Customer Reviews

Essential UFO

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I have been a fan of this top quality band since the early 70's and, to me, this is indeed a very good compilation of UFO's best hits. They were in a league of their own, as I am sure most serious fans will agree, and I highly appreciate their quantity in longevity as well as their superb distintive sound. It is a crime that they were not given more attention by the music establishment. My only complaint about this compilation would be the inclusion of 2 extra songs, (besides, of course, the hit 'Only You Can Rock Me'), from 'Obsession', which I feel is questionable as there are so many other great songs to choose from.
One thing I feel must be mentioned also: Michael Shenker did NOT start this band, he joined it. There were 3 albums prior to 'Phenomenon' with a solid guitar player in his own right by the name of Nick Bolton.

U F O ! R O C K O N !!

This remastered recording has all of the classic songs from UFO's premier lineup (ie- Michael Schenker is on guitar). Although they have continued to have some commercial success after he initially left to form MSG, it is the material he cowrote that gets the crowds jumping. If you are looking to go beyond this disc I would HIGHLY recommend their classic live album "Strangers In The Night", the brilliant reunion album "Walk On Water", and their latest "You Are Here".

reason that I purchased this CD by UFO. But what truly amazed me is that the entire CD is really good, the entire CD rocks. Its heavy, melodic and the balad's that are on the CD are really excellant work. I don't know the band members names other than Michael Schenker, but if they were to tour, I would see them. Essential UFO is a great cd from start to finish and I listen to it often. Excellant!

Of all the Classic Metal bands I like, UFO is one of my all time favorites and it's unfortunate that they never recieved the maimstream success like Kiss, Deep Purple and Aerosmith did but they will always be in the hearts of the metal fans, Doctor Doctor is a great opener and guitarist Michael Schenker later recorded it on his solo album Live at Budokan, Rock Bottom is an all time heavy metal classic and it's even better on their live album Strangers of the Night, Out in the Street is a great ballad and it is one of bassist Peter Way's early shots of songwriting and Mother Mary is a great killer classic, Natural Thing is a great tribute about VD and life about meeting rock 'n' roll bands, I'm a Loser doesn't belong on this album, instead they should've put either Highway Lady or On With the Action, Only You Can Rock Me is a great song but Lookin' Out For Number 1 and Cherry don't belong on this album either, it should've been either Hot 'n' Ready or Pack it Up and Go, Born to Lose is a beautiful ballad with a great guitar solo, next up is the classic Too Hot to Handle and now for the best UFO song of all time is Lights Out, it is a classic and I think that every classic rock station should play this excellent song, Love to Love is a epic ballad clocking in at 7 and a half minutes, and the rest of the CD are live cuts from the Strangers in the Night are This Kids which is alright, Let it Roll which is a killer classic with an excellent guitar solo and Shoot Shoot which is a great song.

If you want to own just one UFO album, get either this or the classic Lights Out, I would've gave this CD 5 stars but since I don't care for I'm a Loser, Lookin' Out For Number 1 and Cherry so it gets 4.5 stars instead of 5 mostly thinks to Rock Bottom, Mother Mary and Lights Out.

As a rule I just don't do compilations! You miss out on the variety and mood of the whole "album" thing. How the original material was put together and intended to be heard is important to me. That having been said If you are new to UFO and need a taster then this is for you. This CD has all the studio versions of the generally recognised classic songs from UFO's heyday in the seventies. However this is a fairly limited cross section of a band who's music has spanned over four decades and is still strong and varied to this day. The compiler like me was obviously a Schenker fan and recognises their best work. I would personally recommend the "Strangers in the Night" live album instead which you can pick up dirt cheap at the moment. Strangers has most of the same songs but here you are talking about one of the finest live albums ever recorded and well worth adding to your collection!
If you do stump up the cash for either of these and realise that UFO are a quality rock band you will almost certainly want to hear the Schenker albums from the seventies first. UFO and the various off-shoot projects have produced so many albums now you will need to take in all the reviews to make an unbiased judgement. Opinions will vary greatly as the line up has been very unsettled over the years and many fans still debate the virtues of Schenker or Chapman on guitar. The two more recent albums "You Are Here" and "The Monkey Puzzle" are also very good with Vinnie Moore on guitar. I would also recommend the Mogg/Way albums and the brilliant "Dancing with St Peter" by $ign of Four (Phil Mogg project). Sorry I'm rambling on...get the compilation and start collecting some great rock music!

I generally don't care for compilations but this one isn't bad. The biggest problem I have always had with UFO is inconsistency and really their best Album is the live record "Strangers In The Night" so a compilation is probably fitting and best in this case. And while it is true that "Love To Love" is a classic timeless track ultimately UFO has not aged gracefully but the best of what they had to offer is pretty much covered here.

When a band can sound great live, they are the real thing. The lyrics are catchy and the piano adds a little punch to the tunes. Guitar riffs are excellent. I would highly recommend this album.

This is a great collection. It has got most of their classic tunes, and we all know UFO had some classics. If there is any problem with it at all, it is the mixing/mastering of it. THE SOUND ON THIS DISC DOES NOT JUMP OUT OF THE SPEAKERS AND PUNCH YOU IN THE GUT. To potentially "wake up the neighbors" you've got to crank it ALL the way up, and even then the bass drum doesn't punch you in the solar plexus. And that's really too bad, because a band this great deserves that kind of presentation.

Never mind that, though. If you want a good UFO collection, BUY THIS, and test my hypothesis about waking up the neighbors! Yeah!!

This is a great one disc is all you need compilation. A great complement to their live disc, No Strangers. These guys really rock.

If you love strait forward hard rock,it doesn't get much better than UFO.These guys did stuff that would put Zepplin to shame.Sorry,that's just my opinion.If you've never heard UFO,this album is a great introduction.It's just too bad that the radio is too busy playing Pink Floyd,AC/DC,The Eagles,Led Zepplin,Fleetwood Mac,ZZ Top,and CCR a million times a day!I guess they don't have time to throw in one UFO song.So buy this album,because music this good should not go unheard.