Unboxing UFO Strangers In The Night 8CD Deluxe Edition Box Set – Review

This is a release I have been looking forward to for a while, Strangers In The Night – The Deluxe Edition. There were some great live albums in the 1970s and this is one of them. It is an absolute classic capturing UFO at the top of their game.

This is an 8CD release featuring the six nights all professionally recorded. It was from these separate concerts that the classic Strangers In The Night album was compiled.

Having this in my hands reminds me of so many live albums in the 1970s where you used to wonder if they had picked the best tracks for the album, and what else did they record. A good example would be Made In Japan by Deep Purple which was recorded over three nights. It would be many years until fans heard the songs from each night. Did they pick the best tracks? In many ways they did, although the version of Strange Kind of Woman from the third night in Tokyo does take some beating. Anyway, let’s get back to UFO.

UFO: Strangers In The Night Deluxe Edition

CD1: Original album
CD2: Original album
CD3: Chicago, Illinois 13/10/78
CD4: Kenosha, Wisconsin 14/10/78
CD5: Youngstown, Ohio 15/10/1978
CD6: Cleveland, Ohio 16/10/78
CD7: Columbus, Ohio 17/10/78
CD8: Louisville, Kentucky 18/10/78

The Box Set itself looks great, a nice glossy box with the album design sensitively covering the whole box. The inner box slides out from the side and each CD is in its own cover with an inner sleeve. Even the booklet has its own cover which is a nice touch.

I bought my copy from Burning Shed and I have to say that the way that they packed this for sending in the post was absolutely superb. So I would always recommend that if you buy anything from Burning Shed, they do look after it, they care about the music, they care about the artists, and they care about the fans.

The original album would easily fit on one CD, but they had split it into two discs so they can create the original album in miniature. I really like this and it does bring back memories of picking up the original vinyl album all those years ago.

A worry some people will have will be will the other CDs sound as good as the original album? Will they be unmixed or even bootleg quality? Well, you have nothing to worry about here, as Ron Nevison produced them all at the same time. They all sound great!

Each CD has between 12 and 15 tracks of prime UFO. I have been so used to the original album opening with Natural Things that it is quite a change to realise that none of the original concerts actually opened with this!

The booklet contains interviews with Michael Schenker, Phil Mogg and Andy Parker. Unfortunately, Pete Way and Paul Raymond have passed away, but they are mentioned throughout.

Michael Schenker, in particular, is very candid about the problems he was going through at the time and how he has come to love the album (which at the time he really dismissed). The original album really does have the definitive version of these UFO tracks, literally cherry-picking tracks from their finest albums at the time. Phenomenon, Force It, No Heavy Petting, Lights Out and Obsession are all represented. This album really does contains some of Michael Schenker’s best playing of his whole career.

This really was UFO’s finest hour with their classic line up. Now we have a real chance to see if they did pick the best version of Rock Bottom for the vinyl album!

The remaster by Andy Pearce and Matt Wortham is spot on, and this whole package is highly recommended.

On the original album, Mother Mary and This Kids were recorded in the studio with the crowd noise added later. I am not sure who they did this, as there were enough tracks recorded in each concert to fill the album. It is also interesting as neither of those tracks were in the actual setlists. Perhaps it was due to the restrictions of the original vinyl? If you know the story behind this, please let me know in the comments.

Order your copy from Amazon –

Thank you for watching!
Phil Aston
Now Spinning Magazine

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