ULI JON ROTH - Legends Of Rock

14 songs
86:48 minutes
****
Steamhammer / SPV

Bandpage

Legends Of Rock is a projected started by German guitarist Uli Jon Roth (formerly member of German hard rock legend Scorpions). He and some other oldish rock legends will do gigs where they play mostly songs from their former bands and some other material.

This double CD has been recorded live at Castle Donington, and is featuring Cream's Jack Bruce and UFO's Michael Schenker, Phil Mogg and Pete Way. From there on, it's easy to guess how this record works: Roth is showcasing some of his fine solos, especially on the Spanish work Aranjuez he's showing his amazing talent at classical music. In between you get blocks of Cream songs (Sunshine Of Your Love, White Room, Spoonful), U.F.O songs (Let It Roll, Rock Bottom, Midnight Train, Doctor Doctor), and even two renditions of Jimi Hendrix: Little Wing and All Along The Watchtower. Even though the latter is originally by Bob Dylan, you will hear that this version is meant to be a tribute to Hendrix.

The album is finally ended with a 10-minutes-long guitar jam session. While Roth's and Schenker's guitar twin solos work great on Let It Roll, for instance, the album is losing momentum especially on the second disk. Too many solos, too little focus, and the sure knowledge that you can buy better albums from their original bands. This way, this is still an interesting album for completists (also available on DVD), but I - as somebody more interested in modern rock sounds - had a hard time getting through these nearly 90 minutes of retro music.