Degenerator!

This recording is deeply flawed, both in sound quality and performance quality. Chapman did an admirable job taking over from Schenker on No Place to Run, and even Wild, Willing, & Innocent had some decent songs. But by this time, the band was running on fumes (high-proof, at that). The result is uninspired, muddy, and downright embarassing at times. Chapman's inability to string together a memorable hook or melody in his awful improvised solos is painful to experience. I remember seeing the band at this time, and even then, at the gullible age of 17, I knew I wasn't seeing a tight group. Pete Way was visibly plastered (when isn't he, I guess?), Chapman and Mogg only marginally less so.

Frankly, this one's forgettable, as was this entire stage of the band. Don't waste your money.

Eagerly awaited

Although I am waiting to get hold of this CD I have a copy of the original 1982 BBC Radio 1 broadcast on tape and it's a great gig (yep I was in the UK pressing the record button on my hifi 21 years ago!). There is a great mix of UFO tracks on it, and I guess it's good quality because the Radio 1 broadcasts back then were too. My copy has Doctor Doctor at the end (and Phil telling the audience to say hello to their mum as they were being recorded for radio), but I gather these are not on the CD. Well it's obvious why they cut out the hello mum bit - they didnt want a reference to a "radio broadcast" on a commercial CD. As to why Doctor Doctor was cut I can't say...

No Longer Strangers

"Strangers in the Night" has long been considered UFO's magnum opus, the peak of the Michael Schenker era. While I will agree that it is a classic live album, I would rather listen to the studio versions of those songs. "Regeneration" is a great companion piece to "Strangers" and the only "official" document of Paul Chapman's tenure with the band (1979-1983, or so). As I have said in my other UFO reviews, I loved the "Tonka" lineup of the band and those four albums were not only their most underated records but also just as classic as their '70's lps. "Regenerator" is a perfect example of why UFO stayed great for so long. New guitarist? No problem. New classics, such as "Long Gone", "Makin' Moves" and "No Place to Run" saddle up cozily next to "Too Hot to Handle" and "Lights Out". I don't understand why some reviews said the performances on this album were sloppy. Sloppy???!!! I think the band sounded in top form on that homecoming night at the Odeon in 1982. Mogg kept feeding a delirious and enthusiastic audience that kept screaming for more. My only beef with this disc is on the song "Only You Can Rock Me", I absolutely hate sing along choruses. People who don't like this record seem to have a biast towards early eighties UFO. Too bad. Move over "Strangers" and share the shelf with an equally rocking showcase of a once great band, at their peak.