Customer Reviews

Wild Willing & Innocent (Reis)

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The Wild, the Willing, and the Innocent was,for me, a landmark UFO album. My favorite album OF ALL TIME. Sort of a concept album, the flow from soft to brutally heavy is breathtaking in its scope and clarity. There is not a weak moment on this album,PERIOD. Paul Chapman rebounds from the tentative No Place to Run to provide punishing rhythm (he's a better rhythm player than Michael) and blistering leads on tracks like the title track, Lonely Heart, and Couldn't Get it Right. Phil is, well, Phil. And that's as good as it gets. Andy Parker controls the flow of the album with Zeppelin-esque bottom. Neil Carter is a welcome addition on this album,contributing sax and guitar.
The song order,production, and over all feel of this album are incredibly well thought out. It didn't chart that high over here, and it's too bad because this is UFO's finest hour. The absolute pinnacle of their career. This album creates a mood and atmosphere that transcends the music! I'd give it 50 stars if i could. Not just UFO's best album,but one of the greatest rock records ever made.

I first heard this album when it came out in 1981. Put aside to be forgotten. However, I was fortunate enough to spot it on Amazon and decided to pick it up. Eureka! I discovered where those magical sounds in my subconscious were coming from. It seems as though this album got into my head and never left. I totally forgot what a great piece of work it was. Absolutely Paul Chapman's best! He lets loose on some wonderful guitar riffs and is accompanied by the old stand-bys Mogg, Parker, and Way. Be careful though, I have awakened many mornings recently with songs from the Wild Willing and the Innocent running through my head like some mystical Trance! IT WILL REALLY GROW ON YOU!

Another year and another vinyl triumph for UFO. One minor lineup change aside (Paul Raymond leaves and Neil Carter comes in to add a sax along with keys and rhythm guitar) and the Paul Chapman era cruises along with another platter full of tough and tender street sagas. Highlights are a plenty. Lead track "Chains Chains", title track, "Makin Moves", and "Long Gone" carry Mogg/Way and Co. full on into the 1980's. "Couldn't Get it Right", which is this albums equivalent to `No Place to Run's "Money, Money", is probably the closest the band would come to an actual hit single. Another contender could be "Lonely Heart" a showcase for Carter's piano and horn. Chapman gets to rip it up on "Profession of Violence", "Moves" and "Gone". Only eight songs, which is a shame in its brevity but then again no filler and no covers (kind of a hit or miss thing for UFO anyway). Phil Mogg's voice never sounded better and WWI continues the magical journey which would end soon enough two years later with Making Contact. Like `No Place to Run', this LP is very rare now but if you love early eighties hard rock with a melody you could do much worse.

All this talk about how bad UFO got in the 1980's is just not true. In a time when the hard rock scene wasn't very healthy, UFO managed to record solid albums like "NO PLACE TO RUN" and "MAKING CONTACT". This album is no exception and the opening "Chains, chains" could easily have been included on any of the classic albums from the Schenker era. With excellent tunes like the speedy "Long gone", the groovy and melodic "Making moves", the melancholic "Profession of violence" and the attractive title track "The wild, the willing and the innocent", this album is nearly a must for any UFO fan.

There has always seemed there was a bit of a backalsh and prejudice to any album released by this band after the departure of the inestimable Michael Schenker. This is unfortunate in that UFO released some albums post Schenker that featured some of Phil Moggs finest writing and the bands tightest playing. The truth is Schenkers replacement, Paul Chapman, worked in part because his style was so different. History has rightly given him a reputation as a "smokin " player and this album bears this out. This was the first UFO album that was self produced and they "underplayed" it somewhat. This lent some class to a disc released in a genre defined by excess. The riffs are economical and are played within context of "the song" "Makin' Moves" "Long Gone" "Wild, Willing and the Innocent" "Chains Chains" are classics that define that genre known as class British hard rock released at the height of NWOBHM. The album closes with "Profession of Violence" which is UFO at its most subtle and emotional. This disc has fetched large dollars on online auction sites based on it's reputation as a true classic, so this is a real opportunity to get this while it is back in print. Enjoy !

The Wild, The Willing and The Innocent marks the high water mark of the Paul Chapman era. Unlike many UFO fans, I am not partial to Schenker, and feel that the albums featuring Chapman have every bit as much to offer. The albums that make up 1980-83 era UFO are not as varied and textured as say Force It or Lights Out, rather they are focused on more straight ahead chugging riff rockers. That said, TWTWTI is the most textured of the Chapman releases.
None of the songs are filler here, and I rarely use the "skip" button when playing it. I can't say the same for most of the discs in my collection. Personal favorites would have to be "Long Gone" featuring a moody, cool string section at the end, the chugging forceful riff of the title track and "Makin' Moves" and the balladic non-ballad "Lonely Heart."
The main attribute that has always set UFO apart from the pack and continues to make them great here is the sense of atmosphere that is created in each song. They know how to paint a vivid story with words and music, and it's always a unique experience if not always successful. If you're interested in checking out any UFO albums outside of the Schenker era, the one to begin with is right here!

I'm writing this because as I replace a number of CD's that were stolen - I'm surprised at some things I read. First off, let me say that I had EVERY UFO album(that's vinyl, folks) thru Misdemeanor when we moved to cassettes. I've been a huge fan for a LONG time. That being said, I'm a Schenker fan - however, he was/is NOT the most important part of UFO. Phil Mogg and Pete Way have always been principal songwriters along with whichever guitarist happened to be playing at the time. The strongest UFO albums have always come when both Mogg and Way were present.
On to the album. The Wild, The Willing and The Innocent is the best of the Paul Chapman era, and top 5 UFO - all time(Strangers, Obsession, Force It and Walk On Water). Chains Chains, TWTW&TI, Lonley Heart and Profession Of Violence are some of the best songs in UFO's immense catalog. There actually isn't a bad song on the album. The playing is excellent - Paul Chapman isn't Schenker, he doesn't have to be. His playing is very strong - maybe just not as explosive as Schenker. The only downside to this album is it only has 8 tracks - 9 with the live version of Hot 'n' Ready. This is an album that you listen to all the way through. Also worth checking out are: No Place To Run, Making Contact and the Mogg/Way albums Chocalate Box and Edge Of The World.
So in closing, if you are a UFO fan - BUY THIS ALBUM! UFO has been making great music for a long time, both with and without Michael Schenker. Don't let the "Schenkerphiles" stop you from checking out the rest of the work.

If you've gotten this far you're most likely a big fan of UFO and there is no need to review this CD. WW&I is just another in a long list of solid UFO recordings. What seperates this CD, and also "UFO - No Place to Run", apart from UFO's other CDs is that they are both extremely hard to find. So unless the powers that be decide to reprint WW&I and "No Place to Run" get them while the gettin's good. :-)

excellent album, toned down from the typical UFO, but still very good, in my opinion.

Unlike the crap infesting the airwaves now these guy blast hard and get spool it down for the assorted ballads. This is what it was all about in the heyday of Arena Rock.

The disk took a while to get here otherwise the folks did a good job and would recommend them.