UFO - The Official Bootleg Box Set (2009)

Only the most dedicated UFO fan could possibly keep track of all the live releases that have surfaced over the years. Many of these live recordings were not necessarily approved by the band, and as a result, some have been good, and some have been downright stinky. Finally, the UFO lads have taken steps to regain control of their concert recordings, by issuing a mammoth six-disc box set, 2009's Official Bootleg Box Set.

UFO have always been one of those groups best experienced on the concert stage, as evidenced by 1979's Strangers in the Night, which is widely regarded as one of hard rock/heavy metal's all-time great live sets. As you might expect, Official Bootleg Box Set is chock-full of great renditions of classics, and features recordings from New York's Record Plant in 1975, London's Roundhouse in 1977, Cleveland in 1978, London's Hammersmith Odeon in 1981, and a BBC In Concert taping from 1982. You just can't go wrong here, as these are precisely UFO's "peak years." As with most box sets of multi-show recordings, there are quite a lot of songs repeated ("Rock Bottom" appears on nearly every bloody recording here, as do "Let It Roll," "Doctor Doctor," etc.), but there are also quite a few underrated songs that have not been documented as much over the years ("Cherry," "Space Child," "Try Me," "Pack It Up," etc.).

On the strength of Strangers in the Night, it was made quite clear that UFO were one of rock's top live acts of the late '70s. And now with Official Bootleg Box Set, the point is hammered home once and for all.