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Strangers in the Night

 
Album Review: Strangers in the Night
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Strangers in the Night

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  • Artist: UFO
  • Rating: StarStarStarHalf Star
  • Release Date: 1979
  • Total Time: 73:04
  • Type: Live, Lyrics are included with the album
  • Genre: Rock

Review

Unfortunately, this concert album is often overlooked when discussions of the great live rock albums of the '70s arise. UFO's Strangers in the Night deserves to be right up there with Kiss' Alive! and Thin Lizzy's Live and Dangerous, based on the excitement the group and its audience generate and due to the quality of the hard rock compositions. This is a band at its peak, with its prime lineup (led by German guitar-monger Michael Schenker) and all of its best songs. The group paces itself at the beginning, opting for some lesser material, but begins to hit a stride on the early track "Doctor Doctor." "Mother Mary" and "This Kids" combine all the elements of Led Zeppelin's best rock (concise riffs, mammoth drumming, etc.), while the introduction to "Love to Love" displays the talent of the instrumentalists. "Lights Out" is probably the band's best-known song, while the guitar solo-soaked "Rock Bottom" was an oft-requested fan favorite. UFO closes their set with the let-the-good-times-roll singalong "Too Hot to Handle" and the then-state-of-the-art heavy metal of "Let It Roll." The group may have been at its peak at the time of Strangers in the Night, but Schenker had a falling out with singer Phil Mogg (whose vocals bear a resemblance at times to AC/DC's Bon Scott) soon after the album's completion, and promptly left UFO. Schenker pursued pop-metal in the '80s with the Michael Schenker Group/MSG (plus very short stints with both Aerosmith and the Scorpions), while UFO never recovered from losing him and sank into obscurity. Although the group is rarely mentioned anymore in America, UFO's mark has been left on bands such as Metallica, Megadeth, Def Leppard, and the Smashing Pumpkins. A long-lost hard rock classic. ~ Greg Prato, All Music Guide

Tracks

Track TitleComposersPerformersTime
Natural Thing (Lyrics) Michael Schenker, Phil Mogg, Pete Way UFO (3:57)
Out in the Street (Lyrics) Phil Mogg, Pete Way UFO (5:07)
Only You Can Rock Me Michael Schenker, Phil Mogg, Pete Way UFO (4:08)
Doctor Doctor (Lyrics) Michael Schenker, Phil Mogg UFO (4:42)
Mother Mary (Lyrics) Michael Schenker, Phil Mogg, Andy Parker, Pete Way UFO (3:25)
This Kids Michael Schenker, Phil Mogg UFO (5:11)
Love to Love (Lyrics) Michael Schenker, Phil Mogg UFO (7:58)
Lights Out (Lyrics) Michael Schenker, Phil Mogg, Andy Parker, Pete Way UFO (5:23)
Rock Bottom (Lyrics) Michael Schenker, Phil Mogg UFO (11:08)
Too Hot to Handle (Lyrics) Phil Mogg, Pete Way UFO (4:26)
I'm a Loser (Lyrics) Michael Schenker, Phil Mogg UFO (4:13)
Let It Roll (Lyrics) Michael Schenker, Phil Mogg UFO (4:48)
Shoot Shoot (Lyrics) Michael Schenker, Phil Mogg, Andy Parker, Pete Way UFO (4:07)

Credits

Paul Raymond (Guitar), Kuni Takeuchi (Translation), Jon Sutherland (Liner Notes), Sam Gay (Design), Hipgnosis [Design Group] (Cover Design), Paul Raymond (Keyboards), George Bodnar (Photography), Ron Nevison (Producer), Mike Clink (Engineer), David K. Tedds (Producer), UFO or Die (Performer), Pete Way (Guitar (Bass)), Richard Upper (Photography), Hipgnosis [Design Group] (Artwork), Mike Clink (Assistant Engineer), Mike Clink (Producer), Pete Way (Bass), Lisa Glines (Design), Paul Raymond (Vocals), Phil Mogg (Vocals), David K. Tedds (Compilation Producer), Andy Parker (Drums), Hipgnosis [Design Group] (Photography), Bob Norberg (Remastering), Paul Chapman (Guitar), Michael Schenker (Guitar), Ron Nevison (Engineer)
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Wikipedia: Strangers in the Night (UFO album)
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Strangers In The Night
Live album by UFO
Released January 1979, rereleased August 1999
Recorded US tour 1978
Genre Hard rock, Heavy metal
Length 69:13 (original album) / 76:54 (1999 edition)
Label Chrysalis Records (original album), EMI (1999 edition)
Producer Ron Nevison
Professional reviews
UFO chronology
Obsession
(1978)		 Strangers In The Night
(1979)		 No Place To Run
(1980)

Strangers In The Night is a live album by the British rock band UFO, first released in 1979 (see 1979 in music) on the Chrysalis label.

The original double LP album was recorded in autumn 1978 at shows in Chicago, Illinois and Louisville, Kentucky. This was UFO's last concert recording with guitarist Michael Schenker before the band's reunion in 1993. Schenker departed the band immediately after the tour ended and it has been rumored that he refused to record any overdubs[citation needed] for the album, which would make this an accurate account of his live guitar work. When he has discussed the album, Schenker has spoken of disappointment with the chosen tracks, saying "there were better takes they could've used". (However, to date Schenker has never been directly asked in any printed or recorded interview about recording overdubs for Strangers.) In a Guitar Player Magazine interview many years ago, Schenker stated that he couldn't overdub the guitars because they also came through the drum microphones.[citation needed]

Strangers In The Night peaked at #8 on the UK charts and #42 on the US charts. Strangers is often listed by critics and fans as one of the best live rock albums of all time. [1] [2] Slash, former guitarist for Guns N' Roses and current guitarist for Velvet Revolver, has previously stated that this is his favorite live album.[3]

Some of the songs were recorded from a show from UFO's tour with Blue Öyster Cult.

Contents

Original track listing

  1. "Natural Thing" (Schenker/Mogg/Way) – 3:57
  2. "Out In The Street" (Way/Mogg) – 5:07
  3. "Only You Can Rock Me" (Way/Schenker/Mogg) – 4:08
  4. "Doctor Doctor" (Schenker/Mogg) – 4:42
  5. "Mother Mary" (Schenker/Mogg/Way/Parker) – 3:25
  6. "This Kid's" (Schenker/Mogg) – 5:11
  7. "Love To Love" (Schenker/Mogg) – 7:58
  8. "Lights Out" (Schenker/Mogg/Parker/Way) – 5:23
  9. "Rock Bottom" (Schenker/Mogg) – 11:08
  10. "Too Hot To Handle" (Way/Mogg) – 4:26
  11. "I'm A Loser" (Schenker/Mogg) – 4:13
  12. "Let It Roll" (Schenker/Mogg) – 4:48
  13. "Shoot Shoot" (Schenker/Mogg/Way/Parker) – 4:07

In 1999, EMI reissued Strangers In The Night with an expanded edition featuring two bonus songs, "Hot 'N' Ready" and "Cherry". The announcement at the beginning of the expanded CD version indicates the first track was recorded in Chicago but was not so according to the booklet of the 2008 remaster (the songs are pointed as recorded in Youngstown, Ohio 15.10.1978 and Cleveland, Ohio 16.10.1978 accordingly). The audience noise is from Chicago and the intro for the CD was used from the Chicago show. Two tracks, "This Kid's" and "Mother Mary" are actually studio tracks with crowd noise added as outlined in the 2008 remaster booklet. The track listing was also reordered to more accurately reflect UFO's setlist at the time. Note that the tracklist of the 2008 version is identical to the 1999 version, no additional tracks or tracklist modifications are present.

Reissue track listing

  1. "Hot 'N' Ready" (Schenker/Mogg) – 3:26
  2. "Cherry" (Way/Mogg) – 3:44
  3. "Let It Roll" (Schenker/Mogg) – 4:48
  4. "Love To Love" (Schenker/Mogg) – 7:58
  5. "Natural Thing" (Schenker/Mogg/Way) – 3:57
  6. "Out In The Street" (Way/Mogg) – 5:07
  7. "Only You Can Rock Me" (Way/Schenker/Mogg) – 4:08
  8. "Mother Mary" (Schenker/Mogg/Way/Parker) – 3:25
  9. "This Kid's" (Schenker/Mogg) – 5:11
  10. "Doctor Doctor" (Schenker/Mogg) – 4:42
  11. "I'm A Loser" (Schenker/Mogg) – 4:13
  12. "Lights Out" (Schenker/Mogg/Parker/Way) – 5:09
  13. "Rock Bottom" (Schenker/Mogg) – 11:22
  14. "Too Hot To Handle" (Way/Mogg) – 4:26
  15. "Shoot Shoot" (Schenker/Mogg/Way/Parker) – 4:07

Tracks 1 & 2 are bonus tracks

Personnel

Charts

Album - Billboard (North America)

Year Chart Position
1979 Pop Albums 42

Album - United Kingdom

Year Chart Position
1979 United Chart 8

References

  1. ^ "Results of Classic Rock Magazine Live Album Poll". http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/3526300.stm. Retrieved 2008-07-16. 
  2. ^ "Strangers in the Night Review at Allmusic". http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:jcftxql5ldde. Retrieved 2008-07-16. 
  3. ^ "Slash's favorite albums". http://www.snakepit.org/equip.html. Retrieved 2008-07-14. 
v • d • e
UFO
Phil Mogg · Andy Parker · Pete Way · Vinnie Moore · Paul Raymond
Mick Bolton · Michael Schenker · Jason Bonham · Paul Chapman · Danny Peyronel · Neil Carter · Billy Sheehan · Simon Wright · Paul Gray · Tommy McClendon · Jim Simpson · Laurence Archer · Clive Edwards · Aynsley Dunbar · Bernie Marsden · Larry Wallis · Robbie France
Studio albums
Live albums
Live · BBC Radio One Live in Concert · Strangers in the Night · Lights Out in Tokyo · Live in Japan · T.N.T. · Heaven's Gate · On With the Action · Live in Texas · Regenerator - Live 1982 · ‎Live on Earth · Showtime
Compilations

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

 
 

 

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