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Rating: Great |
Unfortunately, this concert album is often overlooked when discussing the great live rock albums of the 1970s. UFO's Strangers in the Night deserves to be on par with Kiss' Alive! and Thin Lizzy's Live and Dangerous, based on the excitement the group and its audience generated and the quality of the hard rock compositions.
This is a band at its peak, with its first lineup (led by German guitarist Michael Schenker) and all its best songs. Initially, the group is somewhat reserved, opting for lesser material, but it really hits its stride with the oldie, "Doctor Doctor." "Mother Mary" and "These Kids" combine all the elements of Led Zeppelin's best rock (crisp riffs, mammoth drumming, etc.), while the introduction of "Love to Love" showcases the instrumentalists' talents. "Lights Out" is probably the band's best-known song, while the guitar-solo-laden "Rock Bottom" was a frequent 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 during Strangers in the Night, but Schenker had a falling out with singer Phil Mogg (whose vocals sometimes resemble those of AC/DC's Bon Scott) shortly after the album's completion and promptly left UFO. Schenker continued his pop-metal career in the '80s with the Michael Schenker Group/MSG (plus a brief stint with Aerosmith and the Scorpions), while UFO never recovered from his loss and faded into obscurity. Although rarely mentioned in America anymore, UFO's influence has left its mark on bands like Metallica, Megadeth, Def Leppard, and the Smashing Pumpkins. A long-lost hard rock classic.
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= Track List =
