Vol 1 The Live Files
X-UFO
2011 / X-Music
70 minutes
Review by Michael Debbage
Listening to these epic UFO songs delivered by artists that have either directly or indirectly been part of UFO's rich rock and roll heritage is a blast. Founded by former UFO keyboard player Danny Peyronel from the 1976 No Heavy Petting album, guitarist Laurence Archer and drummer Clive Edwards from the 1992 UFO release High Stakes & Dangerous Men also came on board. They were also featured on the live album Lights Out In Tokyo. The band is rounded out with bass player Rocky Newton who never appeared in a UFO line up but was a significant player in the McAuley Schenker Group which of course featured the brilliant but erratic former UFO guitarist Michael Schenker.
Thus the name X-UFO is fully justified and warranted with their touring transforming to a commitment to tape via their 2011 album titled Vol 1 The Live Files. The focus is on the classic UFO era however, a few songs are taken from the High Stakes & Dangerous Men album and they sit very comfortably alongside the epics most notably “Rock Bottom and “Doctor Doctor”. The title suggests that this may not be just a one off effort and recent activity certainly suggests that this is an appropriate conclusion. This is a solid introduction to a band that could create an album of more than mere covers. And based on the material present exploring this option should certainly be a high priority.
April 4, 2012