UFO - Showtime [3LP Red, White & Blue]

Showtime finds UFO back on a German stage in 2005, firing through three decades of hard rock staples with a lineup that brought fresh energy to the old songs. This reissue comes pressed in red, white and blue vinyl.

The band behind Lights Out and the live classic Strangers in the Night had long been a concert institution, and Showtime captures a lively later chapter of that story. Phil Mogg is in commanding voice, Pete Way and Paul Raymond anchor the classic sound, and American guitarist Vinnie Moore brings a slick, articulate attack to riffs first made famous by Michael Schenker. Behind the kit sits Jason Bonham, son of Led Zeppelin's John Bonham, hitting with real weight.

The setlist leans on the essentials. "Doctor Doctor" still arrives with that instantly recognisable intro and a crowd ready to shout every line, while "Rock Bottom" gives Moore plenty of room to show what he can do. "Lights Out" crackles with menace, and "Mother Mary" swings hard enough to remind everyone why UFO mattered to the heavier bands that followed.

There is a looseness here that studio records rarely capture, the sound of veterans enjoying themselves in front of people who know every word.

For anyone who wore out their old UFO live albums years ago, this makes a welcome late-era companion.