I knew a few UFO songs from a Michael Schenker anthology double album I had bought a few months earlier before I found this double vinyl in my favourite second hand record store, and bought it on the spot. I didn’t know the band or its music very well but I knew Schenker and that he had been in this band, so I was keen to get home and give it a listen. It didn’t take long to realise that I had come across some real gold, and album that to this day I still get excited about whenever I put it on or hear it at a friend’s house.
From the outset there is so much to love hear. The brilliant guitar riff to start off “Natural Thing”, the harmony vocals of Mogg and Way in “Out in the Street” into the classic UFO tracks “Only You Can Rock Me” and “Doctor Doctor”. The magnificence that is the live version of “Love to Love” with Mogg’s wonderful vocals and the brilliant guitar of Schenker stealing the show. Then there is the bombastic version of “Lights Out” that is as heavy a song that UFO perform which is followed by the extended version of “Rock Bottom” to allow Schenker to further showcase his brilliance on the guitar. Between this come all of the other hits that UFO had written up until this time, and nothing misses out. It would be difficult to come up with any weak points, or of any other songs that could replace those that are on this album already.
In a way this album ruined the studio albums of UFO for me once I got around to getting them, because I knew these songs perfectly by the time I heard them, but I knew the live version of the songs not the studio versions, and quite simply the live versions are far superior than their studio cousins. So when I started getting the early albums and listening to them I found that they didn’t quite have the same energy and momentum that the songs showed on this album. Over time of course that faded and I was able to enjoy them as much as any other of their work, but there is never a time that I put this on that I don’t love everything on this so much more.
The CD version has added back in two songs that start the concert, “Hot and Ready” and “Cherry”, and also reordered the playlist so that it is closer to what UFO played on this tour. While that’s great, for me it ruins the flow of the album just a little, because you miss that great start of the guttural guitar riff that leads into “Natural Thing” that for me was the perfect start on my vinyl copy. Now you don’t get to hear that until track five, and the album lacks a punch as a result.
The band is on fire, and each of them is just terrific on this album. Paul Raymond being able to switch between the organ and keyboards onto rhythm guitar to add a fullness to the live sound is fantastic and invaluable in the live environment. Pete Way on bass fills the bottom end out nicely, while Andy Parker’s drumming is fantastic. Phil Mogg’s vocals are superb, and he gives these versions of their songs a great kick. The star for me is still Michael Schenker, who despite his own feelings on the versions of the songs offered here again proves what a maestro he was with his instrument in his hands. His solos still steal the show on more occasions than not.
There have been some brilliant and unforgettable live albums released over the years. Think Iron Maiden’s Live After Death, think Slayer’s Decade of Aggression: Live, think Deep Purple’s Made in Japan. For me, this is the equal of those albums. It is truly one the great live albums released by hard rock and heavy metal bands, and for me it is the pinnacle of this band’s career, a defining moment that not only showed off their excellence but sadly proved to be the end of their golden years with the moving on of Schenker to other projects.
Rating: “Since you came from Memphis, you can look but please don’t touch”. 5/5
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