The UFO Discography And Listening Party Thread

[TAC]

Nice. Been thinking about posting a recap of it. I like it a lot. So much better than Revelation.

[wolfking]

Nice. Been thinking about posting a recap of it. I like it a lot. So much better than Revelation.

I still have Revelation still in its wrapping waiting to listen too, although with a couple others haha.

I also ordered Where the Gloom Becomes Sound, Down Below and Children of the Night. Finally stoked to get my hands on CD copies of the last two, plus the new one.

[TAC]

UFO


22 Lonely Heart  (The Wild The Willing And The Innocent)

So I don't expect anyone to agree with me on Lonely Heart, but I'm sorry. I have always loved this song.

Jon Sloman's piano starts this off very nicely. In fact, Jon Sloman's piano work on the entire WWI album is amazing.
Song builds up nice, and Neil Carter's added sax late in the game lifts the song IMO.

Typical Phil lyric about some girl having a tough time. But when I was younger, the lyrics really kind of spoke to me. As a teen, I'd here all the songs about hard luck and life lessons, and they just appealed to me.

I like Chapman's solo, particularly coming out of it at 2:42. But I find that next part with Sloman and Carter so damn powerful. Still gives me goosebumps after all these years.


21 You Don't Fool Me  (Obsesion)


Buried smack dab in the middle of Obsession is You Don't Fool Me.

As with the entire Obsession album, Schenker puts on a clinic with his lead fills. In fact, he doesn't even wait for the second verse. He's right there from the beginning.

A shout out to Pete Way too, because while the verse has a thumping driving pulse to it, his bass playing really stands out underneath the chorus.

But what really takes this song to another level is everything going on with the guitar solo. Nevermind the fact that the solo is ridiculous on it's own, but I love the rhythm arrangement underneath between Pete and Andy. It's air drumming heaven.

A deep track, but a great one.



30 History Of Flames
29 Stranger In Town
28 Call My Name/All Over You
27 Who's Fooling Who
26 Fool's Gold
25 On With The Action
24 Gone In The Night
23 Name Of Love
22 Lonely Heart
21 You Don't Fool Me



Michael Schenker


23 Live And Let Live  (Spirit On A Mission)

Really quirky intro leading into a great riff.

Great chorus, and Doogie sounds awesome hear. Classic Schenker solo and I honestly don't have much to say about it. It just hits a nice groove and never lets you go. Ends on a great SChenker rip too.

It does come right out and makes a statement that Bridge The Gay was no fluke.


22 Red Sky  (Built To Destroy)


Typical Buit To Destroy track, an album that is way better than what this awful production presents.

The intro is strong and hits you straight on. The chorus is nice very good too.

The solo starts at 2:00 and smokes until the breakdown at 2:30. Nice orchestration by Michael in this slow part.

After the final solo, the master of the outro takes over and brings it home. And incredible ending solo.



21 Armed And Ready  (Michael Schenker Group)

This song has aged really well for me. Not sure why, but when I was a kid, I never really cared for it. Now I love hearing it.


It's a classic overused opening riff. Other than White Spirit, I think Michael's predates the many others.

This is another song that I much prefer the live versions of.
Again, it's due to the extreely thin sounding debut.

But this song is all about that solo. It is a killer. Kadestamping 2:02, 2:07, 2:13, 2:17, and finally 2:29.

AMAZING solo.



30 Bittersweet
29 Cry For The Nations
28 The Dogs Of War
27 Good Times
26 Land Of Thunder
25 Dance For The Piper
24 Samurai
23 Live And Let Live
22 Red Sky
21 Armed And Ready

[TAC]

I also ordered Where the Gloom Becomes Sound, Down Below and Children of the Night. Finally stoked to get my hands on CD copies of the last two, plus the new one.

 

[wolfking]

A couple of deep UFO cuts there.  I'll post thoughts tonight.

[devieira73]

UFO


22 Lonely Heart  (The Wild The Willing And The Innocent)


Jon Sloman's piano starts this off very nicely. In fact, Jon Sloman's piano work on the entire WWI album is amazing.
Song builds up nice, and Neil Carter's added sax late in the game lifts the song IMO.

I like Chapman's solo, particularly coming out of it at 2:42. But I find that next part with Sloman and Carter so damn powerful. Still gives me goosebumps after all these years.

This song didn't make my top 30, but it would be totally worthy... just to add to your perfect comment above about the piano/sax interaction, I think the pre-chorus and chorus are very strong. Amazing song, it was always  one of my favorites from WWI!

[King Puppies and the Acid Guppies]

Gonna be anything from Walk On Water in your top 30?

[wolfking]

Lonely Heart - Yeah, this is a nice song, can see why you like it Tim.  Has a nice classic UFO sound.  The chorus is really cool and lifts the song from the verses.  I like Chapman's solo too, I get a strong Point of Entry Priest vibe from it.  Great sax too.

You Don't Fool Me - Obsession is such a brilliant album, there are no bad songs and this is up there with the rest.  I love the chorus, and special mention to Schenker's melody line in the chorus, so good.  Great solo of course, as you mention Tim.  Great deep forgotten track.

Live and Let Live - I like the contrast of the riff after that intro.  I get a punk feel in the verses on this one actually.  The chorus is a ripper however.  Very nice opener.

Red Sky - Wow, this one was good.  Have to revisit this album.  Sounds silly but I get a real Crimson Glory vibe from this song.  Cool riff and yeah, that solo at 2:00 is wonderful.  Actually get a Priest vibe from that one.

Armed and Ready - Love this track and never tire hearing it on live releases.  You're right Tim, it's all about that amazing solo.  It's so good. That section at 2:29 is simply fucking incredible.

[TAC]

Gonna be anything from Walk On Water in your top 30?

 

[Stadler]

I spent almost an hour last night trying to find a reasonable copy of the Immortal CD with the Blu-ray that didn't cost me a blood sample.   I think I found one, but they're not guaranteeing delivery until April 1.

Also, can I just say, for all of Michael's hippy dippy "live life to the fullest and Rudy blows" schtick, his business team SUCKKKKSS.    There are I think four different versions of Spirit On A Mission, and different bonus track/configurations to each.  The fuck, dude; its not like Oasis where you're only out $1.99 for a CD single with a couple'a b-sides.   Anything that isn't a straight up US release is minimum $16, $17 bucks.  I want to support you, bro, but I'm not paying $17 for one song that may - or may not - be up to snuff (and with Michael Voss singing, the odds are a tossup). 

Michael is now probably my second favorite guitarist ever (Ritchie Blackmore will always be my number one -  ) but he doesn't make it easy.

[TAC]

Bill, have you heard the album yet, because I have a thought on one of the songs that you might be interested in. I wonder if you might hear the same thing.

[Stadler]

Bill, have you heard the album yet, because I have a thought on one of the songs that you might be interested in. I wonder if you might hear the same thing.

No, not yet.   I might listen on Spotify; I've been busy listening to a couple CDs I'm writing reviews for as well as slipping in some UFO when I have a moment.

[TAC]

Bill, have you heard the album yet, because I have a thought on one of the songs that you might be interested in. I wonder if you might hear the same thing.

No, not yet.   I might listen on Spotify; I've been busy listening to a couple CDs I'm writing reviews for as well as slipping in some UFO when I have a moment.

OK. I have a KISS related thought when you get around to it.

[TAC]

Red Sky - Wow, this one was good.  Have to revisit this album.  Sounds silly but I get a real Crimson Glory vibe from this song.  Cool riff and yeah, that solo at 2:00 is wonderful.  Actually get a Priest vibe from that one.

Look, not every song on Built To Destroy is great, but there a bunch of excellent tracks on it. If it had half of the production that Assault Attack had, you'd likely feel differently about the album. Even when this came out, I had to work to overlook the production on it. It is so fucking bad.

[TAC]

UFO


20 Back Into My Life  (Mechanix)

Might be a surprise here, but Back Into My Life is a track that I can never get enough of. Phil weaves a great vocal and treats us to another character in his storybook.

Love the clean guitar from Chapman that opens the track. Reminds me a bit of Alex Lifeson 2112 Era.

Phil draw us in right away..
"It's another night, down on the avenue.."
The verse has a pace where you actually can feel someone is walking. Love Chapman's strumming in this part as well.

The prechorus is really uplifting, and I love it when they go right into the second verse and skip the chorus.

And then this great line leading into the pleading chorus:
"If there's a loser that loser's me"

At 2:40, there's a brief Schenker styled solo before the bridge.
The bridge in this song is one of my favorite spots in their catalog. So much emotion.

Love the use of the backing vocals with them going "oooh" during the first two lines and going "aaah" bringing the song to a climax in the second two lines.

"Every shadow's like a ghost that comes and haunts you
Angel of the night plays her tricks these days, it's true
With every step, every step you see her slip away
Not just today" (which I've always heard as night turns to day), which brings us back where we started.



19 Let It Roll  (Force It)

We've talked a lot about this song in Kade's countdown.

Sports a great metal riff and vocal. Cool short solo between the verses. But like Armed And Ready, this song is all about the breakdown. To me that's what makes Let It Roll special. And amazing passage.
The solo jumps at 2:07 with the really cool bends underneath.
The studio version is really good, but the Strangers' version is great.


18 Wreckless  (Misdemeanor)

The closing track on Misdemeanor "So this is it, have we come to the end.."

Starts off slow but even in the intro you can feel a subtle building. You just know the songs explodes and it does at 1:10.
I love at 1:36 how the prechorus suddenly appears out of the verse. I think Phil is great on this song.

At 2:40 when Phil sings "I can't stand one lonely night", he makes is believable as he always does.

I love the bridge too at 2:50, the part where Jim Simpson is doing a sort of drum roll.
Tommy has a great solo at 2:59, where it is really melodic and restrained. Yeah, there's a nice flurry at 3:19 before a great band part to close out the section. And a fantastic outro by Tommy.


30 History Of Flames
29 Stranger In Town
28 Call My Name/All Over You
27 Who's Fooling Who
26 Fool's Gold
25 On With The Action
24 Gone In The Night
23 Name Of Love
22 Lonely Heart
21 You Don't Fool Me
20 Back Into My Life
19 Let It Roll
18 Wreckless


Michael Schenker


20 Shine On   (Bridge The Gap)

Not generally a fan of mid tempo tracks, but Schenker keeps the rhythm interesting enough, and Doogie crushes this. Very Dio-ish. That brief and simple chorus is really powerful.

I don't even know where to start with the solo. Michael doesn't really overdo it, but he really just shows what a master he is.

This song has a much larger impact on this album than you'd think for a three minute track.


19 Under A Blood Red Sky    (Revelation)

This is the standout track on Revelation, and my favorite song off the two Michael Schenker Fest albums.

The opening guitar reminds me a lot of Victim Of Illusion. Thankfully this song is much better.

Doogie shines on this, especially in the chorus, which is amazing. Unfortunately, I think Schenker is doing some great stuff under it, but it seems buried in the mix.

And I also love when bands periodically run a solo over just bass and drums, similar to Maiden did in Coming Home.

Nice solo in total, and the great chorus to close this out.




30 Bittersweet
29 Cry For The Nations
28 The Dogs Of War
27 Good Times
26 Land Of Thunder
25 Dance For The Piper
24 Samurai
23 Live And Let Live
22 Red Sky
21 Armed And Ready
20 Shine On
19 Under A Blood Red Sky

[wolfking]

I'm really surprised by the amount of NPTR-Misdemenor tracks Tim.  Will add thoughts later.

Shine On though. 

[TAC]

I'm really surprised by the amount of NPTR-Misdemenor tracks Tim. 

There's more to come!

The 4 Chapman albums are equally important to me as the 5 Schenker albums. It's easy to be mesmerized by Schenker's playing, but the Chapman albums are filled with great songs. There are plenty of people out there that prefer the Chapman Era. I love them both equally. But again, this is music that I was listening to when I was young. It is all important to me. A lot of the Chapman tracks are stories Phil sang, and it was like watching your favorite TV episodes. You really lose yourself in the stories and start to live through them.


It's really too bad the band couldn't take a bit of a break around 1981-82. They were so spent by that time. Pete was fed up, Phil was grinding down, Chapman had his things going on, leaving Neil Carter to basically write Making Contact by himself.

[wolfking]

I'll knuckle down and try to revisit them soon.  All these songs so far are a lot better than the last time I listened to them.

[TAC]

I'll knuckle down and try to revisit them soon.  All these songs so far are a lot better than the last time I listened to them.

It's hard to breeze through so many songs in a thread like this, so no worries.  Many of these songs have had lasting qualities for me.

[wolfking]

I'll knuckle down and try to revisit them soon.  All these songs so far are a lot better than the last time I listened to them.

It's hard to breeze through so many songs in a thread like this, so no worries.  Many of these songs have had lasting qualities for me.

I can certainly see why.  I think going into them right after discovering the magic of the Schenker era was always going to be a tough act to follow.

[Stadler]

I'm with you, Tim, on the Chapman years.  I'm pretty sure I like them just as much as the Schenker years, even if there are more "WTF" moments in the Schenker years, and those live sets are just so consistently amazing.

[TAC]

I'll knuckle down and try to revisit them soon.  All these songs so far are a lot better than the last time I listened to them.

It's hard to breeze through so many songs in a thread like this, so no worries.  Many of these songs have had lasting qualities for me.

I can certainly see why.  I think going into them right after discovering the magic of the Schenker era was always going to be a tough act to follow.

A lot of people feel the same way. Heck, I think Podaar is one of them, and he experienced it in real time. Many people were very disappointed that Schenker left.

[EPICVIEW]

Come for TAC,,,, Stay for UFO     WIN-WIN

[EPICVIEW]

UFO


22 Lonely Heart  (The Wild The Willing And The Innocent)

So I don't expect anyone to agree with me on Lonely Heart, but I'm sorry. I have always loved this song.

Jon Sloman's piano starts this off very nicely. In fact, Jon Sloman's piano work on the entire WWI album is amazing.
Song builds up nice, and Neil Carter's added sax late in the game lifts the song IMO.

Typical Phil lyric about some girl having a tough time. But when I was younger, the lyrics really kind of spoke to me. As a teen, I'd here all the songs about hard luck and life lessons, and they just appealed to me.

I like Chapman's solo, particularly coming out of it at 2:42. But I find that next part with Sloman and Carter so damn powerful. Still gives me goosebumps after all these years.


21 You Don't Fool Me  (Obsesion)


Buried smack dab in the middle of Obsession is You Don't Fool Me.

As with the entire Obsession album, Schenker puts on a clinic with his lead fills. In fact, he doesn't even wait for the second verse. He's right there from the beginning.

A shout out to Pete Way too, because while the verse has a thumping driving pulse to it, his bass playing really stands out underneath the chorus.

But what really takes this song to another level is everything going on with the guitar solo. Nevermind the fact that the solo is ridiculous on it's own, but I love the rhythm arrangement underneath between Pete and Andy. It's air drumming heaven.

A deep track, but a great one.



30 History Of Flames
29 Stranger In Town
28 Call My Name/All Over You
27 Who's Fooling Who
26 Fool's Gold
25 On With The Action
24 Gone In The Night
23 Name Of Love
22 Lonely Heart
21 You Don't Fool Me



Michael Schenker


23 Live And Let Live  (Spirit On A Mission)

Really quirky intro leading into a great riff.

Great chorus, and Doogie sounds awesome hear. Classic Schenker solo and I honestly don't have much to say about it. It just hits a nice groove and never lets you go. Ends on a great SChenker rip too.

It does come right out and makes a statement that Bridge The Gay was no fluke.


22 Red Sky  (Built To Destroy)


Typical Buit To Destroy track, an album that is way better than what this awful production presents.

The intro is strong and hits you straight on. The chorus is nice very good too.

The solo starts at 2:00 and smokes until the breakdown at 2:30. Nice orchestration by Michael in this slow part.

After the final solo, the master of the outro takes over and brings it home. And incredible ending solo.



21 Armed And Ready  (Michael Schenker Group)

This song has aged really well for me. Not sure why, but when I was a kid, I never really cared for it. Now I love hearing it.


It's a classic overused opening riff. Other than White Spirit, I think Michael's predates the many others.

This is another song that I much prefer the live versions of.
Again, it's due to the extreely thin sounding debut.

But this song is all about that solo. It is a killer. Kadestamping 2:02, 2:07, 2:13, 2:17, and finally 2:29.

AMAZING solo.



30 Bittersweet
29 Cry For The Nations
28 The Dogs Of War
27 Good Times
26 Land Of Thunder
25 Dance For The Piper
24 Samurai
23 Live And Let Live
22 Red Sky
21 Armed And Ready

 

[EPICVIEW]

I also want to say everyone in this thread  ARE AWESOME .... Love ya all    so much goodness in this thread  youv all nailed it

[TAC]

I also want to say everyone in this thread  ARE AWESOME .... Love ya all    so much goodness in this thread  youv all nailed it

Looks like you nailed it!

[wolfking]

Sorry Tim, been busy so will add my thoughts on the current batch when I can.

[wolfking]

I also want to say everyone in this thread  ARE AWESOME .... Love ya all    so much goodness in this thread  youv all nailed it

Thanks mate.  Tim knocked this one out of the park.

[wolfking]

6. Let it Roll (Force It)

Another storming opener makes it high on the list.  This one absolutely slays.  That riffing and groove is just so good.  This is one I actually haven't tried to play and I really should.  The first thing I notice is the constant key changes through the song, gives it great colour throughout.  That change at 1:24 is so brutal, love Schenker's melody there.  I'll add that fucking awesome off time cowbell from Parker during the same section, so fucking good.  Phil sounds different on this song too.  Seems a bit higher than normal however the verses I think are in E.  He has a cool tone though and almost metal like.

The breakdown is kind of unexpected the way the song was going but works so well Schenker on fire here with a lot of soulful playing.  Again, I love the extra long instrumental section.  Over a minute and a half for a four minute song, beautiful.  That subtle half step down key change at 3:03 is so classy.  Finishes pretty quickly and again, this is a song that has tremendous replay value and the endless live versions make it always fun to discover something new from it or a slightly different take.

As Tim said, we've talked about this, and above were my thoughts too.  Tim's right, that long instrumental section is what Let it Roll is all about.  However the trimmings either end are just as satisfying.

Shine On:  Holy shit, how creative are those intro melodies, seriously!?  The pulsing style riff from Wild Wind returns too and I LOVE the lyrics on this one.  They are just amazing to me and Doogie portrays them just so damn well.  Like he's actually singing to his lady who is hurting.  These type of positive spirit lyrics always hit me.  Beautiful soaring chorus that just makes you feel good, it's amazing.  I like the shorter solo here too and the key change into F# from E is nice.  I really appreciate Wayne's 7 string work on this one too.  That rhythm at 2:11 is heavy as hell and one of my fav sections of the album underneath Schenkers' sweet crying leads.  At 2:11 it actually shifts back to E, very very clever.  It quickly resolves into the main melody too.  The outro soloing is icing on the cake. This track is too good.  Top 3.

Here are my comments on Shine On that I posted when I purchased this album.  It's fucking amazing.

[wolfking]

Back Into My Life - I like the Lifeson comparison with the guitar at the start Tim.  While this is not my thing, I like the chorus, it's very catchy and radio friendly really.  I get the Schenker type feel too here.  No matter what this band has done, the songwriting has always been very purposeful with lots of substance.  Nice song, appreciate the pick.

Wreckless - Yeah, this is a great track with wonderful melodies.  This is a really great album actually.  Love that shift at 1:10, so 80's.  Like Phil's delivery in the verses here.  The pre-chorus is great too.

Under a Blood Red Sky - Just listened to this song for the first time.  Nice drive, but amazing chorus here.  I do like that change into the solo too, very cool.  This song could easily fit on Spirit, easily.  Great, simple driving tune.

[Podaar]

https://www.loudersound.com/features/drugs-drink-and-disorder-ufo-look-back-at-the-making-of-strangers-in-the-night

[EPICVIEW]

https://www.loudersound.com/features/drugs-drink-and-disorder-ufo-look-back-at-the-making-of-strangers-in-the-night

an amazing live album   one of the best.....

[TAC]

Nice Gregg. Enjoyed the read over lunch.

[wolfking]

https://www.loudersound.com/features/drugs-drink-and-disorder-ufo-look-back-at-the-making-of-strangers-in-the-night

I'll dig into this one later.

[wolfking]

My copy of Immortal has arrived.    Hopefully can make some time to listen to it today or tomorrow.