The UFO Discography And Listening Party Thread

[Podaar]

Phil is like the Bruce Springsteen of British hard rock.

I'm sure this was meant as a compliment, but to me this is exactly the same as saying Garth Brooks is the Paul Stanley of Country Music.


Okay, I took one for the team and listened to Mechanix. Next.

[TAC]

Okay, I took one for the team and listened to Mechanix. Next.

 

You may be taking one for the team with the next album too.


And with Misdemeanor, you'll need an open mind. Half of the album is excellent. But then again, half of Mechanix is excellent too.

[Podaar]

But then again, half of Mechanix is excellent too.

For me, that's the problem. There was something to admire in most of the songs on Mechanix, but then there was just as much in the very same songs that was gag inducing. I can accept albums that have good songs and bad songs, but albums where only one song can make it all the way through without sucking (Terri).

God, I'm starting to sound like TAC now. 

[TAC]

Both Pete Way and Neil Carter mention that Phil had a fascination with Bruce Springsteen.

But then again, half of Mechanix is excellent too.

For me, that's the problem. There was something to admire in most of the songs on Mechanix, but then there was just as much in the very same songs that was gag inducing. I can accept albums that have good songs and bad songs, but albums where only one song can make it all the way through without sucking (Terri).

Doing It All For You and Dreaming are both awesome!!!!

[TAC]

God, I'm starting to sound like TAC now.

Not that there's anything wrong with that...

[Podaar]

Doing It All For You and Dreaming are both awesome!!!!

I'll concede on Dreaming, but not on Doing It All For You. I've never been so glad of a Flomax commercial on Spotify in my life.

[TAC]

Sounds like a great ad campaign!

[LudwigVan]

I’ll be honest, starting with Mechanix, the UFO output just seems like one big blur for me. Sorta like Tull did starting with Under Wraps. That live video of We Belong to the Night that I caught on YouTube rocked my Sox off though.

[wolfking]

Wow, lot's of discussions with this one.  I'll give this a spin today.  Interesting all the comments on Chapman's leads too.  Look forward to It.

[TAC]

I’ll be honest, starting with Mechanix, the UFO output just seems like one big blur for me. Sorta like Tull did starting with Under Wraps. That live video of We Belong to the Night that I caught on YouTube rocked my Sox off though.

In fairness, UFO would be a blur for the next 10+ years. You're not the only one.

I think the live material from the Mechanix tour is mostly pretty solid. But the band was basically cooked, even though they squeaked out Making Contact.

But give everything up through the Schenker Reunion a chance. Misdemeanor has some great tunes, as does High Stakes. In fact, High Stakes has a Top 10 UFO track for me.

[TAC]

Wow, lot's of discussions with this one.  I'll give this a spin today.  Interesting all the comments on Chapman's leads too.  Look forward to It.

Looking forward to it!

[Lowdz]

Love Misdemeanor, at least most of it. Never heard High Stakes...

[TAC]

Never heard High Stakes...

I actually think you'd like it. Has Laurence Archer on guitar and Clive Edwards on drums.

[Lowdz]

Looking forward to it.

I’ve just found out Saxon made some great albums after I stopped listening to them so even more joys to come 😀

[TAC]

I’ve just found out Saxon made some great albums after I stopped listening to them so even more joys to come 😀

Saxon Listening Party!!

[wolfking]

I’ve just found out Saxon made some great albums after I stopped listening to them so even more joys to come 😀

Saxon Listening Party!!

I'm in.

[TAC]

 


I am planning my next thread...and that ain't it. 

[wolfking]

Listening to a few songs early on from Mechanix this morning.  Don't remember much but early thoughts;

The Writer: great riff.  I notice right away the production is a lot better than the last two.  Great song and I really enjoyed the horns at the end.

Something Else: I just never understood bands doing covers and having them on the actual album.  Let alone the second song.  Nothing wrong with this actually.

Back Into My Life:  Didn't like where the album was heading with this track.  It's fine but not my style.  Probably needs another listen or two.

You'll Get Love: Nice moody rocker.  This is a bit more like it.  Great atmosphere.

Doing it All For You: Another really nice song.  Great solo section.  Great mood.

We Belong To the Night:  I liked this one.  Simple great rocker.

I'll add more thoughts with more listens when the songs get a bit familiar.  Some of the songs I hear the Pear Jam vibe again.  Really strong vibe that I can't shake.

[wolfking]

I am planning my next thread...and that ain't it. 

Winger first.  Fair enough too.

[TAC]

[TAC]

Back Into My Life:  Didn't like where the album was heading with this track.  It's fine but not my style.  Probably needs another listen or two.

Doing it All For You: Another really nice song.  Great solo section.  Great mood.

These are two of my favorite Chapman Era songs. Back Into My life has a great ambiance. If you listen to the lyrics along with the music behind it, it really paints a vivid visual. "Night turns to day"...that's a great part.

  Some of the songs I hear the Pear Jam vibe again.  Really strong vibe that I can't shake.

Kade, at some point in this thread, I would really like you to cite some Pearl Jam tracks. Not to put you on the spot, but this genuinely interests me. Pearl Jam is a band I respect the hell out of, but I just can't listen to them for extended periods of time. I'm really not familiar with their catalog. I bought their first album, but never followed up with them.

[devieira73]

Something Else: I just never understood bands doing covers and having them on the actual album.  Let alone the second song.  Nothing wrong with this actually.

Just my 2 cents about it. I think is very cool to include that on an actual album if it's a version, an rearrangement from the original song, not just a cover. In this case and Mystery Train, UFO made versions of the original songs (and Mystery Train is a super cool, much superior version if compared to the original IMO).

[TAC]

When I was younger, I never minded Somethin' Else. I actually liked it. A Lot. There are songs in their catalog that have aged better though.

[TAC]

Assault Attack






https://open.spotify.com/album/4isa2M1fikyJKUf8hyhiGD?si=y3FsenJJSiOZtO9GrQFzsw

Released October 1982
Produced by Martin Birch

1. Assault Attack
2. Rock You To The Ground
3. Dancer
4. Samurai
5. Desert Song
6. Broken Promises
7. Searching For A Reason
8. Ulcer


Michael Schenker-Guitar
Graham Bonnet-Vocals
Chris Glen-Bass
Ted McKenna-Drums
Tommy Eyre-Keyboards

After the MSG tour, Gary Barden and Paul Raymond were basically fired by the band's manager Peter Mensch.  Barden, because they wanted a name singer to help break America, and Raymond, because his salary could apparently help fund the name singer.
At the time, Cozy Powell remained in the band. Cozy would eventually join Whitesnake.
MSG re-emerged with former Rainbow singer Graham Bonnet, and new drummer Ted McKenna, who also played in The Sensational Alex Harvey Band with bassist Chris Glen.

This amazing sounding album would be produced by Martin Birch.

The Bonnet/Schenker partnership would be short lived. During a warm up gig in Sheffield right before the Reading Fest '82, Bonnet got so drunk pre show, that once he hit the stage, he ended up splitting his pants, and apparently his privates fell right out of his pants.
He was fired the next day, and Gary Barden was brought in on short notice to do the Reading show.

[wolfking]

Back Into My Life:  Didn't like where the album was heading with this track.  It's fine but not my style.  Probably needs another listen or two.

Doing it All For You: Another really nice song.  Great solo section.  Great mood.

These are two of my favorite Chapman Era songs. Back Into My life has a great ambiance. If you listen to the lyrics along with the music behind it, it really paints a vivid visual. "Night turns to day"...that's a great part.

  Some of the songs I hear the Pear Jam vibe again.  Really strong vibe that I can't shake.

Kade, at some point in this thread, I would really like you to cite some Pearl Jam tracks. Not to put you on the spot, but this genuinely interests me. Pearl Jam is a band I respect the hell out of, but I just can't listen to them for extended periods of time. I'm really not familiar with their catalog. I bought their first album, but never followed up with them.

Yeah okay.  It's funny, I've been thinking about which specific Pearl Jam tracks remind me of a lot of these songs and I can't put my finger on any.  Will listen through some Pearl Jam though and find a few songs.

As I said, I'll listen through Mechanix a few times and post more thorough thoughts.

[TAC]

I just posted Assault Attack, so I'll let that sit until Friday. Plenty of time to review Mechanix.



Whatever you can do on Pearl Jam would be great. No rush though. You've said it a few times and it has me intrigued.

[ProfessorPeart]

I've now fallen behind. I will say that I prefer The Four Horsemen over Mechanix but, oh wait, nevermind.

Starting to listen now.

[wolfking]

Revisiting AA blew me away.  The production and sound Birch has given us here is mind blowing.  The whole sound is amazing.  The songs also are awesome.   I'll post individual song thoughts on this too soon.

[Zoom E]

I love everything about Assault Attack, right down to the album cover.

I read an interview with Graham Bonnet a couple of years ago and he was asked to describe his vocal style. His reply was,”loud”.  .  That about sums it up. The whole feel of Assault Attack is loud, but in a very good way.

I was so impressed with Bonnet on the Schenker Fest tour that I purchased one of the Graham Bonnet Band albums, which I thoroughly enjoy. 

[jjrock88]

I would say that Desert Song is my favorite tune from MSG

[ProfessorPeart]

Just finished Mechanix. Like the last 2, I find this pretty solid but it is a step down from those. For some reason I found the chorus to Let It Rain annoying. The track had some cool riffage going on at times and then this chorus that just seemed off to me. Just didn't fit the song. I don't know, just bugged me. Terri wasn't as bad as I expected based on comments but it wasn't great either.

As I have the remaster I also have Heel Of A Stranger. Really nice track and wonder why they left it off. Also have 3 live tracks which sound good as always.

[wolfking]

I would say that Desert Song is my favorite tune from MSG

Cracking tune.

Michael's guitar work on this album is quite brilliant.  I was taken aback by some of the soloing here.

[Bentower]

I guess this is where I'll jump in... Mechanix being the UFO album I checked out just a few days ago.

Going way back in time to '93 and the glory days of Headbanger's Ball Europe, I remember seeing the live version of Lights Out from the Roundhouse on there. It didn't make an impression at the time since I was strictly into all things metal (it would take having my mind blown by Van Halen's Me Wise Magic in '96 and buying Best of Volume I to catch the hard rock bug). Fast forward to four years ago and my soon-to-be girlfriend sharing a live version of Space Child on facebook. I somewhat liked it and soon afterwards came across the fact that Love to Love was Steve Harris' favourite song. Well, hearing that one was the ticket. What an incredible tune. I got the collection of the first five Schenker albums and Strangers in the Night. After hearing all that great material I realized that UFO had slowly crept under my skin. That's something of a rare, precious thing with bands nowadays.

Prior to reading this excellent thread I'd only checked out Walk on Water and Covenant of the later albums and the first three MSG ones. Prompted by this I've been finally discovering the Chapman era (and MSG's One Night at Budokan, hell yes). It's been a pleasant surprise and as expected the thought I had of Schenker being irreplaceable was naive. Paul's a perfectly fine guitarist in his own right. Different, yes, but very tasty and a good replacement.

Although I've enjoyed pretty much everything I've heard so far my sweet spot with UFO falls around the time of Force It and No Heavy Petting. I'll get around to the first two albums eventually, but as of now I'm still not ready for that.

Judging by my first listen of Mechanix: it's uneven, but still my fave so far of the Chapman albums. I especially liked the Van Halen-esque guitar tones which give it a nice edge compared to No Place to Run and WWI. The album cover is hideous and cheap looking however, so much so that it must've had an unfavourable effect on how I viewed these post-Schenker albums. There's a lot of things that could've been done artistically with idea of "UFO mechanics".

A great band and a great man, both worthy of a listening party. Cheers, TAC!

[wolfking]

Mechanix is a very mixed album.  Finished my first listen and Let it Rain IMO is awful.  That chorus is like a Wiggled song or something.

Terri I thought was quite good.  The middle section with the call and answer between Paul and Phil was excellent and the solo was nice.  Great ballad.

Feel It gave me that Foreigner vibe again and was just okay.

Dreaming was excellent.  Really great rocker.  I like the looseness in Paul's solo.

Heel of A Stranger I can see why Bill likes this.  Nice catchy chorus.  Could have been on the album.

Strange, inconsistent album, but I want to listen to this one again.

[TAC]

I guess this is where I'll jump in... Mechanix being the UFO album I checked out just a few days ago.

Going way back in time to '93 and the glory days of Headbanger's Ball Europe, I remember seeing the live version of Lights Out from the Roundhouse on there. It didn't make an impression at the time since I was strictly into all things metal (it would take having my mind blown by Van Halen's Me Wise Magic in '96 and buying Best of Volume I to catch the hard rock bug). Fast forward to four years ago and my soon-to-be girlfriend sharing a live version of Space Child on facebook. I somewhat liked it and soon afterwards came across the fact that Love to Love was Steve Harris' favourite song. Well, hearing that one was the ticket. What an incredible tune. I got the collection of the first five Schenker albums and Strangers in the Night. After hearing all that great material I realized that UFO had slowly crept under my skin. That's something of a rare, precious thing with bands nowadays.

Prior to reading this excellent thread I'd only checked out Walk on Water and Covenant of the later albums and the first three MSG ones. Prompted by this I've been finally discovering the Chapman era (and MSG's One Night at Budokan, hell yes). It's been a pleasant surprise and as expected the thought I had of Schenker being irreplaceable was naive. Paul's a perfectly fine guitarist in his own right. Different, yes, but very tasty and a good replacement.

Although I've enjoyed pretty much everything I've heard so far my sweet spot with UFO falls around the time of Force It and No Heavy Petting. I'll get around to the first two albums eventually, but as of now I'm still not ready for that.

Judging by my first listen of Mechanix: it's uneven, but still my fave so far of the Chapman albums. I especially liked the Van Halen-esque guitar tones which give it a nice edge compared to No Place to Run and WWI. The album cover is hideous and cheap looking however, so much so that it must've had an unfavourable effect on how I viewed these post-Schenker albums. There's a lot of things that could've been done artistically with idea of "UFO mechanics".

A great band and a great man, both worthy of a listening party. Cheers, TAC!

Great post, Ben. Lots to chew on. I hope you stick around from this point on. Lots of great stuff to come!!

Revisiting AA blew me away.  The production and sound Birch has given us here is mind blowing.  The whole sound is amazing.  The songs also are awesome.   I'll post individual song thoughts on this too soon.

I will too. Let's just say that Assault Attack didn't blow me away...

I was so impressed with Bonnet on the Schenker Fest tour

He was cool AF on that tour. The only singer that didn't look like he was having a good time was Doogie, which is unfortunate because he's made the best music of his career with Doogie since these early 80's albums.