A fascinating and personal retrospective from long-time UFO man Paul Raymond celebrating his remarkable 50 years in the rock music business. Featuring re-workings of some of the best songs he’s written over the decades with the likes of Savoy Brown, Chicken Shack, Michael Schenker Group, his own solo career and of course UFO. On top of that there is some previously unreleased stuff from a project with terry Reid which didn’t get off the ground.
You may have trouble getting your hands on it. Paul financed the project via a Pledge Music crowdfunding campaign which is where I obtained my copy from. I understand there are plans for a conventional release in the future perhaps.
Paul is an unheralded songwriter. Never the frontman over the last 50 years, if you are familiar with his UFO work you’ll know he’s the guy stage right usually bigging up the sound with essential keys and a chugging rhythm guitar. An essential part of the mix. He can and does write top notch stuff too as ably demonstrated here with this collection.
You’ll love it if you’re a fan. If you’re not it’ll turn you in to one and show you the long-lived talents of a geezer who has been there, done it then come back to do it all again with some of the biggest names in rock.
A couple of his UFO tunes start us off. Revamped versions of The Fear (titled here as Unfinished Business) and then Sympathy from You Are Here. Nice and bluesy, rocking along too quite deftly.
Scream Blue Murder from his solo Paul Raymond Project Man on a Mission is next to get a revamp before we have a previously unpublished song which Paul wrote for the same album but not using it. It rocks too. Not a million miles from classic UFO/MSG and one hopes if Paul has more stashed away somewhere they might see the light as another PRP album. How about it Mr Raymond?
Next we go back in time to his brief period with Waysted (All Belongs to You) then another great surprise with The Sky and You – a quit magical collaboration with the great Terry Reid showing more virtuosity and class to the Raymond song writing craft.
My favourite MSG album is their self-titled second one. My favourite song on that album is Never Trust a Stranger. Bit of an epic. Well, Paul wrote that too and here it is given the treatment. A more bluesy soulful arrangement then anyone who owns Obsession with instantly recognise Looking’ Out for Number 1.
Twice Nightly is another previously unpublished. A little bit pub rock and a lot of fun. I’d say it’s Cherry-esque sort of. Listen to the lyrics and you’ll see…..single material even.
The closing three to get the works take us all the way back to the 1960s and it’s all top, top stuff given a fresh sound.
A remarkable retrospective from a remarkable (and often unheralded) musician/songwriter. Such a long and varied career which, since the early 1970s has always seen Paul get drawn back to UFO time again. The liner notes give a paragraph or two about each song. Reading them is like an abridged autobiography.
A great listen for this log-time UFO fan. And with a handful of dates upcoming plus a new UFO album and tour in Spring 2015 there’s much more to look forward to. Top marks Mr. Raymond, top marks indeed.
Oh – and I do recommend you check out Paul’s web site – http://www.paulraymond.info – and browse the discography section. Very entertaining.