Rock Bottom from Phenomenon, the third studio album by UFO, released in May 1974.
How to play Rock Bottom by UFO.
This was their third studio album and their debut on Chrysalis. UFO largely left their blues-based “space rock” sound behind, in part due to the presence of their new guitarist, German 19-year-old Michael Schenker. The album was produced by Leo Lyons, bass guitarist of British rock group Ten Years After. All tracks were recorded at Morgan Studios in London. The original cover design and photos were produced by Hipgnosis.
It was remastered at Sound Recording Technology, Cambridge, in 1994.
Michael Schenker (born 10 January 1955) is a German rock guitarist who has played in UFO and led the Michael Schenker Group. He was an early member of Scorpions, the band co-founded by his elder brother Rudolf Schenker. In the mid-1970s Michael joined UFO, playing lead guitar. He left the band in 1978 to found the Michael Schenker Group. He has rejoined UFO three times, producing an album each time. Schenker continues to perform and record. He has been called “a legendary figure in the history of metal guitar.”
Co-written by vocalist/lyricist Phil Mogg and then lead guitarist Michael Schenker, the track was recorded initially for the 1974 Phenomenon album, on which it runs to 6 minutes 22 seconds. It was also released as a single – a format that could not possibly do it justice – the live version from Strangers In The Night is unquestionably the definitive. This album was recorded on the band’s 1978 US tour and was released on the Chrysalis Label in January the following year.
Running to 11 minutes 8 seconds, “Rock Bottom” is the high point with Schenker demonstrating awesome speed and technique, but this is more than a mere guitar solo; towards the end, Paul Raymond on keyboards provides a thrilling racing effect with the mercurial German, who, incredibly, was said to be unhappy with the recording. Others beg to differ. In 2004, Classic Rock magazine rated UFO’s Strangers In The Night double album the #2 live rock album of all time behind only Thin Lizzy’s Live And Dangerous; on the strength of that alone, “Rock Bottom” must surely rate as one of the top hundred if not top ten heavy metal tracks of the 1970s if not of all time.
You can find the tabs below but before you go there if you enjoyed the lessons why not sign up for a free online guitar lessons with me.
Michael Schenker Guitar Tab:UFO - Rock Bottom - Schenker
Michael Schenker Rhythm Guitar TabsUFO - Rock Bottom - Rhythm Guitar
