Customer Reviews

UFO: Shoot Out The Lights

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No fancy pictures or colored artwork, just solid, top notch writing on one of the best bands to come out of the 70's (or any era for that matter). This book is a must have for any fan of UFO or Michael Schenker. "Shoot Out The Lights" covers the bands entire career from the semi-dreadful spacerock of UFO "1" to the present. Every album gets it's own spin here with direct quotes from the band members themsleves. The insightful quotes, stories & reviews are too numerous to mention, but will provide more than one epiphany for any "true" UFO fan. The book's delvings into the psyche of the "enigma", "The Mad Axeman", aka Michael Schenker are worth the purchase price alone. If you've have read Martin's book on Blue Oyster Cult, this one is written in a similar style; and is just a good. If you haven't read Martin's book on BOC, buy it now along with "Shoot Out" and save on shipping. Better yet, head over to MP's website and get yourself personalized, autographed copies from the Lester Bangs of the new millenium himself! BONUS!!

As far as I know, this is the only book out there on UFO, in my opinion one of the very best rock'n'roll bands of all time, and far more influential than most people realize. If you're a fan, you'll want to read this. You aren't likely to find this much information on UFO in one place anywhere else. Outside of Martin Popoff, Classic Rock magazine is about the only other source in print covering this band (it would be great if they would compile all the articles from their archives into a book).

This isn't a band biography. You won't find out where and when Phil Mogg was born or the names of his parents, etc. This does contain band history about the formation of the group and the various line ups and how they came about. Like all of Popoff's books, this is mainly about the music. Every album is discussed in detail from Phenomenon to You Are Here, with song by song discussions and criticisms, and commentary from the band when it could be obtained. UFO's early work with Mick Bolton scores only brief mention and is more or less dismissed as demos. Personally, I think they rate better than that, and certainly deserve more space than what they were given. Edge Of The World, which was released under the Mogg/Way moniker for legal reasons barely gets a paragraph. Chocolate Box at least got 3 pages. I felt they deserved as much space as any other UFO album, which in truth is what they were. The other albums all rate an entire chapter. There's also info on the recordings of Michael Schenker, Waysted, Paul Raymond Project, etc.

Unfortunately, unlike Martin's other books, there are no photos outside of black and white copies of album covers. There are a lot of great stories about the band in the studio and on the road. Popoff uses quotes from articles and interviews by others, and also conducted numerous interviews of his own. Unfortunately he was unable to interview Phil Mogg for this work. There is still some fantastic stories and anecdotes and you will find yourself rereading this again and again. Grab this book along with the Too Hot to Handle DVD, which contains some great interviews and concert footage. If you're into UFO, it's essential!

I really like this book quite a bit, but I think I would enjoy it more if I was a bigger UFO fan. I think one of the reasons I like Popoff's books about Blue Oyster Cult and Rush so much is that I am a huge fan of both of those groups, and have all of their albums and know all of their songs. I can't say the same about UFO. I have all of their albums up until Making Contact and only one after that, Walk On Water. I realize now that my all time favorite era of UFO were the initial Michael Schenker years, from 1974 to 1978 (or '79). I recommend all of the albums from that era. None of what they have done since has really grabbed me.

Okay, all of that being said (some of which had to do with the book and some of which probably did not), I still find this book a terrific read and will probably go back and read it from start to finish at least half a dozen more times. Like he did in his book about B.O.C., Popoff goes through every song and every album that UFO did, and even takes time to talk about the shoot-off bands, like Waysted and The Michael Schenker Group. Popoff has got a plethora of quotes from the band members, particularly guitarists Michael Schenker and his replacement Paul Chapman, and vocalist Phil Mogg and bassist Pete Way (though absolutely none from drummer Andy Parker). Popoff throws in his personal opinions about the albums and the songs, and though I find myself disagreeing with him more than usual (I don't share his enthusiasm for 'No Place To Run' and the MSG album 'Assault Attack'), and wish he spent more time talking about classic albums like 'Phenomenon' and 'Force It' than lesser known albums like 'No Place To Run' and 'The Wild, The Willing and the Innocent', this doesn't detract from my enjoyment of the book. Popoff has a very conversational and flowing writing style that makes it both fun and easy to read his books. And there is just a ton of information stuffed into this tiny book. And I'm glad to see that he includes a discography at the end, something he did not do for his B.O.C. book.

Criticisms? The type is awful small, making me have to squint sometimes while reading (of course, that may have to do with the fact that I haven't updated my glasses subscription in over ten years!). And, even though he gives a good thorough explanation for his reasons for not including photos, I wish he would reconsider that stance, especially for this group. I'm sure many people might not even know what the band members look like, and there are no other books (that I'm aware of) about this group, so...yes, photos would have been nice.

Back on the positive side, since reading this book, I have bought one more UFO album and two more albums by The Michael Schenker Group...and I have also gone back and gave another listen to albums like Walk on Water and Making Contact. Another thing I like is that Popoff has so many quotes and anecdotes from the members of UFO ,that by the end of the book I really felt I knew these guys as people much better. Of course, having PICTURES of them would have made me feel like I knew them better, but I already complained about that earlier. And it does include ONE picture of the group, which is one more than shown in the B.O.C. book.

Overall, this is a great book!

Martin Popoff has done it once again as he turns in a great read with Shoot Out The Lights. Everything you wanted to know about this classic British band is in Martin's book. There are a lot of fantastic insightful interviews with all the main players and no subject of the bands colorful history is left out. You've got detailed discographies and coverage of the band's side projects such as Waysted and MSG as well, so what are you waiting for? Go and get a copy of this book.

After enjoying his various heavy metal review books, I was thrilled to learn that Martin Popoff had a book on UFO available. As he mentions in the prologue, this is less a bio and more an oral history of the creation of each album. Many great, funny stories emerge, as well as the details of how each album was created. Just about every current and former member is involved, with plenty of emphasis on the Schenker years (classic and reformation), as well as the Chapman and Atomic Tommy eras. The book is a blast from start to finish, and now I`m looking forward to getting Martin`s Rainbow book. Highly recommended to all UFO/Schenker fans!

This is perhaps the best of Popoff's critical biographies of rock bands (e.g., Rush, Rainbow, BOC). Full of detail and insider antecedotes, the book is a fast and entertaining look at UFO's progression over 4 decades. The material is extremely current and draws upon the recollections and perspectives of almost everyone who has been in the band. The only criticism I have is that Popoff seems too quick to write off the band's mid 80s to early 90s work. I recommend this if you are either looking for an introduction to this interesting group or if you are long-time fan. It is well-worth seeking out..

THIS BOOK IS GREAT. NOT MANY PICTURES BUT GREAT INFO!
GREAT BOOK EVEN IF YOUR NOT A CRAZY UFO FAN LIKE ME.
CHECK IT OUT!