Best of U.F.O.: Ten Best Series

Artist: UFO
Label: EMI Special Products
Category: Music

Average customer rating:

Media: Audio Cassette
Number Of Discs: 1

UPC: 724353682446
EAN: 0724353682446
ASIN: B0000E6XJ3

Release Date: 2003-10-06

Related Categories:

General

| Pop | Styles | Music

General

| Rock | Styles | Music

General

| Hard Rock & Metal | Styles | Music

Hard Rock

| Hard Rock & Metal | Styles | Music

Arena Rock

| Classic Rock | Styles | Music

Tracks:

Lights Out [Live]
Only You Can Rock Me [Live]
Too Hot to Handle
Love to Love
Doctor Doctor
Rock Bottom
Lettin' Go
Cherry
Out in the Street
Mystery Train

Customer Reviews:

An Excellent, Inexpensive Short Compilation of UFO.......2007-01-30

First off, the February 18, 2006 review gives a lot of information about the original album locations of the songs and is recommended to read.

I have recently had or still have in a box, UFO's vinyl records from Force It to No Place To Run, and at one point owned or had recorded on tape, UFO Live (early 70's) and Phenomenon. I have played these albums and tapes quite a bit. However, like many people who own records, record player's are seldom used, it's become so much easier to play a CD, and they have to decide if they want the past classics on a CD. This is where compilations shine. For I certainly do not want to have several CD's of songs I've already know very well, nor do I want to spend the money on them, nor have them take up more space in my already crowded abode, bursting in the past with several hundred CD's. What I want is a single CD with some of the excellent tunes I know whenever I need a UFO fix. I also want some money to spend on other band compilations from the 70's: Blue Oyster Cult, Kansas, Styx, Journey, etc, etc. That is where this CD shines. It has 10 absolutely excellent selections and is a budget CD (note price at top of website). Personally, I wanted this when I moved overseas and was able to download my entire CD collection onto my laptop and could leave the CD's themselves behind. I rushed to purchase a bunch of CD's and several compilation discs will eventually add up in total cost. This CD was just what I needed.

For those wanting something more comprehensive, I suppose there's the Essential UFO I've read a lot about, but I haven't readily seen it available. There is also the Best of UFO: Gold. In some ways this is interesting as I had known of the many albums UFO put out in the 80's, but didn't hear, and frankly wasn't interested in, since Michael Schenker departed UFO. The Gold compilation has a smattering of songs from those albums, and so could be of some interest to buyers. However, this compilation covers from Phenomenon 1974 to No Place to Run 1980, which exactly covered my interest span in UFO. When only putting on 10 songs on a compilation, some goods ones will be left out, but that wasn't a concern for me as I already knew the songs. But the songs here are great and are orders of magnitude better to own this than nothing at all. The decision to include two live songs was excellent, as all those that know UFO, know how incredible Strangers In The Night is. Also, as many, I generally didn't like No Place To Run, it was where I lost interest in UFO, but I did like some of the songs, and with the exclusion of the synthesizer Alpha Centauri, I like the song selection here taken from that album.

As many may know, Michael Schenker rejoined UFO in the 90's and did tour. I saw them at an absolutely packed to the gills house at the Limelight in NYC, which really emphasized how many fans of UFO there still are. They did release an album around that time called Walk on Water, and another good compilation covering songs from that CD and past live tunes is called Then and Now. So to really follow UFO's later career you may have to get two compilation CD's.

Selecting between this compilation and Gold may be a difficult choice. Gold intriguingly has 80's UFO songs, but I find the 70's song selection on this CD better as it includes Strangers in the Night songs, and better tunes from No Place to Run. I suppose if you want to cover almost all bases, then 3 separate CD's would be a good choice: 1) Gold, 2) Strangers in the Night (this has been remastered and has 2 new songs and so would cover a lot of the songs from 70's UFO), and 3) either Then And Now or Walk On Water. For those that want just one CD, covering UFO from 1974 to 1980, and inexpensive, this would be the CD. But whatever you do, make a selection. Not having any UFO at all is not a reasonable option.

Enjoy!

Mediocre retrospective - Get the Essential UFO instead.......2006-02-18

The Best Of UFO - Ten Best Series (2003.) A UFO hits compilation covering the Michael Schenker era (1974-1978.)

INTRODUCTION:
One of the greatest rock bands of the seventies was Great Britain's hard rock group, UFO. The band had been together for several years before they were joined by former Scorpions guitarist Michael Schenker - who took them to new heights. The Schenker period was fairly short-lived, but during this era, the band's popularity was unmatched. This era is what people remember UFO for, and as such, most compilations cover this era. Read on for my review, and see how the Ten Best Series UFO compilation measures up!

OVERVIEW:
The Best Of UFO - Ten Best Series was released in 2003. and covers UFO's career from 1974-1980. Songs are pulled from the albums Phenomenon, Force It, Petting, Lights Out, Obsession, the live Strangers In The Night, and No Place To Run.

REVIEW:
I've never liked hits compilations, and in many ways this set sums up why. Don't get me wrong. I like this compilation all right, but it's vastly inferior to the Essential UFO compilation, a single-disc set that was released over a decade prior. Let's look at the set, and examine the problems from every angle.

-PHENOMENON: 1974-
SONGS: Doctor Doctor, Rock Bottom
COMMENTS: I've got good news, and I've got bad news. The good news? The two biggest hits from this album, both of which are essential UFO classics, made the cut. The bad news? They stopped there, and those two songs are the only things from the album on the compilation! There are so many other songs from this album I would have liked to have seen on here - Oh My, Crystal Light, and Space Child all come to mind. Oh, well. The big hits are here, and I guess that's what matters most.

-FORCE IT: 1975-
SONGS: Out In The Street
COMMENTS: No, that isn't a misprint. Let It Roll, one of the biggest UFO hits and one of their best songs, IS NOT ON THIS CD! Also missing in action is the classic hit Mother Mary. How they could only include a single song from this album is beyond me. And while we're at it, where are This Kids and Shoot Shoot? I don't think I need to say more.

-NO HEAVY PETTING: 1976-
SONGS: NO TRACKS FROM THIS RELEASE.
COMMENTS: The greatest insult this compilation throws in your face is right here. THERE ARE NO TRACKS FROM THIS, ONE OF THE BAND'S FINEST ALBUMS! No Natural Thing. No I'm A Loser. And since you don't get hits, the underrated masterpieces are obviously nowhere to be found either. Lack of songs from this album is reason enough NOT to buy the compilation.

-LIGHTS OUT: 1977-
SONGS: Love To Love, Too Hot To Handle
COMMENTS: This is the one album this compilation's representation just about got right on the spot. There aren't too many songs from the album, but there aren't too few either. Both of these songs were huge hits for the band, not to mention great songs. The title track isn't missing, it's just represented in the live Strangers Of The Night version, which is actually a better recording.

-OBSESSION: 1978-
SONGS: Cherry
COMMENTS: You've got to be kidding me. ONE song from Obsession, and they pick one of the weaker hits!? Why we got this instead of Hot And Ready I may never know.

-STRANGERS IN THE NIGHT: 1978-
SONGS: Lights Out, Only You Can Rock Me
COMMENTS: Solid live versions of classic UFO hits. This version of Lights Out surpasses its already-excellent studio counterpart. As for Only You Can Rock Me, I would have preferred the studio take from Obsession, but no complaints. This is a good version.

-NO PLACE TO RUN: 1980-
SONGS: Lettin' Go, Mystery Train
COMMENTS: Two great songs, BUT THEY DON'T BELONG HERE. This is clearly supposed to be a Michael Schenker-era compilation, so why are these two Paul Chapman-era cuts here? This space could have been more efficiently filled with two Schenker-era hits. I DO like these songs, but if you're gonna go beyond the Schenker years, don't stop here (like this compilation does!)

OTHER COMMENTS:
Sadly, the compilation is disappointing for reasons other than just the tracklist. Being a Ten Best Series, it doesn't even come close to filling the eighty minutes you can fit on a CD. And the songs aren't even arranged chronologically. The compilers of this set couldn't quite seem to decide what their overall goal was, and the set is ultimately hurt as a result.

OVERALL:
Overall, I have to say I am disappointed with this set. For casual or new fans it's a great CD, but I personally have to recommend getting the albums instead. And if you don't have the time and money to get them, get the Essential UFO instead. It's also single-disc in nature, but its tracklist is much more full and diverse than that of this set. Final verdict? For new and casual fans only. Essential UFO is better.

EDITION NOTES:
This compilation is the most readily-available Best Of UFO in the United States, which is unfortunate, since the Essential UFO is the better compilation. If you can find it, just get that compilation instead.

Music CD:

Music CD

Music CD

Music CD

Song of the Celts ~ Golden Bough

Toxic Wasteland ~ Dofka

Burn ~ Deep Purple

Ouzbekistan ~ Turgun Alimatov

HarpBeat

Back on the Street ~ R.J. Pinkerton

Best of Jules De Corte

Soul Man ~ Original Soundtrack

Tensyo Yaoyorozu V.2 ~ Japanimation

Ballads from Her Appalachian Family Tradition ~ Jean Ritchie