A solid overview of the Schenker years

The Essential UFO (1992.) A UFO hits compilation covering the Michael Schenker era (1974-1978.)



The early seventies were a time of transition for both the Scorpions and UFO. Lead Scorpions guitarist Michael Schenker left the group to become UFO's lead guitarist, replacing Mick Bolton, while the Scorpions hired replacement Ulrich Jon Roth. The changes would benefit BOTH bands. UFO's Schenker years are often considered to be the best years of their career, so it's no surprise that most UFO compilations cover those years. Read on for my review of one of them - The Essential UFO.



PROS:

-ALL THE BIG HITS FROM THE BAND'S POPULAR YEARS ARE HERE. Rock Bottom, Lights Out, Too Hot To Handle, and Only You Can Rock Me are among the rock hits the band serves up on this compilation.

-LOTS OF UNDERRATED STUFF TOO! This set goes beyond the hits of the Schenker era, giving you underrated masterpieces like Out In The Street, Looking Out For Number One, and Born To Lose. There is way more to the group than the hits.

-NO FILLER MATERIAL! The compilation covers the Schenker era, and ONLY the best from the era, so you know you're getting a good set.

-A GREAT VALUE! For a relatively low price, you get a good deal of UFO classics - that's less than a dollar per song! It's a much better value than most of the import compilations.

-DOESN'T OVERLOOK LIVE STUFF. Some of UFO's best stuff was recorded live, and this album has three tracks from the classic Strangers In The Night live album the group recorded before Schenker's departure from the group to form his own band.



CONS:

-ONLY COVERS THE SCHENKER YEARS. I won't deny for one second that these are the band's glory days, but they did have good songs outside this era! A two-disc, career-spanning set would have been better.

-NO PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED SONGS OR RARITIES. Not really a big flaw, but if you've got all the albums, you're not going to have any reason to buy this set.

-SONGS ARE IN A WEIRD ORDER. For the most part the early stuff comes early in the set and the later stuff somes later, but they mixed the tracks up just enough to mess with people's heads. Not a big problem if you're just a casual fan, though.



OVERALL:

Seeking an introduction to UFO? This compilation is just what you need. No fan of classic hard rock should be without some UFO in their collection, and this compilation makes the perfect starting point for new fans.