A few short years ago, after decades on the road and some recent health issues, UFO founder & vocalist Phil Mogg closed the books on the career of the longstanding British hard rock act, and seemingly accepted his entry into retirement. Well, not so fast...suddenly, in 2024, Mogg is back with a new band and a brand new album, the self-titled debut from Moggs Hotel, featuring the talents of Neil Carter (guitar, keyboards, vocals), Tony Newton (bass, guitar), Joe Lazarus (drums), and Tommy Gentry (guitars). Rocking harder than pretty much anything from the latter portion of the UFO catalog (which featured Vinne Moore), and with Phil sounding in fine form vocally, Moggs Motel is a pretty thunderous album, with some spectacular riffing and leads from Gentry and Carter...yes, that Carter, who most of us only thought of as 'the keyboard player' from his stints in UFO and Gary Moore. Right off the bat, the listener gets hit with the crushing 1-2 punch of "Apple Pie" and "Sunny Side of Heaven", the riffs thick and crunchy, the leads blistering, and Phil's vocals as strong as ever. Other standouts include the anthemic "Face of an Angel", the chugging near metal of "Princess Bride", the epic "Other People's Lives", the sizzling blues rock of "Tinker Taylor", and the dark, menacing "Weather". There's also some nice use of female backing vocals throughout which helps flesh out the sound. With 12 songs though, the album is a bit long, and the back half falters a little near the end, but there are easily 8-9 very strong tracks here, and to be honest, It's good to hear Phil Mogg back once again, rocking hard.
Track Listing
1.
Apple Pie 05:26
2.
Sunny Side of Heaven 04:04
3.
Face of an Angel 05:43
4.
I Thought I Knew You 03:59
5.
Princess Bride 05:42
6.
Other People's Lives 05:38
7.
Tinker Taylor 03:49
8.
Weather 04:40
9.
Harry's Place 01:02
10.
The Wrong House 04:24
11.
Shane 04:09
12.
Storyville 04:34
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