UFO

Vocalist Phil Mogg, guitarist Michael Schenker, bassist Pete Way, and drummer Andy Parker were the makings of UFO, certainly one of the 1970's most generic metal bands. They cranked out album after album, actually still continuing to plug on today (I had no idea)....I know I saw them live a couple times, they were a prototypical opening act for some of the big metal bands of the decade, and while I don't recall who they opened for when I saw them, I DO recall that they right hardcore live on those nights, and for while there they were putting out some listenable metal albums, nothing classic, but I was for whatever listening to "Lights Out" recently and I was thinking, "damn, that song rocked", checked a little further and some other memories of some serious cranking tunes came flooding back.

But, how to approach it? I have only a handful of their 1970's peak era, I'm not about to track down thier 1980's/90's/00's/10's stuff, but then I discovered a 5 disc compilation on the Bay, "The Chrysalis Years 1973-1979", which will PERFECTLY encapsulate the years/albums when I was enjoying these guys....sometimes, faceless metal such as this can strike a responisve chord years later, memories of pot smoking and youth need a sound track....this comp is what I will posts, rather than my "proper" album releases, as it has tons of bonus material.

Before I get to that, though, I also have a 1971 Japanese release, creatively titled "Live" (later renamed "UFO Lands in Tokyo")...this was before they became well known, but releasing a live disc so early on tends to lead me to believe that SOMEONE agreed with me that these guys had some serious live chops even in 1971. It's a good set, highlighted by a stomping version of Eddie Cochrane's "C'mon Everybody" and the lengthy "Prince Kajuku/The Coming of Prince Kajaku", I think it's fairly rare, at least I haven't seen many of them.....worth a listen if you are a fan of the jamming-style live albums so popular in the early 1970's.

So we get, now, to the compilation. The first disc represents the 1974 issue "Phenomenon".....highlighted by "Doctor Doctor" and (especially) "Rock Bottom", this is an album I had forgotten, again, quite typical of a lot of metal of this era, and to say the minimum, it DOES rock. This comp version of the album contans a lot of extra tracks and alternate sessions, quite a bit better to listen to than the "regular""Phenomenon".

The second disc begins with a smoking live set from The Electric Ballroom, I think the best thing here, some top notch versions of the stuff on the eaerly albums, as well as another version of "Prince Kajuka". Also on this disc is HALF OF their next album, "Force It", not a greatdisc to begin with, and much LESS impactful being split this way.

The third disc has an even MORE annoying split, the second half of "Force It", ALL of "No Heavy Petting", and the FIRST SIDE of the great "Lights Out", thier best album gets cut in half for God know what reason? Who the hell THOUGHT of this? Trying to sort this out: "No Heavy Petting" contains the spacey "Martian landscape" and the pretty good "Highway Lady",and side 1 of "Lights Out" includes, of course, the title track, perhaps their finest track, and "Just ANother Suicide" and "Too Hot To Handle" are serviceable rockers.

Disc 4 continues the concept of idiotic splits, giveing us side two of "Lights Out" (which, btw, contains on of the most moronic covers ever.....covering a track by Love shows good taste, but if yer gonna DO it, why a slavish copy of "Alone Again Or"? WHY the hell not "August", which I think they could have done wonders with, especially on stage.Disc 4 ALSO contains theier second best album, "Obsession" (at least in it's entirety) which contains the storming "Pack It Up and Go" and "One More For the Rodeo", as well as the dark, raomantaic rocker "Cherry".....also has some bonus material scattered at the end. This is literally the worst job of programming that I can think of, I THOUGHT ABOUT reprogramming it for you so it makes sense, but that really isn't up to me, I guess

Finally  we arrive at disc 5, their "offical" live release, which is good, as one might expect....it's entitled "Strangers in the Night"  and contains the right stuff, "Lights Out" and a long "Rock Bottom" are highlights as well as "Only You Can Rock Me" and "Doctor Doctor".

This is where the comp ends, and this is where I end as well....I am unfamilar with pretty much anything they might have done post-"Strangers", but I just thought that this comp (plus the old Japanese live disc I have) pretty well summarizes what they meant to me......they were a good, workmanlike, hard touring metal rocking band, along the lines of maybe the Scorpions or REO Speedwagon before they decided they were the kings of nauseating pop.....anyway, enjoy the time trip back to the 1970's, what was so bad about them anyway?

Gotta say,again,  not crazy at all about how they split the discs, why not keep the albums together on their "own" discs, the way they were intended to be heard? I don't know, but since I pulled this from the bay (it's FLAC), all artwork and booklet are included.

Lemme know.......variety, variety.

UFO LIVE 1971 JAPAN-01 C'Mon Everybody/02 Who Do You Love/03 Loving Cup/04 Prince Kajuku/The Coming of Prince kajuku/05 Boogie For George/06 Follow You Home

CHRYSALIS YEARS DISC 1-01 Give her the Gun/02 Sweet Little Thing/03 Oh My/04 Crystal Light/05 Doctor Doctor/06 Space Child/07 Rock Bottom/08 Too Young To Know/09 Time On My hands/10 Built For Comfort/11 Lipstick Traces/12 Queen of the Deep/13 Doctor Doctor (Single Edit)/14 Rock Bottom (Bob Harris Session)/15 Time On My hands (Bob Harris Session)/16 Give Her the Gun (Bob Harris Session)

CHRYSALIS YEARS DISC 2-(Tracks 1-8 Live at the Electric Ballroom)-01 Oh My/02 Doctor Doctor/03 Built For Comfort/04 Give Her the Gun/05 Cold Turkey/06 Space Child/07 Rock Bottom/08 Prince kajuku/09 Let It Roll/10 Shoot Shoot/11 High Flyer/12 Love Lost Love/13 Out in the Street

CHRYSALIS YEARS DISC 3-01 Mother Mary/02 Too Much of Nothing/03 Dance Your Life Away/04 This Kid's (Including Between the Walls)/05 Natural THing/06 I'm a Loser/07 Can You Roll Her/08 Belladonna/09 Reasons Love/10 Highway Lady/11 On With the Action/12 a Fool In Love/13 martian Landscape/14 Too Hot To Handle/15 Just ANother Suicide/16 Try Me/17 Lights Out

CHRYSALIS YEARS DISC 4-01 Gettin Ready/02 Alone again Or/03 Electric Phase/04 Love To Love/05 Try Me (Single Remix)/06 Too Hot To Handle (Peel Session)/07 Lights Out (Peel Session)/08 Try Me (Peel Session)/09 Only You Can Rock me (Peel Session)/10 Pack It Up and Go/11 Arbory Hill/12 Aint No baby/13 Lookin Out For No.1/14 Hot N Ready/15 Cherry/16 You Don't Fool Me/17 Lookin Out For No. 1/18 One More For the Rodeo/19 Born To Loose/20 Only You Can Rock me (Single Version)

CHRYSALIS YEARS DISC 5-01 Natural Thing/02 Out in the Street/03 Only You Can Rock me/04 Doctor Doctor/05 Mother mary/06 This Kid's/07 Love To Love/08 Lights Out/09 Rock Bottom/10 Too Hot To Handle/11 I'm a Loser/12 Let It Roll/13 Shoot Shoot/14 Doctor Doctor (Single Edit)/15 On With the Action (Live Single B-Side)