The UFO Discography And Listening Party Thread

[LudwigVan]

I’d be curious if you guys checked out the live versions of the NPTR songs.

Sure. Don’t forget I have the Official Bootleg Box Set. Come to think of it, I think I owned this before even you did!

Also, my NPTR remastered CD closes out with live versions of Lettin Go, Mystery Train and NPTR. Thankfully

[Podaar]

Hah, I could let Strangers marinate for a whole month but I want to get this thing done by Christmas. 

You could end the entire thread at Strangers and have it be a success. For several decades, that's where it ended for me. 

You'd miss their "best" record, then ("best" being "my favorite").   For me, song-wise, "Mechanix" is where it's at.   The BONUS track - is a top five UFO song for me.

I wouldn't say I've been missing it, Bob! I've heard Mechanix...

[TAC]

Gregg, is NPTR the 1979 disappointment you were talking about earlier?

[Podaar]

Gregg, is NPTR the 1979 disappointment you were talking about earlier?

No. I was kinda apathetic about NPTR, really (which I picked up in 1980, not 1979). It's not bad, but my tastes had moved on to heavier music by then. IMO, blue collar hard rock like NPTR was done so much better by Blackfoot, MSG, and Def Leppard that I just didn't waste my time with albums I didn't really feel. There just wasn't any danger, or edge to it.

The disappointment of 1979 was going to a UFO concert not knowing that Schenker had left. I made sure that I was stage left at a general admission venue so I could watch Michael all night...    I don't like to think about it.

[wolfking]

Not sure when I will be able to dive into this album.  Will try tomorrow, just have to get my hands on it.  Interested in hearing the new guitar player.

Kade, I posted the Spotify link, but here's the Youtube link if that helps.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7rq2iJZXHz8&list=OLAK5uy_lnPBG3x6sHeKoz-lvIugo52DRr1mZFRc0

Thanks mate.  I purchase cheap mp3s on a site called MP3va.com. 

I've listened to the first few as I pull up for work.  Not sure what to think yet.  Paul Chapman is a good guitar player.

[TAC]

Gregg, is NPTR the 1979 disappointment you were talking about earlier?

No. I was kinda apathetic about NPTR, really (which I picked up in 1980, not 1979). It's not bad, but my tastes had moved on to heavier music by then. IMO, blue collar hard rock like NPTR was done so much better by Blackfoot, MSG, and Def Leppard that I just didn't waste my time with albums I didn't really feel. There just wasn't any danger, or edge to it.

The disappointment of 1979 was going to a UFO concert not knowing that Schenker had left. I made sure that I was stage left at a general admission venue so I could watch Michael all night...    I don't like to think about it.

Lots to chew on here Gregg. Where and when did you see UFO in 1979? Was that the co-headline tour with AC/DC?

Last week, when you mentioned your disappointment in 1979, my first thought was, did you show up to a show expecting Schenker?
They didn't announce that on Facebook?

I am definitely interested in your thoughts on the first Schenker album.

BTW, I LOVE Blackfoot, and High N Dry is one of the reasons that 1981 is my all time favorite year of music. Of course Schenker and UFO were really the ones to make it so.. But we'll get to that on Monday.

[TAC]

I’d be curious if you guys checked out the live versions of the NPTR songs.

Sure. Don’t forget I have the Official Bootleg Box Set. Come to think of it, I think I owned this before even you did!

Also, my NPTR remastered CD closes out with live versions of Lettin Go, Mystery Train and NPTR. Thankfully

Hah, yes, I think you were the one to tip me off to it. It's a glorious collection. A must have, really.

I've listened to the first few as I pull up for work.  Not sure what to think yet.  Paul Chapman is a good guitar player.

I'm glad he's making a good first impression. If you get a chance to watch the live links, he can be pretty sloppy in a Jannick sort of way, but he's cool as hell on stage.

[TAC]

OK, I'm just going to put this one out now. Starting in 1980, both UFO and MSG would each release an album a year. I'll let you guys listen and and discuss both over the weekend, and then we'll move on to 1981 on Monday..

The Michael Schenker Group




https://open.spotify.com/album/2l1Bqqee08MbNjeGkInlWE?si=YZu8H7ZJQKKDqWFhzTQPSA

Released August 1980

1. Armed And Ready
2. Cry For The Nations
3. Victim Of Illusion
4. Bijou Pleasurette
5. Feels Like A Good Thing
6. Into The Arena
7. Looking Out From Nowhere
8. Tales Of Mystery
9. Lost Horizons

Michael Schenker-Guitar
Gary Barden-Vocals
Mo Foster-Bass
Simon Phillips-Drums
Don Airey-Keyboards

Michael Schenker's first album appears a few months after No Place To Run. His debut album features many classics still played in his set. It also starts a fruitful partnership with Gary Barden, who Schenker just happened to hear a demo of Barden's band as he was walking by an office at Chrysalis. Schenker knew he wanted him. He wanted an unknown without ego, the opposite of Phil Mogg.

Michael talks about Geddy Lee and Neal Peart saying they wanted to do the album, but it didn't work out. He also claims to have rehearsed with Tom Hamilton and Joey Kramer in Boston, working up four or five tracks. Tyler returned to better health so they went back to Aerosmith. He did demoes with Billy Sheehan and Denny Carmassi, as these are included in the Spotify link of the 2009 Remaster. Ultimately, the album would be recorded by Mo Foster, Simon Phillips, and Don Airey.

This album was actually produced by Roger Glover. Unfortunately, I couldn't find any information on how they became paired.

The official video for Armed And Ready:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=epSrddf65N0


Here is an amazing show from Hamburg in 1981, before the second album was recorded, but with the second album's lineup. Chris Glen, Paul Raymond, and Cozy Fucking Powell. Cozy is tremendous on this.
Featuring songs from the fist MSG album and UFO, this is a great show. Awesome version of Rock Bottom!
I actually have the DVD and CD.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9jPL6XGBRc8&t=1s

[devieira73]

Indeed, amazing show!

And amazing album, my favorite from MSG. I give it a 10/10, almost as good as Obsession. There’s a style here that wouldn’t be replicate on any of the future MSG albums. I think it’s a bit harder and heavier than MSG (81) and Assault Attack, also also a bit less commercial than both.
Michael Schenker is still super-inspired here. Armed and Ready, Into the Arena and Lost Horizons are incredible, but the others songs are almost there IMO. And, as a bonus, Simon Philips also destroys here, with really intricate and energetic drumming and a lot of cool hi-hat work. Honestly, the drum parts of this album, from what I remember from all the MSG drummers, were only really well played live by Shane Gaalaas on The Michael Schenker Story Live (besides Simon on the anniversary Japan shows, of course).

[Zoom E]

In January of ‘81, the debut MSG album was the first hard rock metal album I ever bought, apart from a few Kiss albums in the 70s, but everyone listened to Kiss in those days. The MSG album was being played in a record store while I was browsing around. I only heard the first two songs and that was enough to make me purchase it on the spot. Still my favourite MSG album.

[Lowdz]

Fantastic album and a great way to give the middle finger to the band you just left. Packed with great songs and that unmistakable guitar.

The only issue for me is the singer. He just about gets away with it on album but live he was awful. A huge down trade from Mogg.

One of the best debut albums of all time. It was a couple of years after release before I heard this but I was blown away.

[wolfking]

That MSG album was pretty damn good.  I found a couple of the later albums stronger but, Armed and Ready, Arena and Horizons are excellent songs.

[silentmac6]

So I'm very late to the party (story of my life) and hope I can stick around for a while, commitments permitting.

Obsession was the first UFO album I bought after hearing Cherry and Only You Can... on Radio Luxembourg (I think) after its release. I loved this new (to me) hard rock sound with a wizard guitarist to rival Jimmy Page or Steve Howe as my heroes at the time. None of my friends knew about UFO until SITN came out, which elevated UFO in to my top 10 fave bands, with (still) definitive versions of songs from LO and earlier; I slowly discovered Phenomenon to LO over the next year or two.
As SITN was raved about with my friends, we were quite floored with reports that Schenker had left. I doubted they would be able to get anyone as identifiable. Also, could their trajectory be sustained; Obsession was top 30 in UK, SITN was top 10.

NPTR was eagerly awaited, so when one of my friends bought it we sat round hoping for the best. Unfortunately the hard edge was gone and on initial hearing, so was the quality of the songwriting. We all slammed Chapman for not being Schenker, and George Martin for being too tame. Please bear in mind we were 17/18 year olds at the time. I didn't listen to NPTR again until...
Reading Festival, UFO headlined Saturday night (I think) and they were awesome. Opening with Letting Go and playing several tunes from this album, the NPTR songs were given their balls back and UFO proved that live, they could still show NWOBHM bands how to rock. Raymond had just left but Carter was a trooper and I revised my opinion about Chapman; the man could play. This album has aged well and there are some good songs on here. Letting Go, Mystery Train, This Fire..., No Place... it's just a shame about the lightweight production.

Around the same time as Reading that year, Michael Schenker Group was released to rave reviews. This was a bit of a surprise to me as a return to Scorpions hadn't worked and there had been rumours of supposed mental health issues etc. Not having heard anything from the LP, I bought it on the strength of Schenkers standing (IMO) and the reviews I read. So happy I did, as great new MS songs and guitar work almost had me feeling there were now almost "two UFOs". In fact I didn't see the album for a few weeks as my friends borrowed it in turn. The album has the harder edge missing from NPTR (I bet Roger Glover was far cheaper than Martin). Gary Bardens is not bad but no match for Mogg, so Into the Arena is one of my favourites here along with Lost Horizons, Victim of Illusion, in fact there isn't a bad song here.

So from the latter half of 1980, things were looking good for both bands in my opinion.

[Podaar]

@ silentmac6

Sounds like we're about the same age. I had similar experience, and what you wrote could have been me, except that I didn't get to see NPTR songs live. So my disappointment stuck.

Micheal Shenker Group, on the other hand, I did love. It made me feel like I had some semblance of UFO back...but, as you say, Barden is no Mogg. However, I think the rest of his original group is fantastic.

It's been a few years since I listened to it, I'll do so today and give my thoughts.

[wolfking]

This one is certainly a step down from the run of classic albums we've just heard. 

I don't mind the first couple and puts the album on a promising start.  Fire Burns was pretty ordinary but Gone in the Night was pretty nice and had a good atmosphere.

Young Blood is shithouse.  What the hell were they thinking here?  That's where I'm up to and will check the rest tomorrow.

The production did seem a bit under par.  Chapman is a good guitarist.  Slightly more of a shred and faster element to his playing.  No issues from what I've heard so far of his chops.

[Stadler]

I think somewhere around here (might have been in a roulette, though) I mistakenly said that Billy Sheehan was on the first album, and he wasn't.  He did the demos for the album.  My bad!

Anyway, I love this album.   Lost Horizons is one of my favorite MSG songs.   I'm usually very peculiar about my singers, and I wouldn't argue that Mogg is a "better" singer, but I just love Barden's vibe.  It's very meat and potatoes, and I think works well with Michael's playing.  The one downside to Barden (I think) is that some of the load fell on Michael to make it accessible, and that didn't always result in transcendent work. 

[Podaar]

Had a listen to MSG self titled today. It just reaffirms my conviction (at the time of release) that Schenker was truly the soul of UFO. Cry for the Nations, Victim of Illusion, Bijou Pleasurette, Into the Arena, and Tales of Mystery are all much more UFOish than anything on NPTR. They are all nice continuations of the writing and performances on Obsession and showcase Schenker's growth and adventurousness as a songsmith. Speaking of which, Lost Horizons (a very Rainbow-like song) has a epic feel like nothing else Michael had written before. Probably the highlight of the album for me.

The other three songs are more standard rockers that are easier to compare with NPTR. The heavier production makes them funner to listen to though.

Does anyone else get the feeling that the cover of TMSG is a call back to the cover of Obsession?

[wolfking]

Finishing off NPTR.  Yeah, not a great deal to like about this one to be honest.  Fans at the time must have been bitterly disappointed.

[LudwigVan]

I really dig the MSG debut album. The only thing is that the lyrics are rather insipid when compared to those written by Phil Mogg.

[jjrock88]

To me, the debut MSG is 5x better than what I heard on NPTR. I’m sure there must have been a bit of a fan base split at the time and I could easily see more fans gravitating more towards MSG.

[TAC]

I gave the first MSG album a solid dedicated listen last night, but I was too tired to post anything. It's not an album that I listen to a lot. Generally, I have a few problems with it.
First, I was familiar with One Night At Budokan. When I finally heard the studio versions on the first album, I thought they were neutered by the production.
Nevison did a ton better job with Barden's vocals, and I also don't like the pitter patter drum sound of the album, and the style of Phillips. Now Simon Phillips played some sick shit on the album, but there's something about the drums that I just don't feel right about. I don't know how to explain it. They are just not heavy enough, and that is probably more the fault of Glover, but I'm not sure the style really fits the music. To my ears anyway.

Lost Horizons is obviously great, and I really like Cry For The Nations and Feels Like A Good Thing. But I've honestly never cared for Victim Of Illusion, and the lyrics to Armed And Ready are pukey.


OK, that said, Michael slays all over this album.  His solos are amazing, even in the mediocre tracks.  I also really like Tales Of Mystery and Into The Arena is fantastic.

To me, the debut MSG is 5x better than what I heard on NPTR. I’m sure there must have been a bit of a fan base split at the time and I could easily see more fans gravitating more towards MSG.

I'm not sure where I go with this. NPTR is one of the weaker UFO albums, IMO. Anyday stands out and would be the only one to crack a Top 25 or so.

[TAC]

So I'm very late to the party (story of my life) and hope I can stick around for a while, commitments permitting.

Obsession was the first UFO album I bought after hearing Cherry and Only You Can... on Radio Luxembourg (I think) after its release. I loved this new (to me) hard rock sound with a wizard guitarist to rival Jimmy Page or Steve Howe as my heroes at the time. None of my friends knew about UFO until SITN came out, which elevated UFO in to my top 10 fave bands, with (still) definitive versions of songs from LO and earlier; I slowly discovered Phenomenon to LO over the next year or two.
As SITN was raved about with my friends, we were quite floored with reports that Schenker had left. I doubted they would be able to get anyone as identifiable. Also, could their trajectory be sustained; Obsession was top 30 in UK, SITN was top 10.

NPTR was eagerly awaited, so when one of my friends bought it we sat round hoping for the best. Unfortunately the hard edge was gone and on initial hearing, so was the quality of the songwriting. We all slammed Chapman for not being Schenker, and George Martin for being too tame. Please bear in mind we were 17/18 year olds at the time. I didn't listen to NPTR again until...
Reading Festival, UFO headlined Saturday night (I think) and they were awesome. Opening with Letting Go and playing several tunes from this album, the NPTR songs were given their balls back and UFO proved that live, they could still show NWOBHM bands how to rock. Raymond had just left but Carter was a trooper and I revised my opinion about Chapman; the man could play. This album has aged well and there are some good songs on here. Letting Go, Mystery Train, This Fire..., No Place... it's just a shame about the lightweight production.

Around the same time as Reading that year, Michael Schenker Group was released to rave reviews. This was a bit of a surprise to me as a return to Scorpions hadn't worked and there had been rumours of supposed mental health issues etc. Not having heard anything from the LP, I bought it on the strength of Schenkers standing (IMO) and the reviews I read. So happy I did, as great new MS songs and guitar work almost had me feeling there were now almost "two UFOs". In fact I didn't see the album for a few weeks as my friends borrowed it in turn. The album has the harder edge missing from NPTR (I bet Roger Glover was far cheaper than Martin). Gary Bardens is not bad but no match for Mogg, so Into the Arena is one of my favourites here along with Lost Horizons, Victim of Illusion, in fact there isn't a bad song here.

So from the latter half of 1980, things were looking good for both bands in my opinion.

Great post Mac. I really enjoyed reading that.

Oh, and this thread is your new commitment. Don't be a stranger.



Found these pics from the Reading show..

[TAC]

Had a listen to MSG self titled today. It just reaffirms my conviction (at the time of release) that Schenker was truly the soul of UFO. Cry for the Nations, Victim of Illusion, Bijou Pleasurette, Into the Arena, and Tales of Mystery are all much more UFOish than anything on NPTR.

That's really interesting and I appreciate your real time POV.

[jjrock88]

That line up is 

But does that say Ossie Osbournes Blizzard of Oz?

[TAC]

But does that say Ossie Osbournes Blizzard of Oz?

Pretty sure in the very beginning Blizzard Of Oz was to be the band name. I think it was decided to be released under Ozzy's name. The album was released a month after this show.

[TAC]

You'd miss their "best" record, then ("best" being "my favorite").   For me, song-wise, "Mechanix" is where it's at.   The BONUS track - is a top five UFO song for me.

Since you are so bullish on Mechanix, I am expecting you to do a song by song styled post. Get cracking. It's due next Thursday.

[jjrock88]

I’m interested to check out this Mechanix album!

[TAC]

I’m interested to check out this Mechanix album!

I'm interested to check out Stadler's report.

[TAC]

@ Podaar...

Where and when did you see UFO in 1979? Was that the co-headline tour with AC/DC?

[wolfking]

This Mechanix has to be better than NPTR.

[TAC]

This Mechanix has to be better than NPTR.

It is to Stadler!



Kade, hopefully you post some thoughts over the weekend on the first MSG album.

[jammindude]

But does that say Ossie Osbournes Blizzard of Oz?

Pretty sure in the very beginning Blizzard Of Oz was to be the band name. I think it was decided to be released under Ozzy's name. The album was released a month after this show.

Pretty sure I heard that some in the band were never informed of the switch in the name until they saw the record in the store...and they were kinda pissed about it.

[LudwigVan]

This Mechanix has to be better than NPTR.

Not for me

[TAC]

This Mechanix has to be better than NPTR.

Not for me

I find them quite similar in terms of the amount of songs I really like, songs that are OK, and songs I think are below average. I do actually like more songs on Mechanix though.


I think I'll spin Mechanix tonight!

[Podaar]

@ Podaar...

Where and when did you see UFO in 1979? Was that the co-headline tour with AC/DC?

Oh yeah, I guess I forgot to respond to this.

As much as I admire your concert-geek-god status, I've never been that way. Concerts are just something I went to occasionally to hear live music and scam hot looking girls. I don't remember exactly...it may have actually been in '78. All I remember (drugs, you understand) is that it was in the greater Phoenix area (Mesa maybe) and that it was late in the school year--June-ish. They played warm up for some other band, that I wasn't interested in, at the Memorial Colosseum the previous night and were headlining at a local beer garden. Now this beer garden was huge. In front of the stage it had a semi-circular dance floor surrounded by bench seating amphitheater. The place would hold 1500 - 2000 people. Back in those days, the legal drinking age in Arizona was 18 and I had a fake I.D. that said I was 20 (I was actually 17 at the time) so I was able to buy the tickets and get into the venue.

Like I said, I got there at opening and rushed into stake a claim on a spot right in front of where I expected Michael to be. Me and my buddy took turns holding the spot while the other went to get beers. When the lights finally came down and the band came on the stage, Pete Way was playing right in front of me and some brown-haired dude was on the other end of the stage playing a fucking beat-up ugly Mockingbird guitar. What the actual mother-fuck was going on?! Where in the fuck was Michael?

Again, I don't like to relive it much. It still pisses me off

They played a set that was similar to Stanger In The Night and my buddy ended up passing a blunt up to Pete. I ended up getting so waisted on beer that it's kind of a blur now (plus, it was a very long time ago). I remember I got in trouble with my parents because I didn't come home that night. You see, I was so hammered that my girl-friend had to drive and she just took me to her house.