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UFO - Flying Audio CD

A fair review of the UFO "Flying" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all UFO reviews here, or go back to the UFO tabs.

UFO Band: UFO
Title: Flying
Rating:
Release Date: 1999-02-17
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: Silver Bird 2: Star Storm 3: Prince Kajuku 4: Coming Of Prince Kajuku 5: Flying

Second UFO album
Extremely good. I discovered this along with UFO and UFO LIVE. More adventurous and Progressive than the Michael Schenker years, but still very cool. "Star Storm" is especially cool.


totally awesome
Even though this album is MUCH different from what UFO would become a couple years later, I have to admit I really enjoy all the guitar jams. Hey, I'm disappointed! The album says "One Hour of Space Rock" and instead it's 1 hour and 2 seconds!

I'm kidding of course. And trust me, if you don't like guitar jams, you're going to be in a world of trouble because that's the main thing that dominates the album. A few vocal melodies aside, and the rest of the album is all about guitar jamming.

The album isn't really space rock. Or at least, not my definition of space rock. It's more like lengthy blues pieces, similar to that one 15-minute jam on Black Sabbath's debut, but stretched out for an entire album.

"Silver Bird" starts off the album with a really nice groove and later, some really good guitar work. It's a great opener. It sounds like it should have been a hit. Why wasn't it? I don't know. "Star Storm" is nearly 20 minutes of really exciting Jimi Hendrix-like guitar playing and a really catchy and groovy chorus. Enjoy this song, because if you like hard rock at least a *little* bit, you won't be disappointed.

"Prince Kajuku" is a really fast-paced little rocker that reminds me of a song the Scorpions would do a few years later. "Coming of Prince Kajuku" continues the fast-paced rocking theme for a few more minutes. Then comes "Flying" the ULTIMATE example of emotional guitar playing. There's a funky guitar jam that appears somewhere about 7 minutes into the song. After hearing Phenomenon, I had no idea UFO could play guitar like that. The vocal melodies remind me of early Grand Funk Railroad, too. It's just hard to believe this album hasn't become a classic.

At the end of the album, something extremely scary happens. You will be reminded that the band is called UFO because the final 30 seconds of the album features some really strange voices and weird flying saucer-type sound effects. It is really strange. It reminds me of that record collection Kate Hudson found in the attic of that movie "the Skeleton Key".

Overall, if you're a fan of the blues, lengthy guitar jams and hard rock, here it is ladies and gentlemen- your album.

UPDATE- July 1, 2007

Man, I can't get enough of the lengthy guitar jams featured on this UFO album. Hearing this Flying album over and over reveals little bursts of catchy melodies throughout each of the lengthy guitar sections. This is truly a 5-star rock album. Anyone who appreciates guitar playing and enjoys searching for some melodies in a guitar jam will surely fall in love with this album.


Not Much Better
Thank goodness they changed with the times and with the advent of Schenker and the "Phenomenon" album in 1974 ventured into heavy rock proper. Early UFO really is hard to listen to and for the die-hard collector who must have everything they produced. This release is the same "space rock" style as UFO1 but not much better.


UFO's Second Step
Guitarist Mick Bolton's tone grows further into Heavy Blues/Metal from UFO's 1st release. The song "Flying" is enough reason to get this release. You can hear some serious vibrato and wah-wah during the "Flying" track; you will actually hear the guitar tone bleed with pain. A MUST for those of you who want to hear what a Rock guitar sounds like when a Rock guitarist has talent and soul.


Space Metal Classic
You can actually hear the transition between the two eras as the disc plays. I'm surprised no one has mentioned that this record seems to form a literal sonic bridge between the Krautrock/British Psych Underground of the late '60s and the Hard Rock/Proto-Heavy Metal of the '70s.

This sounds nothing like the subsequent recordings by this band and will probably not appeal to fans of their later, more famous work. However, fans of Hawkwind, Blue Cheer, Ash Ra Tempel, Black Sabbath and the Stooges need to give it a spin.

If you like this, also check out the first record by the Scorpions 'Lonesome Crow' for a similarly uncharacteristic record by a famous band.


You can see a complete list of all UFO discography, or go back to the UFO tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.

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