This is probably more for Jeff, BobFinn*, and others who are classic rock fans: I am looking at buying these 2 CDs in my next round of buying next month: "In the Court of the Crimson King" - King Crimson "Strangers in the Night" - UFO I know that King Crimson is a prog-rock band, but are they like Pink Floyd of that same time frame or more like Rush or like something else? I also noticed that they have released a slew of albums but most critics consider "In the Court of the Crimson King" their best album. As for UFO, I know that they are a British group, maybe more heavy metal, and that "Strangers in the Night" is a live album. However, that is all I know about them. If someone can tell me more about either one of these 2 albums or both of them, I will be forever in your debt.
Manny, I was never a big fan of King Crimson. I love Tony Levin the bassist, who has also played with Peter Gabriel for many years, but it was a little too artsy for me. When it got to be THAT progressive, I tended to just listen to fusion rather than that. They are certainly very talented, but just not my cup of tea. UFO was a GREAT band. This was really Michael Shenker's (guitar) band. He played with his brother in the Scorpions early in their career but left to form UFO after one record with the Scorpions. Strangers is still one of the best and most underrated live rock records out there.
Manny, regarding King Crimson... they were/are more like King Crimson. I saw them when they toured for this album and they were great! For more info, check out a few sites: http://www.warr.org/crimson.html http://www.elephant-talk.com/main.shtml http://www.king-crimson.com/ Hope this helps.
Manny, In the Court of the Crimson King is a great and classic album. With the exception of 21st Century Schizoid Man (which you've probably heard before, either the original or some other band covering it), the album is pretty mellow. You <i>could</i> say it's like Pink Floyd in that it's mellow and kind of spacey but that's about it. All the songs are excellent. The bass player and singer on Court is Greg Lake (from ELP) and the drummer is Michael Giles who was a big infuence on Neil Peart of Rush. IMO, King Crimson sounds NOTHING like Rush (at all). Be warned, however, no two King Crimson albums sound alike. I don't believe any of their other albums sound like the first. My other favorits are Discipline and Red. They have a compilation CD called A Young Persons Guide to King Crimson that is mostly tracks from Court and Discipline that you may want to look at. The singer on Discipline is Adrian Belew who played guitar for Frank Zappa and toured with David Bowie. The drummer on Discipline was Bill Bruford (who used to play with Yes) and the "bass" player (Chapman Stick player) was Tony Levin who plays with Peter Gabrial a lot. The only thing I know about UFO is that Michael Schenker was the guitar player (who I never got into but I really never listened to him much) and that I saw them open for someone (Ozzy?) back in highschool. The only song I know from UFO is "Too Hot to Handle" which wasn't a bad tune.
I agree. Discipline and Court of Crimson King are my favorites. Thela Hun Ginjeet on Discipline is killer. Great guitar work by Belew and Fripp.
Alright, thanks for the info so far, especially from 111. Those links are pretty good stuff, Deckard. Jeff - The connection between UFO and the Scorpions that you talked about explains why on Amazon it said that people who bought albums by UFO also bought albums by the Scorpions, hehe. Okay, if someone can give me an indepth analysis that is similar to 111's on "Strangers in the Night", then this thread has accomplished its mission.
Strangers is just a really good live rock record. Every rock guitarist I knew who grew up in late 70's and early 80's counted Schenker as an influence. In fact, he and Ulrich Roth (another early Scorpion's guitarist), some say, were the origin of the neo-classical guitar style furthered by guys like Randy Rhodes and Yngwie Malmsteen with the latter really beginning the whole Shrapnel Records, heavy metal instrumental guitar craze that led to Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, etc. UFO was in the same vein as Deep Purple and Rainbow. Schenker, singer Phil Mogg and bassist Pete Way (later formed Waysted, another well-liked hard rock band in the 80's) wrote pretty much all the music. The three studio albums that preceeded Strangers (No Heavy Petting, Lights Out and Obsession) are all considered precursors to much of the heavy metal of the 80's. UFO, in fact, is probably as influential, at least for guitar players, as Black Sabbath, Led Zepplin and Deep Purple. UFO did reform much later but was never the same. Schenker released a few records with a group called the McCauley/Schenker Group. I actually saw them at the Tower Theater here in Houston and, unfortunately for the, they were absolutely blown off the stage by the little-known band that opened for them - The Black Crowes. Pete Way has a bunch of stuff about them on his site including downloadable MP3's of many of the songs - http://www.peteway.com/ Hope that helps.
