It’s my favourite Chapman era album. I think Neil Carter brought an added sophistication. But then I always thought Wild, Willing ….. sounded a bit rough and ready. I absolutely love Mechanix.
have posted this before on another thread..a little rehearsal w/ the extended family; in the grime - :sweat:
My Top 5 would be: I&W Scenes from a Memory Systematic Chaos Train of Thought Black Clouds & Silver Linings Six Degrees has just never clicked with me & I have tried a number of times over the years.
Don't forget their debut album... Out of the Silent Planet. That album & Gretchen are both brilliant start-to-finish. Hard to believe that Dug was already pushing 40 years old when those first albums came out in the 80s!
That footage is from Michael's Temple of Rock - Live In Europe "Limited Deluxe Collector's Edition 2 CD, Blu-ray, Bonus DVD" boxset. I have #1918 btw and don't know how many were made. That overall release came out in multiple flavors and I may be misremembering but I think that rehearsal footage is only available on the bonus DVD of this limited edition set. EDIT: I highly recommend this release, or any of its flavors, for the main live set. It's Michael with the classic rhythm section of the Scorpions, thus it has a bunch of classic Scorps songs on it. Doogie White does a good job on vocals. I prefer it over the next live set 4 years later called ON A MISSION LIVE FROM MADRID, which ain't bad but...wow, I love this one more.
It was undoubtedly doused in citrus fruit, that record but as you say, the last track rocked most effectively; actually, track #1 - 'The Writer' - hardly stinks the place out, either but the rest? Not good. By contrast, Making Contact is for me, re UFO, what The Eternal Idol is to 'Sabbath; for completely different reasons but in terms of appreciating fairly unfashionable curios after a 'classic era' (or two.) I've been in love with it since it launched. I have fond memories of driving to my provincial university seat in a period Fiat with almost no horsepower across rural Northumbria yet experiencing all manner of physics-defying moments thanks to that very tape. Outstanding.
always wondered what that was about..thought it was just a sunday jam or something w/ the boys. great box set, never heard of it .. TA!
Well thats what Im trying to get a handle on Frets. I listened to Mechanix last night, didnt think much of what I was hearing. (Not a big one for keys over guitar. And I did see this tour, it was a sad affair but not due to UFO's performance that day) But I was very surprised to see that Mechanix was UFO's top charting studio album in the UK. (In the US, that would be Lights Out) So Im trying to get a grip on why this particular album sold better than anything with the classic lineup on it. In fact looking at it now, 3 Chapman era UFO albums charted higher than any studio album they did with Schenker in the UK. It surprises me because I wouldnt have guessed that. Edit: fwiw, its not Neil Carter thats my issue here. Its that everyone else in the group seems to take a backseat to what he's doing. But thats my impression, thats all.
That blows my mind. Genuinely. Did the rise of NWOBHM carry some ancillary sales for UFO (even though they weren’t a NWOBHM band), so that wave pushed them higher? Or was there a lingering benefit from Strangers? I wonder.
Charting higher doesn't automatically means it sold more though. Did those albums actually sold more copies in total?
I always found that puzzling too. Maybe it's because by that time they had already blazed their trail so to speak and built-up a fanbase or got more airplay or label backing/push. Is there a statute of limitation on chart #s like that? For example after a year an album's sold figures get closed as far as chart action goes? That they only "count" in the charts for 1st couple months after release? I'd be surprised overall now say 40-50 years or whatever later (yikes!) if more people have bought Mechanix than Lights Out since their release dates.
As with most music, I like to delve into the more obscure and lesser-known artist. Besides the usual ones mentioned already I have been trying out different kind of metal. Not sure how many people know these bands, but over the years I have begun to like bands like Uncle Acid & the Deadbeats, and Dabulus in Musica.
Good point - albeit chart position is an indicator of relative popularity at the time of release, which cumulative sales aren’t necessarily. So it still feels surprising.
It does seem like fans of Awake (I'm nearly positively CrackersMad about Awake, brilliant hour there!) do also seem to rate 6DOIT highly also (as I do). Blind Faith and Misunderstood sound like slightly updated takes on the Awaken sound - a bit brighter in the production (since by 2001, the trend of trying to make albums sound a bit darker - a trend that came in with grunge in 1992 and lasted through about 1998 - was fading away). King's X dovetails with this tangent a bit -- Dogman, Ear Candy, and Tape Head all featured a bit darker/thicker production and soundstage tones - but by Please Come Home Mr. Bulbous, the brighter sound of the earlier days returned to a degree.
Thats a good point Pouch. I may do a little digging to see what else was on the charts around that time. To Doom's thought, I did look at Iron Maiden's Number of the Beast, which was a #1 in the UK in 1982. There was momentum after Strangers (a #7 UK), No Place made it to #11, WWI fell to #19, and Mechanix rose to #8. Jack opinion was a more sophisticated sound may explain the higher charting. Which would seem not to appeal much to those NWOBHM kids absorbing Iron Maiden and Motorhead. Hard rock and metal were ascending, and UFO seem to be heading in a different direction under Captain Mogg. Find it interesting that Judas Priest, at the same time while writing more radio friendly songs, also made the sound
UFO's Mechanix debut at #8 on Valentine's Day, Feb. 14th. (Link opens to that chart) 1 month later, #88. (Weekly running: 8, 20, 24, 44, 88) Looking at these charts reminds me that 1982, while pretty good for metal, was not a good year for albums. Lot of New Wave, couple Kraftwerk albums, and Barbara Streisand. But clearly a mid February release, after the holiday shopping season, would seem to be the slowest sales month to put a new album out. Beneficial for an older band with a decent size fan base in its home country. Official Albums Chart Top 100 | Official Charts Company
Yeah but often times people will buy a new album in large part because of the previous releases. The band is building a bigger fanbase with each new release so this and good promotion are a huge part of how a new album does out of the gate. If the new album drops rapidly after the first few weeks on the charts it means that fans don't like it very much...Word of mouth was probably very important back then among music fans.
Speaking of Dare, I just received their latest album on my doorstep today (Amazon delivers on Sundays here) called Road to Eden. Think it came out just a couple months ago. Only heard of it because I had picked up some back issues of Classic Rock on ebay recently (there is simply no other way for me to get CR magazine around here with no bookstores around and FYE not carrying CR anymore either). So I ordered it from Amazon. In CR issue #306 there is an article about Dare. Explains their album arc & lineups - 1st album was "AOR", 2nd (Blood From Stone) was harder rocking due to label A&M wanting that type of band/album to compete with Whitesnake/GNR etc. Then they went back to less "metal" vibe and have continued on that path, incorporating more Celtic vibes ever since. A lot of lineup changes along the way....
Always weird answering myself.....but some more info about this that others might benefit from. After tearing my house upside down trying to find that Mountain 2 CD collection with Stormy Monday live from Atlanta Pop Festival I think I know now what happened to it. That song came out almost 15 years later on CD as a bonus track on a reissue of the Mountain Live The Road Goes Ever On CD on Iconoclassic Records in 2018. After I picked that up I musta decided the Mountain Over the Top collection was extraneous so in a rare moment of (needed) CD culling I either gave it away or sold it. If yer looking for Mountain's live take of Stormy Monday from Atlanta Pop on CD and you don't already have The Road Goes Ever On that's a better option than the 2 CD collection IMO.
Re Mechanix I think it's the best Chapman era album along with TWTW&TI. I don't care much for the rather limp No Place To Run and the half good half lame Making Contact - even Misdemeanor is better than those two.
Tesla tour dates: January 14 - Fort Worth, TX - Will Rogers Auditorium 15 - Lubbock, TX - Memorial Civic Center 19 - Tampa, FL - Seminole Hard Rock Event Center 21 - Naval Air Station Key West, FL - Rokisland Fest March 15 - Redding, CA - Civic Center 17 - Las Vegas, NV - House Of Blues 18 - Las Vegas, NV - House Of Blues 22 - Las Vegas, NV - House Of Blues 24 - Las Vegas, NV - House Of Blues 25 - Las Vegas, Nv - House Of Blues April 1 - Snoqualmie, WA - Snoqualmie Casino 14 - Charles Town, WV - Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races 18 - Detroit, MI - Sound Board at Motorcity Casino Hotel 19 - Grand Rapids, MI - GLC Live at 20 Monroe 21 - New Buffalo, MI - Silver Creek Event Center at Four Winds Casino 25 - Williamsport, PA - Community Arts Center 26 - Cincinnati, OH - The Andrew J Brady Music Center 29 - Port Canaveral, FL - Monsters Of Rock Cruise 2023 May 5 - Lake Buena Vista, FL - House Of Blues June 9 - Wendover, NV - Peppermill Concert Hall 16 - Durant, OK - Choctaw Casino Resort
