWOBHM. Fellow Brits like Def Leppard were cultivating a similar but much more exciting brand of simple, angular hard rock built for the millions of AC/DC-loving Americans, while UFO seemed to be chasing their stylistic tail. Tracks like " This Fire Burns Tonight" call to mind Jackson Brown-st ...

The first two albums by UFO featured an odd mix of crisp, focussed songs alternating with meandering electric guitar-led soundscapes. Flying starts off with perhaps their best of the former category, Silver Bird. This story of a primitive islander seeing an airplane for the first time begins with a pleasant little acoustic guitar melody & builds into a soaring full-band musical expression of the wonder of flight. The next cut, all 19 minutes of it, conjures up the vaster expanses of space. T ...

UFO: Paul Raymond (vocals, guitar, keyboards); Phil Mogg (vocals); Michael Schenker (guitar); Pete Way (bass); Andy Parker (drums). Producer: Ron Nevison. Reissue producer: David K. Tedds. Recorded live at The Amphitheatre, Chicago, Illinois; The Gardens, Louisville, Kentucky & in Youngstown, Ohio.

Includes:: liner notes by Jon Sutherl&. Digitally remastered by Bob Norberg (Capitol Mastering). One of the premier live rock albums of the '70s, STRANGERS features a band at its peak performing all

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Recorded on a shoestring budget, UFO has several challenging sonic moments. The uneven mixes & amateur performances that some listeners might find quaint or innocent could be distracting to others. In their pre-Michael Schenker days, the British band made a much more experimental noise that reflected psychedelic as well as R&B influences pitched with a dark resonance. This swirling mish-mosh barely suggests the early British metal of the group's commercial pinnacle that was still years off whe ...