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UFO: The Story of UFO-Too Hot to Handle (1969-1993) (DVD)

There are not many people who would argue with you when you discuss the legendary status of the British band UFO. For many years the group has been cited as being very much the inspiration to the careers of groups like Iron Maiden and Def Leppard and as you look upon their back catalog this reason comes to you very clearly. The early lineup of the group that featured Phil Mogg, Pete Way, Andy Parker and Michael Schenker is revered to this very day as being forefathers in Hard Rock music. Songs like "Lights Out", "Too Hot To Handle" and "Rock Bottom" still sound as fresh today as they did when they were first introduced. When you look at how many bands have fallen by the wayside while UFO still carries on you understand better when you listen to the quality of these particular tracks. Today in 2005 we find a different lineup in the band which is still helmed by Mogg and Way for the most part but this DVD focuses on the earlier years and features the one and only Axeman Michael Schenker. That alone will appeal to the staunch supporter of this group. The DVD is a direct transfer of the video film originally on VHS that was released in 2001.

Fans of the classic line-up will take to this DVD immediately and as a matter of fact it is nice to own alongside the recently released Showtime. That release shows UFO as they are today with the newer members and offers you a great interview segment which refers to a lot of the stuff that you will see on this DVD. When I looked at the two of them in sequence it was impressive because you get to see just how exciting the group was in the heyday. The live concert footage is very basic in its design but that is because this type of thing was not yet commonplace and believe me the playing level is easily enjoyed in those clips. The concert segments are surrounded by interview footage from the same time and in most cases and it is Phil Mogg and Pete Way who do the talking. There is also commentary from other members including Schenker but what will appeal to most fans is this archival live footage. I don't think a collection as thorough as this has ever been released from this time in the bands existence and it is nice to have such an assortment of classic numbers as this DVD allots. There are also some comments from Iron Maiden's Steve Harris and Def Leppard's Joe Elliott and this offers a good insight to the impact that the band had on this level of performer.

I can safely recommend this DVD as a must have for new and old fans as while its appeal might be larger in the core fan base there is also a little bit of an education factor for the new fan. This is based on the way it presents the legacy footage and commentary for a viewer who has limited scope on the group's impact will be able to appreciate them more as a result of watching this DVD. Check it out.


Track Listing

  1. This Kids
  2. Out In The Street
  3. Shoot Shoot
  4. Come On Everybody
  5. Love To Love
  6. Doctor Doctor
  7. Lettin' Go
  8. Mystery Train
  9. Lights Out
  10. Too Hot To Handle
  11. Rock Bottom
  12. Let It Roll
  13. The Coming Of Prince Kujuku
  14. Borderline
  15. Running Up The Highway
  16. Backdoor Man
  17. This Kids

Added: December 27th 2005
Reviewer: Ken Pierce
Score:
Related Link: UFO Website
Hits: 7656
Language: english

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UFO: The Story of UFO-Too Hot to Handle (1969-1993) (DVD)
Posted by Pete Pardo, SoT Staff Writer on 2005-12-27 13:05:24
My Score:

The Story of UFO-Too Hot to Handle (1969-1993) is one of those DVD's that needs to be in every UFO lovers collection, especially if you are a fan of the 70's era when Michael Schenker manned the lead guitar slot. Plenty of footage from the 70's featuring Schenker is included here, as are some clips from the 80's when the Paul Chapman was the band's guitarist. The whole presentation is nicely put together, as the footage is interjected with interview comments from Phil Mogg, Pete Way, Michael Schenker, Steve Harris from Iron Maiden, and Joe Eliott from Def Leppard (both of whom are big fans of UFO). It all makes for a great UFO history lesson, and it's interesting to listen to both Mogg and Way talk about the Paul Chapman years and admit that, while he was a very good guitar player, overall the fit was never right, and that Schenker was perhaps the best guitar player for UFO from a playing and writing standpoint. For them to admit this, even after all the times Schenker has rejoined and left the band, really is telling.

Hopefully some day the complete shows of which footage is presented here will be shown in their entirety. It would have been nice to see more, rather than the lip-synched 1993 stuff with guitarirst Laurence Archer. Overall though this is a must see for UFO fans.


» Reader Comments:

UFO: The Story of UFO-Too Hot to Handle (1969-1993) (DVD)
Posted by Andreas Plösch on 2010-08-04 15:38:56
My Score:

A must for every UFO fan !!
It was a great pleasure and also a big surprise seeing this DVD. As a big UFO fan I thought that after all these years without ever having seen video footage of the classic line-up with Michael Schenker it seemed to me that it did not exist, that their show had never being captured on film. It prooved me wrong and more than ever I add my wish on this list to see if soon the entire shows (if you look closely you will see that there is material of at least 2 distinguished Schenker shows) can be released as a DVD or whatever.
Besides that I miss all the credits and other information that should come along with such a VHS/DVD, letting us fans just guess when and where the gigs took place. Obviously one was in London and must be dated 1977 or 1978...
Will we ever see the remaining songs ?




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