The UFO Discography And Listening Party Thread

[TAC]

Right. I don't really care for it. The outro on one of the Walk The Stage shows is amazing though.

[Stadler]

 I do expect to see Victim Of Illusion in the top five of MSG, though.

You have a better chance at seeing Heel Of A Stranger in my UFO Top 5.....

I don't like your tone, sir!   

[TAC]

UFO


5 Profession Of Violence  (The Wild The Willing And The Innocent)

You know right off with Paul's acoustic guitar that this is going to be epic. Once Jon Sloman comes in with the piano, I'm already sold.

Great vocal by Phil. The "Whisper on the wind" part is really nice.

Love the keyboard change midway through the chorus. Gets a bit more forceful, especially the second time around.

And then the entire second half of the song is a guitar solo!
Paul Chapman is amazing here. And Jon's textures behind it are wonderful.

At 3:13, it shifts slightly, and again at 3:52 the finish is incredible.

This is one of my all time favorite guitar solos by anyone.
Just amazing all the way around. 4 minutes of damn perfection.


Michael Schenker

5 Let Sleeping Dogs Lie  (MSG)

Let Sleeping Dogs Lie, like But I Want More, really showcases some strong songwriting.

This intro riff is sneaky sinister. Same in the verse. Paul Raymond shows up in the very nice prechorus. Always has the right sound for any part.

The solo kicks in at the 2:19 mark after a nice bridge. Short but really nice.

After the third verse and prechorus is where this song totally blooms at 3:57. This next minute and a half is impeccable.
Cozy Powell rally adds some depth to this part with his double bass playing.
 
Watching Michael play this part live is one of my highlights from the MS Fest show. I was completely dialed in on him for this.

Waysted

5 Manuel   (The Good The Bad The Waysted)

From one of my all time favorite albums, The Good The Bad The Waysted, is Manuel.

Really cool intro featuring Paul Chapman. Fin joins him to introduce the story. Love Paul's line over the top right before the verse starts.

Jerry Shirley plays drums on this album and he's really direct on the chorus.

Paul plays a nice melodic line behind the chorus too.
The main solo kicks in at 2:42. Pete Way and Jerry play a great rhythm underneath.

Nice keyboard line from Jimmy Dilella at 3:42 leading into the closing part. A great three piece performance. I remember playing this part on my drums in my bedroom was I was a kid.
Paul at 4:43 and then again at 4:56. Nice.

[wolfking]

POV has grown on me even more lately.  That solo is indeed just incredible, I love this guy.  Chapman was a fine player.

Sleeping Dogs is a worthy top 5 Schenker song IMO.  It's a smooth, wonderful song.

I'll have to revisit that Waysted song.

[wolfking]

Running through TWTWTI.  Fucking Makin' Moves is blistering.  What a great tune.  Chapman rips here.

[TAC]

That's a great tune. I had mentioned when we did that album that Paul had actually brought that song with him from Lonestar.

They've played that live in the Vinnie Era too.

[wolfking]

I can see why TWTWTI would be a top 3 album for you Tim.  It's a consistent and strong record start to finish.

[TAC]

By coincidence, the epics Love To Love and Lost Horizons were paired together. And purely by coincidence, these two UFO/Schenker songs are also paired.


UFO


4 Belladonna  (No Heavy Petting)

Pretty sure this will be a surprising pick, but this is one magical song.
Nice acoustic intro with lead accents. I love how it feels like the acoustic slows down slightly right before the vocals, and then speeds back up when the vocals start.

One of the reasons that I love NHP is this is probably my favorite Phil album.

I love this line in the first verse:
"The open letter just carelessly placed
And your moving silence, the tea so delicately laced"

Danny Peyronel plays some nice parts here, and I like how you can clearly hear Pete.

I love the solo here at 2:20. No shredding. Just spectacular tones. Just a beautiful section. It is truly mesmerizing to me and I never get tired of it.

This is a deep track in their catalog, but I'm hypnotized my it every time I hear it.


Michael Schenker


4 Never Ending Nightmare  (MSG)

I remember hearing the third McAuley Schenker album and being quite disappointed. That is until the final song began.

Starts with a classic Schenker acoustic passage. Robin as usual sounds amazing.
The verse is really cool. Prechorus and especially the chorus is incredible.

Michael really starts to go after the second chorus. To Kadestamp it, again, would be pointless. I'd have to stop it every 15 seconds. It's just nicely orchestrated acoustic playing.

And everyone, when checking this out, be sure to click the FULL version, or you'll miss out on the electric solo at rthe end. Just spectacular.


Waysted


4 Heaven Tonight (The Good The Bad The Waysted)

Heaven tonight was actually rerecorded with Danny Vaughn on Save Your Prayers, but I'm talking the Fin version from The Good The Bad The Waysted. This is a really nice radio friendly track and it always hits the spot.

I used to play this album on drums in my room. One of my all time favorite drum fills is when Jerry Shirley comes in at 1:37. I love the drum sound on this albums.

This song sports a fantastic chorus that still gives me goosebumps. I think Fin sounds amazing on this song.

While the song doesn't really have a solo, I love what Paul Chapman is playing for basically the last minute or so. Real classy.

[wolfking]

Wow, Belladonna at number 4!    That is indeed a surprising pick.  I do like the Maiden Hallowed/Infinite Dreams melody to kick things off.  It's clean but but reminds me of that.  Phil does sound great on this and the chorus is wonderful.  Schenker does wonderful work on this.  Get a Try Me feel in the beginning of the solo.  2:50 is brilliant!

Never Ending Nightmare I had to listen to for the first time.  Reminds me of Dio at the start, in the music and a bit in Robins vocals.  The chorus is really nice.  I even get a Belladonna feel between that chorus and second verse.  Great acoustic work in the solo too.  Lots of Malmsteen vibes for me here.  That solo at the end is perfect, wow!  5:48, holy fuck!

Heaven Tonight I prefer the Danny version, but I've been listening to that one a lot.  This version is great too but I like the smoothness of Danny on this one.

[wolfking]

I watched the doco Too Hot to Handle on Youtube last night.  Pretty fucking useless as most of it was just live clips but the short amount of interviews were solid.  Even the Def Leppard guys had some good insight.  'Arry too, you can tell he's a fan.  Weird they cover Chapman but then don't go any further, yet show clips from the High Stakes album WTF?

I was surprised at Pete's comments on Chapman, he was really quite negative towards him.  Phil didn't say much and was nicer but you can tell he felt similar.  Pete was quite brutal though.  Poor fella, not his fault Schenker left.  Steve was nice saying he still enjoyed the band in that incarnation.

[TAC]

Been a long time since I've seen that. I pulled it up and watched the Chapman part.

Pete wasn't that happy during that period, especially with Neil Carter. And it's true that Paul wasn't as prolific a writer as Schenker was. But yeah, the tone against Chapman seemed a bit unnecessary.

The thing was done in the run up to High Stakes as a promo. It's cool the have Schenker interviewed though.

Heaven Tonight I prefer the Danny version, but I've been listening to that one a lot.  This version is great too but I like the smoothness of Danny on this one.

Cool. Goes to show what a great song that is. I remember when Save Your Prayers came out and they released it as a single. Even made a video of it. Fucking weird imagery in it if you ask me. I was really hoping it would catch on.

[wolfking]

It's a wonderful catchy radio friendly song.  The video is adequate for the era.

That explains the videos from High Stakes then in that documentary.  I liked Schenkers honesty about him struggling with the limelight.

[TAC]

UFO


3 Dreaming Of Summer  (Walk On Water)

We've talked a lot about this song, and deservedly so. It's a magical track.
It's written in a great "day in the life" style. Phil weaves a great tale of hope, despair, and monotony. You can really feel his struggle.

Michael has a great classy understated solo. Who needs to shred? Such a great feel for tones.


Michael Schenker


3 Looking For Love  (MSG)

This song hits you straight right out of the chute. The two things that jump out at me during the verses is Paul Raymond and Cozy Powell. Really nice rhythm. And Gary sounds strong on this song.

Nice chorus, but then Michael comes in with this amazing line right after it. One of the most memorable hooks on an album filled with them. This leads into a very nice short solo before the next verse. The second (main) solo starts with that gorgeous melodic line at 2:40. Michael shines here and from 2:50 to 3:05, Michael does some amazing work. But the song goes next level at 3:06. Absolutely incredible from that point on. Amazing finish.


Waysted


3 Land That's Lost The Love  (The Good The Bad The Waysted)

After a short intro, this song jumps right into the verse with some nice pace to it. Paul Chapman's rhythm guitar is a bit buried, but he shines with some nice accents during the chorus.
And I have no idea what he's doing at 1:04 right after the chorus, but it's cool AF.

I love the whole musical break after the second chorus. Paul really shines on this whole section.

Jerry Shirley and Pete Way are fantastic together too.

Phil also sounds really badass on this track.

This is one of my favorite albums of all time.

[wolfking]

I've given my thoughts on DOS.  Interested to see which 2 songs beat it.  After the surprises in your list Tim, there's no way I could pick them.

LFL is incredible, simple as that.  Perfect hard rock song with outstanding guitar work.  Definitely top 3 material for me two from what I've covered from the great man.

Will check that Waysted song tonight.

[wolfking]

I remember this Waysted song instantly from when I checked the album.  Seems like I'll have to go back to the album again.  Great song.  I wish they explored that intro a bit more.  Great chorus and wonderful, expressive, extended solo section.

At 1:04 It's just some palm muted notes picked over a nice melody.  Paul picks like each note 4 times it seems and creates a nice effect.

[TAC]

It's a cool effect. Sounds awesome. The rhythm guitars on the album sound a bit strange due to the production, but the leads are pretty much all in tact.

There something about that album that I've always loved. I was 16 when it came out. Jerry Shirley's drumming has a real drive to it.

[Stadler]

I've given my thoughts on DOS.  Interested to see which 2 songs beat it.  After the surprises in your list Tim, there's no way I could pick them.

LFL is incredible, simple as that.  Perfect hard rock song with outstanding guitar work.  Definitely top 3 material for me two from what I've covered from the great man.

Will check that Waysted song tonight.

Yeah, I've kind of had it in my head that DoS would be first, and the mystery would be what led up to it.   I can't possibly guess, given he's already nixed "Heel Of A Stranger".     But I'm looking forward to it!

I'm at "S" for my CD/DVD ripping party, so I've been listening to a little more MSG (I file it under "Schenker") lately.   It was almost 60 yesterday and I was banging out "Built To Destroy" while driving.   I love that record, but given what came before (UFO) and after (the Fest and Temple records), we the listener have to fight SO HARD to get those tasty Michael nuggets.  I don't know if that's the production or the mix, but it's a bummer, since I like those tunes.

[TAC]

UFO


2 I'm A Loser    (No Heavy Petting)

I was really familiar with the Strangers version of I'm A Loser well before I got No Heavy Petting. Just going off the Strangers version, the beginning sets a great mood, especially in the live setting. There's the great Phil Mogg lyrics and scenery. And then there's the ridiculous playing by Michael. It's a powerful track and I've never gotten sick of listening to it.

When first hearing the NHP version, when the acoustic guitar starts it off, I was expecting the song to be a shell of its live self. But it's really not at all, with the live version being quite faithful. Of course as I've mentioned a few times already, NHP has my favorite Phil sound, and Michael is just beyond words.

There's a really cool part at 2:28 right before the solo where Michael is bending some notes and it's a fantasting intro for the solo, which is one of the best I've ever heard. owards the end of Phil joining in with his "I'm A Loser" about the 3:13 mark, Michael does this...I don't know how to explain it, but it's a sort of tapping single notes. That blows me away.

And in case the main solo wasn't enough, the song ends with a little second helping.


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
17 Drink Too Much
16 Self Made Man
15 Out In The Street
14 The Wild One
13 Time On My Hands
12 Borderline
11 One More For The Rodeo
10 Dreaming
9 Doing It All For You
8 Anyday
7 Long Gone
6 Love To Love
5 Profession Of Violence
4 Belladonna
3 Dreaming Of Summer
2 I'm A Loser



Michael Schenker


2 Into The Arena   (Michael Schenker Group)

I consider Into The Arena my all time favorite instrumental. It's amazing how much is crammed into its four minutes. Every lineup crushes this. But listening to the original here.

How do you even Kadestamp this? Every section is different but they all work together.

The part that really gives me goosebumps comes in at 2:56. Such a beautiful passage.

This track on his first solo album really cements his talent and writing.

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
18 Get Out
17 Rock Will Never Die
16 Horizons
15 Rock You To The Ground
14 But I want More
13 Rock My Nights Away
12 In Search Of The Peace Of Mind
11 Assault Attack
10 Attack Of The Mad Axeman
9 Save Yourself
8 At The End Of The Day
7 Secondary Motion
6 Lost Horizons
5 Let Sleeping Dogs Lie
4 Never Ending Nightmare
3 Looking For Love
2 Into The Arena


Waysted


2 Heroes Die Young   (Save Your Prayers)

If someone made an album of the best songs from the 80's that no one has ever heard of, this would surely make the list.

I was extremely skeptical of Save Your Prayers when I first go it. No Fin, American singer...what's this a sell out?

In actuality, this album rocks pretty hard, and Danny Vaughn blew me away with his vocal. This album is a Top 10 all time vocal for me.

The best track, Heroes Die Young is an amazing song. Great arrangement. Paul Chapman shines all over the place, from the acoustic in the intro, to the main solo and breakdown, to the amazing outro.

This track should not be overlooked.


5 Manuel
4 Heaven Tonight
3 Land That's Lost The Love
2 Heroes Die Young

[wolfking]

I'm A Loser is a wonderful song and grown on me even more lately.  I'll listen again tonight at those timestamps you mentioned Tim.

Into the Arena floored me when I heard it, so creative, fresh and a wonderful journey.  Great pick.

Heroes Die Young is absolutely incredible.  Perfect 80's hard rock/metal song.  This might be my fav Chapman moment.  That outro is just magical, perfect even.

[wolfking]

2:28 sounds like Schenker is using a slide.  Good stuff.

3:13 Is a simple blues lick but he's picking out some single notes in between.  Really interesting.

[TAC]

UFO


1 Rock Bottom

Probably not a surprise here. I have probably heard this song more than any other ever. Especially the 5 minute solo from Strangers. That is pure musical bliss. Michael Schenker is a God! I mean the whole performance is ridiculous. I'm not going to bother Kadestamping it. It is simply a mind blowing performance.

Actually, the verse/chorus part of the song is ok, but this song makes its money on not only the solo, but on that amazing bridge section "With all darkness closing in..." That's a great part! That lifts the track right there.

Just to revisit the studio version, which definitely is a standout in its own right. The song blitzes out of the middle of Phenomenon, full of its bluesy and mellow numbers, with a heavy metal crash. I think Andy Parker and especially Pete Way are damn good on this. And the solo, so crafted. How old again was Michael when he wrote this?

Rock Bottom is an absolute giant.


Michael Schenker


1 On And On


I mentioned On And On in the OP, so this should also be no surprise. This song is one of the most musically influential songs of my musical life. It's structure is pretty basic. But it's filled with addicting sounds, from Paul Raymond's fluttering keyboards to Mihcaels lead playing, especially in the outro.

For as much as I never heard UFO on the radio, On And On used to get some airplay around here. As soon as I heard that airy intro I was like Holy Shit there it is!! I was 12 going on 13 and it really made an impact. It led me to UFO and a lifetime of fandom.

About the song itself..that Paul Raymond's airy opening juxtaposed with Cozy Powell's bombastic entrance.
A straightforward verse, but the chorus is magical. Gary Barden sounds great here, tickling a slight falsetto. But it's Paul's fluttering keys during the chorus that really drew me in.

I remember the guitar solo really sounding like nothing I'd ever heard. It was too damn short. But it was more than made up for during the last minute of the song. I love how after he solo during the third chorus how the full band plays through it. So fucking cool. I first heard this song almost 40 years ago and that outro STILL gives me chills.


Waysted


1 Night Of The Wolf


Well, sorry @Kade, no Paul Chapman here, but you gotta dig the title, right?
But we do have a Paul Raymond sighting! He sets a nice landscape in the intro. Great entry by Fin too. Ronnie Kayfield is the guitarist here and he plays the intro magnificently.

And then the song explodes with a driving kick ass pace. Roll the windows down and blast it! I love the prechorus "Dream on, Dream maker" Nice!

Fin is fucking awesome on this. The solo starts off a bit iffy, but Kayfield rescuses it at the end with Fin rejoining with the original prechorus and it rides out from there. Such a powerful ending.

[Zoom E]

Agreed, the Strangers rendition of Rock Bottom is just incredible. No arguing with that choice for number one.   

On and On is a fine song as well. Haven't heard it in a while. I’ll have to remedy that.

The only Waysted album I have is Vices so I’m not familiar with most of the Waysted songs you've posted, TAC. I’ll head off to YouTube now and give Night of the Wolf a listen.

Great to see the lists of everyone who has posted them.

[Zoom E]

So Night of the Wolf is from the one Waysted album I do own  . I seriously have not listened to Vices since the 80s. I do remember the song and it is pretty good, but I just never got into this album. If I want to listen to it to clear the cobwebs from my memory, I’ll have to dust off my turntable.

[TAC]

So Night of the Wolf is from the one Waysted album I do own  .

Hah! I was going to point that out, but I figured you'd find out as soon as you hit youtube. Definitely check out the other Waysted tracks.

[wolfking]

Can't complain with Rock Bottom as you know.  Phenomenal song.  That song got me hooked on this adventure.

On and On is wonderful.  I actually love the Anniversary live version.  Schenker destroys that version.  That melody in the outro is bliss.

Listening to Night of the Wolf, and yeah, I can't not like this due to the title haha.  Cracking track, it sounds like the time it came out, but it rips.  That solo is indeed interesting, I like it actually.  The ending of the solo before the vox comes back in is pretty funny though, not sure about that bit.  Great outro, great song. 

Great fucking lists Tim! 

[devieira73]

Rock Bottom is one of the rock's finest moments and THAT RIFF is pure genious! I agree 100% about the SiTN version
On and on is really nice and I totally get TAC's emotional attachment (I feel similar to Natural Thing - the first UFO's song I've heard). And the Schenker's solo in the middle is one of his wildest!
Thanks, especially to TAC and Wolking for such detailed commentaries, it was really fun to re-listen to the songs paying attention for what you commented. In fact, I made a top 90 UFO playlist, combining my list, my leftovers list, TAC's list and Wolfking's list.  It's 7 hours of UFO music, but it's fun to hear in the random mode!

[wolfking]

7 hours of UFO. 

[TAC]

Top 90! 

[devieira73]

This is something even more epic than the Snyder Cut!

[TAC]

The Snyder Cut is apparently so epic, I have no idea what it is.

[devieira73]

Of course, TAC!

[wolfking]

The Snyder Cut is apparently so epic, I have no idea what it is.

I'm guilty too.  No idea what you are on about. 

[devieira73]

No problem, we still can talk a lot about UFO!  

[ProfessorPeart]

I have my list saved on my desktop. Still never did any write-ups. It won't be anything special. I'll just do a dump of it tonight, maybe. Didn't make one for Waysted, I need to spend more time with them, although, Song For Steve recently came up on shuffle and I really do like that track.

EDIT: And I just happened to stumble onto a sealed copy of the Vices reissue on Discogs. It's the only album I had to pirate as even Amazon didn't offer a digital option. More money out the door.

[Stadler]

I watched the live video from Scorpions on the 1979 tour this weekend, as well as the documentary on the recording of Lovedrive (all this is found on the bonus DVD with the 50th Anniversary Lovedrive edition).   

Fascinating.  Klaus sounds SO GOOD on We'll Burn The Sky and Life's Like A River.  Matthias looks like he's literally shitting himself on stage, but he plays so good.   Rudolf is as whacky as his brother is, just in a different way (he complains about eight times of having to write the music for the whole album; he says it so often that - coupled with what Michael says about him not being very good - you almost have to wonder what's the deal). 

It's also fascinating to hear Herman Ze German and Klaus try to intellectually discuss the inspiration for Another Piece of Meat and Lovedrive, respectively.