UFO - Complete Studio Albums 1974-1986 (10 CD, 2014/FLAC)

 UFO are an English rock band that was formed in London in 1969. They became a transitional group between early hard rock and heavy metal and the new wave of British heavy metal. Over a career spanning 48 years, UFO have released 22 studio albums, 14 live recordings and 16 compilation albums. They achieved major success in the late 1970s and early 1980s with several albums and singles in the UK and US Top 40 charts, and have sold over ten million records worldwide.

1974 - Phenomenon 

1975 - Force It 

1976 - No Heavy Petting 

1977 - Lights Out

1978 - Obsession 

1980 - No Place To Run 

1981 - The Wild, The Willing And The Innocent 

1982 - Mechanix 

1983 - Making Contact 

1985 - Misdemeanor 

 

UFO - The Chrysalis Years 1980-1986 [5 CD, 2012]

 

Chrysalis Records continues to revisit the past recorded works of UFO; this time around looking back to the “post-Schenker” albums. These five studio albums, along with live recordings, rare tracks, alternate takes, single edits comprise the five-CD set titled The Chrysalis Years Vol 2 (1980-1986). The studio albums include 1980′s No Place to Run, ‘81′s The Wild, the Willing and the Innocent, ‘82′s Mechanix, ‘83′s Making Contact and ‘86′s Misdemeanor. Vol. 2 also includes live tracks from concerts in Cleveland and at the Hammersmith Apollo in the U.K., as well as a BBC concert recorded for Radio 1 during their 1980 No Place To Run tour.


The Chrysalis Years Vol 2 (1980-1986) delivers another 70-plus song CD set, which defined the character of UFO during the ‘80s. It’s a cliché, but Schenker leaving UFO left some big shoes to fill. Without Schenker, the band worked with several guitarists and valiantly tried to recapture the magic they had during the 1970s. During this time period, original members Andy Parker and Pete Way (who left UFO after the release of Mechanix), both, stepped away from UFO, leaving Mogg as the only original member. Mogg carried on, disbanding the group in 1985, only to return again in ’86 with Paul Gray, Atomic Tommy M, Paul Raymond and Joe Simpson and released Misdemeanor. This was a short-lived affair, as UFO disbanded for a second time in 1988. Eventually, Mogg and Way teamed up for another go at it in ’91. The next year, the original lineup of Mogg, Schenker, Way, Raymond and Parker reunited for three albums; Walk on Water (1995), Covenant (2000), and Sharks (2002).

So, after the minor UFO history lesson, we are left to ponder The Chrysalis Years. Following the ’70s with inconsistent lineups and weak record sales, UFO trudged through the ’80s, finding themselves competing with MTV, NWOBHM, thrash metal and Glam. While teenagers of this time period would have leaned more toward the metallic fury of “Lights Out,” or the bombastic “Rock Bottom,” only die-hard fans who allowed themselves to follow the band after the departure of Schenker, embraced UFO and continued to show their allegiance. The are some gems on The Chrysalis Years Vol 2 (1980-1986), and you find the weaker moments are the live tracks. As the guitarists do well to performing their songs in the live setting, most often they don’t do the Schenker material justice. Often finding themselves behind the beat and not “on it” like Schenker, those songs don’t have the same pep and often lose the original magic.

UFO had some success and personnel highlights during this time period. They worked with George Martin, the legendary producer who worked with the Beatles, on ’80s No Place To Run. They also released the successful Mechanix, which peaked at No. 8 on the charts in the U.K. For UFO fans, other highlights in the package include the inclusion of 1983′s Headstone, which is a compilation of live songs released after they disbanded (the first time).

Also included from:
1980′s No Place To Run: the single edit “Young Blood” and its live B-side “Hot ‘N’ Ready”
1981′s Mechanix: features the B-side “Heel Of A Stranger”
1983′s Making Contact: features the B-side “Everybody Knows” and previously unreleased on CD – 7” edit of single “When It’s Time To Rock”
1986′s Misdemeanor: features the non-album B-side The Chase” and U.S. remix versions of “Night Run,” “Heavens Gate” and “One Heart”

With the liner notes again penned by Phil Mogg, The Chrysalis Years Vol 2 (1980-1986) is an important addition to any UFO fans CD collection. Whether you are a fan of this historical period of the band or not, it shows that they weren’t willing to lay down and die. Their tenacity led to their current incarnation that now features Vinny Moore on guitar, along with Phil Mogg, Paul Raymond and Andy Parker. Their latest studio release, Seven Deadly, was released this year and showcases a band still doing what the love to do.

• Phil Mogg (vocals)
• Paul Chapman (guitar)
• Paul Raymond (keyboards, guitar)
• Andy Parker (drums)
• Pete Way (bass)
• Neil Carter (keyboards, guitar, sax)
• Tommy McClendon (guitar)
• Paul Gray (bass)
• Joe Simpson (drums)

UFO - The Chrysalis Years: 1973–1979 [5 CD, 2011]

  

The Chrysalis Years: 1973–1979 is a compilation album by the band UFO which includes 81 tracks, some not previously released. The compilation includes, in their entirety, the albums recorded for the Chrysalis label during said years, including (in order of appearance): Phenomenon (1974), Force It (1975), No Heavy Petting (1976), Lights Out (1977), Obsession (1978), and Strangers in the Night (1979). In addition to these albums, the compilation also includes a previously unreleased live set recorded at Alex Cooley's Electric Ballroom[2] in Atlanta, GA, several singles and B-sides which have not to date been released in CD format, and tracks recorded with engineers Bob Harris and John Peel but not included on the original album releases. Arguably, this period during the 1970s, is the zenith of the band's creativity, and The Chrysalis Years: 1973–1979 is an attractive collection likely to contain all the recordings by the band one might desire excepting for the most devout UFO fans.

• Phil Mogg – vocals
• Michael Schenker – lead guitar
• Pete Way – bass
• Andy Parker – drums
• Paul Raymond – rhythm guitar, keyboards (disc 3, tracks 14–17; disc 4 & disc 5)
• Danny Peyronel—keyboards and vocals (disc 3, tracks 5–13)

 

UFO - Will the Last Man Standing (Turn Out the Light): The Best of UFO (2019/FLAC)

 For a band with 23 studio albums, 15 live albums and 18 ‘collections’ of songs in various forms already out there its hard to see why another UFO collection is warranted. Anniversaries though are always times for old labels to cash in and Chrysalis (sold to EMI in 1991 , then bought by Universal and subsequently sold to Warners in 2013 before being bought by Blue Raincoat Music in 2016) are no doubt looking at the 50th Anniversary to shift a few more units.

2019 of course sees both the band’s 50th Anniversary and Phil Mogg’s last shows as a frontman, but it’s still unsure at present whether UFO as an entity will continue after Mogg hangs up his ‘tap shoes’ (as he might say). The interesting thing of course is that Chrysalis only had the band for the period of 1973-1985 and whilst that is considered by many to be the bands peak for a 50th anniversary collection there’s another 38 years unaccounted for!