Quick review: 'UFO: The Chrysalis Years (1973-1979)'

UFO is one of those bands that many people have heard but can't quite place. "Ah yeah," they'll say when you mention or hum some of their songs.

It's a crime these melodic hard rockers aren't a household name, with a 42-year career that's still going strong, as I noted last year. 

But this post focuses on "The Chrysalis Years (1973-1979)," an excellent five-CD collection that highlights the band at its commercial peak. At a time when FM was coming into its own, UFO delivered a series of radio-friendly rockers like "Lights Out," "Rock Bottom," "Doctor Doctor" and "Only You Can Rock Me."

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'Who Shot Rock & Roll'

The family tried to escape the heat by heading down to Los Angeles Saturday for a bit of sightseeing. 

First stop was to see an excellent multimedia program titled "Who Shot Rock & Roll: A Photographic History, 1955 to the Present." 

The focus of the show at The Annenberg Space for Photography is on 166 prints capturing a wide variety of bands, genres and moments. The lineup of more than 100 contributing photographers is stunning and the Annenberg has given their work the royal treatment.

Many of the photos have taken on iconic status. But many are lesser-known but equally deserving of attention,

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'Grand Prix: The Killer Years'

A BBC documentary titled "Grand Prix: The Killer Years" is both fascinating and gut-wrenching in documenting the horrific period in the late 1960s and early 1970s when Formula 1 drivers were perishing right and left. 

The archival footage is remarkably illuminating in capturing the dangers of driving a race car in those days. But it's the effective use of interviews with former drivers, mechanics, journalists and widows that pulls the story together and makes the hourlong documentary fly by. 

The documentary ends with a particularly tragic scene -- but one that encapsulates the theme and reminds us that racing is a much better industry thanks to brave souls like Jackie Stewart and David Purley who refused to simply accept common belief that death was simply something at which to shrug your shoulders.