UFO

Without a doubt, UFO used to be the band most often mentioned in all the "WHY DON'T YOU HAVE ANY CDS BY THIS BAND?" emails I get every week. And while I agree with that assessment, there are three reasons why it took so long to get them: 1) Until recently, all UFO CDs were out of print, the only ones available being those cheap 2-on-1 imports that were little better than Russian bootlegs. 2) The ones I wanted to get first were the pre-Schenker "space rock" albums, which are considerably rarer than the rest. And, 3) I don't really like them that much.

"Flying: One Hour Space Rock"

  1. "Silver Bird" (6:53)
  2. "Star Storm" (18:52)
  3. "Prince Kajuku" (3:54)
  4. "The Coming of Prince Kajuku"--instrumental (3:42)
  5. "Flying" (26:30)

Ok, I'll give you one guess as to why this was atop the "buy" list. :) Anyhoo, people familiar only with UFO's radio hits will be surprised to learn that the band started out as a SPACE ROCK band, in the vein of Hawkwind and...hmm, can't think of another one. We're talkin' jammin' and grooovy, dude! (Actually, what I'm most reminded of is the guitar solo from Rush's "Working Man" -- the whole album sounds like that.) Believe it or not, I used to own the crappy vinyl a looong time ago, and would spend hours just drifting away to it. I think it might have even been the main inspiration in my quest for long-ass songs...

"Essential UFO" (compilation)

  1. "Doctor Doctor" (4:08)
  2. "Rock Bottom" (6:33)
  3. "Out in the Street" (5:13)
  4. "Mother Mary" (3:47)
  5. "Natural Thing" (3:52)
  6. "I'm a Loser" (3:49)
  7. "Only You Can Rock Me" (4:08)
  8. "Lookin' Out for No. 1" (4:34)
  9. "Cherry" (3:33)
  10. "Born to Lose" (3:32)
  11. "Too Hot to Handle" (3:37)
  12. "Lights Out" (4:31)
  13. "Love to Love" (7:39)
  14. "This Kids"--live (4:48)
  15. "Let it Roll"--live (4:57)
  16. "Shoot Shoot"--live (4:06)

Well, so much for collecting Schenker-era CDs. :) (And since I won't get a chance to mention this again, I'm obliged to point out that Michael Schenker was the original guitarist for the Scorpions, though he only appeared on their first album, after which brother Rudy took over.) In fact, whether or not to seek out the whole UFO catalog or settle for a compilation was a major consternation for me; while songs like "Doctor Doctor" (which Iron Maiden has covered) and "Lights Out" flat out rock, there's something that annoys me about much of their other work. Case in point is "Love to Love" -- the long-ass intro (repeated in the bridge) is a fine sonic tapestry, but the song itself sucks. And, while I find most of "Only You Can Rock Me" to be pointless cock-rock twaddle, it does hit a very nice melody after the second chorus. And while I'm sure the band has many great songs not featured here ("Martian Landscape" is one I remember), the question of how much MONEY it will cost is a major concern these days. Typically, I wait to see what appears first in the used bins as the deciding factor, so I guess you can figure out what happened. :) The last three tracks are live, but they're disposable, so who cares...(the only other compilation I found replaced "Lights Out" and "Doctor Doctor" with live versions, which obviously is inexcusable!!)

Previous Band Back to Index Next Band