The UFO album by album thread.

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by Jimmy Agates, Apr 18, 2013.

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  1. Rose River Bear

    Rose River Bear Senior Member

    Yeah I missed it too.
    I learned every guitar solo off of Force it. I think it was their peak in every way. Schenker's guitar solos on Force it are just amazing. Flowing, melodic, fast and intense. When he slows down he gets even better.
    The albums after Force It are great but MS was never better than on Force It IMO.
    The songs on Force It give him more room for soloing than any album afterwards. The harmonic changes allow for soloing of real genius. Shoot Shoot is a perfect example of this.
     
  2. GodShifter

    GodShifter Forum Member

    Location:
    Dallas, TX, USA
    phoenixhwy1982 & River Rose Bear = write reviews for Force It. We're one album ahead. At this point, they would fit in fine!
     
  3. Rose River Bear

    Rose River Bear Senior Member

    Would you guys mind if I reviewed a few of my favorite songs on Force It. I know it is messing up the flow of the thread but I would love to. I hope you don't mind if I throw in some technical guitar stuff too.
    Force It is without a doubt in the top 25 albums of all time for me.
     
  4. GodShifter

    GodShifter Forum Member

    Location:
    Dallas, TX, USA
    Please do! It can do nothing but add to the thread! I'd love to read what you have to say :)
     
  5. phoenixhwy1982

    phoenixhwy1982 The Last Cowboy

    Location:
    Chicago
    I will tomorrow! I really wanted to give it some "spin" time after I bought the CD. I haven't played Force It while driving yet... Tomorrow will play it on the way to work (or from work, not sure which) and then I'll be ready :)
     
    GodShifter likes this.
  6. GodShifter

    GodShifter Forum Member

    Location:
    Dallas, TX, USA
    Awesome! Love the new avatar, too!
     
  7. phoenixhwy1982

    phoenixhwy1982 The Last Cowboy

    Location:
    Chicago
    ty! time for some Buffy reruns... :agree:
     
    GodShifter likes this.
  8. slipkid

    slipkid Senior Member

    Mind? Eagerly looking forward to it! Shoot Shoot!

    Schenker's guitar playing, both his "tone" and what notes he plays have always grabbed me. Some insight would be cool to read. I hazily recall reading somewhere that his tone is based on using a partially depressed wah-wah pedal (backing off some treble?) - is that true?
     
  9. Rose River Bear

    Rose River Bear Senior Member

    Here is my review of Let it Roll. You guys have done a great job with the rest of the album. I would like to review Shoot Shoot also if you don't mind.

    Let It Roll...one of my UFO favorites.

    Let it Roll starts things off with a siren like whine from a pinched C sharp note that immediately grabs your attention and heralds "we are here and in your face". Another poster stated, Schenker's guitar tone is more raw sounding than ever before. It is the most trebly he has ever sounded. Sharp as a knife tones from his Gibson Flying V.
    The band chugs along for a few bars and then shifts gears to the verse in E Major...a more guitar friendly key. Your ear makes you think they will stay there but they shift back to C Sharp where Mad Mickey blasts out the first of many amazing guitar solos. Ultra smooth bends and pulloffs as the solo skitters along.
    It's back to E major again for the second verse which leads to an awesome motif in E major at 1:24 which leads to an abrupt tempo and key change to B Minor at 1:37 where Mickey lays out a beautiful B harmonic minor solo over some guitar fills that mimic a string section out of the right speaker that start at 2:05. The song then shifts tempo again at 2:34 to F Sharp Minor and more great fills. At 3:01 Mickey pounds out a D Major chord signaling yet another change back to the C sharp chord at 3:04 which opened the song! This makes my heart pound every time I hear it.
    The final verse shifts back to E Major and this time stays there until the motif first heard at 1:24 in E is repeated but this time with some additional awesome sounding guitar harmonies. And just when you thought the song would probably fade out with that motif, Schenker goes into a dive bomb descending E major run in thirds at 3:49 which comes crashing down on the E chord stopping on a dime.
    Man what a ride! This is not the UFO I was used to hearing. My jaw was on the floor the first time I heard it. An amazing song. Schenker pushes the limit to what melodic pentatonic soloing is all about on this song.
    The unsung hero in this song is Andy Parker. With all of the changes in this song if he was not spot on, the whole song would fall apart.
    I would like to review Shoot Shoot in a day or two.
     
  10. phoenixhwy1982

    phoenixhwy1982 The Last Cowboy

    Location:
    Chicago
    As many as you like, please. :D

    This is good stuff!!
     
  11. rcdupre

    rcdupre Flying is Trying is Dying

    well, maybe he's not that "inventive" but at least he doesn't just play the dull root chords / notes like most bass players in hard rock...and I assume he had a hand in composing all the music, the reason we all love this band so much...most hard rock bands you don't even notice the bass, but you notice Way, he sticks out...I used to be a bass player, so I notice it more...
     
  12. Rose River Bear

    Rose River Bear Senior Member

    Yes he did use a partially depressed wah pedal to get his tone similar to what Mick Ronson did.
     
  13. Baron Von Talbot

    Baron Von Talbot Well-Known Member

    I picked up a used Cd copy of it in the 90ies and immediately loved it. In some ways this is my favorite UFO album. I know Force It has the better songs and a far slicker sound but as you descibed it well it still has traces of that Hippie vibe left and the fact it is a lower profile affair and is very short makes it even more familiar sounding. I don't like Lonesome Crow but i like PHENOMEN. Out goes that noodling in comes structure harmonics and strong melodies. Doctor, Doctor is as strong as any Thin Lizzy classic from the 70ies.
    The band is tight. rhythm section experienced enough to back up one xtra ordinary guitar magician. I like that he does not take the solos too far and like the slower trax, too. It is a long time since i last listened to this CD intensely but i will change that and comment on other tunes. I think it deserves a 4 / 5 stars 7/10. But more important is, that it was a clear statement , that UFO had found it's final direction and with Michael Schenker stardom was as inevitable as it
    was for his brother Rudolf and the other blokes of The Scorpions.
    I remember seeing them (SCORPIONS) various times with Michael 1972/1973 and they never really caught my full interest. Festival slots in germany mainly. Untill early summer 1976 as they played at an open air early in the afternoon at a VERY hot early summer day in southern germany and this bloke said "Now we Play Some Hendrix " and we - "Really ? LOL" But then they played RED HOUSE and everyboy was PAW ! and on their feet. That guitar guy really knew how to play the six strings ! The band rocked on point and even the vocals were not that bad..
    I always believed it was Michael that day but that cannot be - must have been his brother.
    The old original Scorpions played twin V-guitars
    If you did not know now you know...lol
     
  14. Rose River Bear

    Rose River Bear Senior Member

    I agree. Pete Way is a great bass player.
     
  15. Rose River Bear

    Rose River Bear Senior Member

    His vibrato and string bending are a wondrous thing to hear also along with his tone.
     
  16. phoenixhwy1982

    phoenixhwy1982 The Last Cowboy

    Location:
    Chicago
  17. slipkid

    slipkid Senior Member

    Ah yes, the king of that type of sound. Ronno was well known for that.
     
  18. CaptBeyond

    CaptBeyond Well-Known Member

    Location:
    Above the Ozone
    Force It full LP:

     
  19. slipkid

    slipkid Senior Member

    Now that you mention it, that is one of the big keys to his playing, that is what I think of when I think of Schenker!! Leslie West without all the distortion.
     
  20. CaptBeyond

    CaptBeyond Well-Known Member

    Location:
    Above the Ozone
    NHP is full (for those too lazy to spin the vinyl or silver):

     
  21. GodShifter

    GodShifter Forum Member

    Location:
    Dallas, TX, USA
    Guitarist that day for Scorpions had to have been Uli Jon Roth.
     
  22. Baron Von Talbot

    Baron Von Talbot Well-Known Member

    The Live Bootlegs give a good impression of the purity of Michael Schenkers tone and liquid quickness on the strings - How will we treat these ? As a Box set from later or each performance according to the recording dates ( 1975 (76/78 and 81/82 .. ? Listening to UFO LIVE 1978 October, 16th in Cleveland now and they rock rough and ready !
    Sound wise as close to the real thing as you will get.
     
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  23. Who is certainly NO slouch himself! Different style altogether than Schenker though.
     
    vmajewsk and Trillmeister like this.
  24. GodShifter

    GodShifter Forum Member

    Location:
    Dallas, TX, USA
    Well then, with your vote and River Rose Bear's I'm in the minority in terms of my view on Pete Way. I guess I view talent differently than other musicians. :: shrug ::
     
  25. Baron Von Talbot

    Baron Von Talbot Well-Known Member

    ah yeah, hence that Hendrix obsession..thanks
     
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