Poll Results For The Best UFO Ballad

The results for this great poll were that "Try Me" and "Love To love" both tied for first place with six votes.  Second place went to the classic "Born To Lose" with two votes.  Third place was a huge tie of one vote between "Terri," "Lookin Out For No. 1," "High Flyer," "Crystal Light," and "Belladonna."  "Come Away Melinda" and "Time On My Hands" both got zero votes.  I expected "Love To Love" and "Try Me" to have the most votes, but I would've expected someone to vote for "Come Away Melinda."  

Something To Listen To

On October 4th, the UFO countdowns will be starting again on the radio.  The station is on womr.org and the show will be from 9pm to 4am.  Be sure to listen because people make very cool lists. This is the first time it will be happening again, and I hope you will all check it out.

What Do You Think The Ideal UFO Lineup Would Be?

UFO is currently in an awesome lineup now, but what would the ideal UFO lineup?  I would have to go with Phil Mogg on vocals, Michael Schenker and Paul Chapman on a guitar duo, Neil Carter doing keyboards, guitar, and sax, Pete Way on bass, and Andy Parker on drums.  I think that this band would be so awesome, because Paul and Michael are both such good guitar players, and if Michael learned to work in a duo, then that would be so amazing.  I really like Neil Carter so much, because he is so musically diverse.  He can play like anything, and he is also an amazing writer.  I think that it is pretty obvious to have Pete and Andy as the rhythm section, because they are both at the top of the list of the best for each instrument.  The band was at its peak when they were together.  Obviously Phil is I my perfect lineup, because there would be no UFO if there wasn't Phil Mogg, and I also think he is probably one of the best singers to ever live.  What would your ideal UFO lineup be?

A Great Documentary On The Band

I was surfing around on YouTube one day, and I ran into this awesome rockumentary World's Greatest Albums: UFO Strangers In The Night.  This video is amazing, because it is a full length critic review on my favorite album of all time, and it also features the awesome Pete Way.  This video shows lots of rare footage like the promotional movie of "Only You Can Rock Me," and lots of great performances of songs like "Give Her The Gun," "Space Child," and "Rock Bottom."  It is so interesting, because it gives a whole history of the band from the Mick Bolton days, all the way through the Michael Schenker era.  The interviews with Pete Way are extremely interesting, and he really gives his opinions on the band.  There were a lot of opinions from the other critics that I didn't agree with, but that doesn't affect how awesome this video is.  You can find this on YouTube by searching UFO rockumentary.  The video will be in five parts, but that also is worth it considering that Amazon is asking over 100 dollars for this DVD.  I really think you will enjoy this video, and I highly recommend watching it.

Live Or Studio: Which Version Of These UFO Songs Is Better?

For my article today, I decided to take the set list of the Strangers In The Night album, and choose whether this version of the song is better, or if the studio version is better.  

1. "Natural Thing"- Live.  This song is so much better on Strangers In The Night.  It just has twice the energy, and I think the performances are also much better too.

2. "Out In The Street"- Live.  The main thing I like more live is the tempo.  The studio version is a lot slower, and it really doesn't flow as well, but on the live version, it is so much catchier and energetic.  Also, Paul Raymond's keyboard playing is much better than Danny Peyronel's for this song.

3. "Only You Can Rock Me"- Live.  This song became so much more of an anthem because of Strangers In The Night.  The just had a much better tone, and Phil's voice is so much better than on the studio version. 

4. "Doctor Doctor"- Live.  It is very rare that I listen to the Phenomenon version, because I love this version so much more.  The riff sounds so much better, and the intro guitar solo is also so much better.  The clapping when the riff kicks in is also so much of an asset to the song, because it pumps me up so much.

5. "Mother Mary"- Live.  The whole atmosphere of the song is so much better on Strangers In The Night.  The riff is so much heavier, and Phil's vocals are superb to say the least.  

6. "This Kid's"- Live.  The whole interlude/ guitar solo thing is so much more emotional on Strangers In The Night, and I love the grittiness.

7. "Love To Love"- Studio.  The whole sound was better on Lights Out, and I've never heard a live version that has completely met my expectations. Studio version is my favorite song of all time so I'm very picky.

8.  "Lights Out"- Live.  They are pretty much equal except for the "lights out in Chicago" line.  This made the song so much more of an anthem.

9. "Rock Bottom"- Live.  This has never been one of my favorite studio tunes, but the version on this album will blow your mind. The guitar solo is one of the best ever played by any guitarist.  

10. "Too Hot To Handle"- Studio.  I think the energy and sound is better on the Lights Out version.  Solo and riff also sound better.

11. "I'm A Loser"- Studio.  I like Danny Peyronel's playing more on the studio version, because he has a better sound than Raymond this time.  I also thing the studio version was tighter, and it is easier to listen to.

12. "Let It Roll"- Tie.  Neither version is better, because they sound exactly the same.

13.  "Shoot Shoot"- Tie.  Neither version is better, both are completely amazing.  

If you disagree with any of my opinions feel free to comment.

Why UFO Should Be In The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame: Part 2

I am bringing up the topic of UFO not being in the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame again because it is such a stupid mistake from the corporation to leave this brilliant band along with many others out.  I've been doing lots of research on the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and I really don't like how they do their voting for who gets voted in.  The main voters really seem as if they only go by what they like, and I think that can be bad at times, because their ideas of what is good doesn't always sit well with the public.  For example, Madonna got into the Hall Of Fame like right when she was eligible, and from what I see; this may be partly to the fact that voter Seymour Stein signed her on to a record deal back in the 80's.  this truly strikes me as biased, because when you look at her musical talent compared to other bands of rock and roll, then you really see how messed up that is.  The other problem with that is that Madonna never was a rock and roll artist, she was just simply shock pop.  I think this really gives a bad feel to bands like UFO, because they have dedicated their life to making high quality rock music that has influenced a crazy amount of musicians, and they have never even been considered for the ballot.  Some of the bands that were influenced by UFO have even been inducted before them.  Some examples of this are Metallica and Guns N' Roses.  Both bands definitely deserve to be in the hall of fame, but don't you think it would be quite appropriate to put the much better band that influenced members of both bands in too.  The next thing I have to say is that I don't see why the corporation doesn't look for the opinions of people to put musicians in.  I think that they should totally put a feature on their website so you can vote for what bands you think really deserve to be in.  If this would've happened ten years ago, then I really don't think Michael Jackson would have a second spot in the museum, and I also don't think bands like Donna Summer, Public Enemy, Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, REM, ABBA, Madonna, and Run D.M.C would even be in the museum right now.  The problem I have with all of these artists is that even if they did do something for their genre of music, they did NOTHING for rock and roll.  It doesn't matter if Run D.M.C can ruin an awesome song from Aerosmith, because it doesn't show any music brilliance at all.  Some bands that do show music brilliance in rock that have been snubbed are KISS, Nazareth, Thin Lizzy, Iron Maiden, Deep Purple, Rainbow, Ten Years After, Judas Priest, Scorpions, Uriah Heep, Blue Oyster Cult, Peter Frampton, Triumph, Pantera, Alice In Chains, Journey, Styx, Mountain, Queensryche, Cinderella, Bon Jovi, and  Ronnie James Dio on his own!  Oh and there is and another band that many people consider to be the best(including me), and there name is UFO.  So Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame, please get some sense on what rock music is, and put UFO and all the other bands in to your business.

UFO Chrysalis Years 2: 1980-1986

UFO The Chrysalis Years 2(1980-1986) is an amazing collection of all of the albums that featured Paul Chapman, and the first album with Tommy McClendon Misdemeanor.  This set also features many live performances, and lots of unreleased treasures from the band.  I like this set just as much as the first, and I highly recommend buying it.  

The albums featured in this set are; No Place To Run, The Wild The Willing and The Innocent, Mechanix, Making Contact, and Misdemeanor.  This is an amazing deal if you buy this item on Amazon, because they have it listed for 19 dollars currently, and that is definitely cheaper then just buying these albums separately.  Each of the albums have bonus tracks, and they are usually the single versions of the songs, or B sides that didn't make it on the album.  Some of the other features of this collection are the 1980 BBC In Concert performance, some recording from their Live In Hammersmith performance, and a version of "Hot N' Ready" that was performed in Cleveland, Ohio. Just like in the first set, the liner notes include an awesome interview with Phil Mogg.  Even though there is a little less bonus material than the first box set, I think that the set is still really impressive, and it is definitely worth every dime.  

I really like these box sets, because they have such a high quality collection for such an affordable price. You can't go wrong buying this, because you will get all of the amazing albums with Chapman.  I know it would probably cost at least 40 or more dollars to get everything that you can have in this set if you buy them separately.  So I highly recommend this to you, and you won't be disappointed.

Does Anyone Else Think That UFO Sounds Very Southern Now?

Back when I wrote about Seven Deadly, I happened to say that modern day UFO sounds a lot like Southern Rock band.  This came back to me today as I was looking at the stats on my blog.  I noticed that people were looking at my blog from a Deep Purple Fan Forum.  The discussion board happened to be Deep Purple Vs. Modern Day UFO.  Two of the people were having a disagreement of whether UFO sounds like Southern Rock or not, and then the one person who thought they did used my blog as a source of someone else who agreed with them.  I found this pretty cool that people were taking my blog and advertising it by using it as maybe a reliable source for UFO subjects.  I think that UFO sounds a lot like Southern Rock nowadays, and I don't see that as a bad thing, because it was a Rey good change in sound.  I was wondering if you all agreed with the idea that they had this change, and if so or not, then why do you have this opinion?

Something To Tell Everyone In The Audience Of This Blog

I just wanted to let everyone know that if you have any subjects you would like me to talk about on this blog, then definitely comment to me.  I would love to see what other subjects of UFO interest you.  Also, if there are any tabs you would like, then definitely say so.  Thanks for being a great audience.

Ryan.

Results For Favorite Post Schenker Album

The poll has closed for favorite post Schenker album.  The winner was "The Wild The Willing and the Innocent" with six votes.  Second place was "Mechanix" with three votes, and third place was "No Place To Run" with one vote.  The winner was a surprise to me, because I was sure that "Mechanix" would win.  I guess when you have "Lonely Heart" on the other album, "Mechanix" is the real underdog.  Pay attention for the next poll, because I will set it up soon.