UFO Album: “Mechanix”

There is no denying UFO was not the hard rocking force it was just a few years before this release, but Mechanix is still a terrific album. No doubt Mechanix is more commercial and on the lighter side of rock, so what! it still rocks and it's still TOP QUALITY music! The song "Doing It All For You" alone is worth the price of admission (has anyone heard the amazing live version on the hard-to-find Headstone CD?)

Let me put this straight: UFO ruled the world when Schenker was in, but UFO also produced some of the best rock albums when Paul Chapman was the axeman. Different styles... who cares?! UFO still made some of the best rock music back in 1982. Schenker was NOT UFO, just another very talented member, the man is one of the world's best guitarists but his compositions as a solo artist pale in comparison to the ones he made with UFO... Mechanix with Paul Chapman is much better than other releases from "classic bands" from that era, including MSG's solo albums, period. An absolute must, but only for real objective ears.

Regular readers here know I love UFO. I have a lot of cd's by this band. I put on Mechanix today, having not listened to it in a few years. The result- it rocks! This was, for me, the last truly excellent UFO result until 1995's Walk on Water- a period of 13 rather spotty years marked by myriad personnel changes.

Paul Chapman is truly the star here. He shreds through standouts like The Writer and We Belong To the Night,Something Else, and

shows versatility on ballads like Terri and Back into my Life.

UFO definitely tried to be more radio-friendly on Mechanix, and

Back into my Life charted here. Listen to this album for Andy Parker's drumming alone- see how he propels and drives every song. Feel It is a stomper where Parker,Mogg,and Chapman shine.

Pete way rides Bass right up the middle, and Neil (never really a UFO member to me) Carter chips in here and there.

Making Contact was next, and that's when things began to cloud over on UFO's horizon. A punchy,well produced set of songs, Mechanix doesn't disappoint. Give it a re-listen. LOUD!

This 1982 release, which went top ten, was the bands strongest studio release since their last cd with Michael Schenker: 1978's "Obsession". The band starts off with a solid rock classic 'the writer" which describes the now vanishing power broker newspaper or magazine writer who can make or break careers in music or politics. And from there to the end of the disc there isn't a filler song to be found. "Feel it" is probably the standout hard rock track on here; it can hold it's own with the best of their whole output.

There is even a superior ballad on here 'back into my life". This is highly skilled and top notch metal the kind in which you expect good playing and singing. And this would be the bands last great disc until

1995's 'walk on water" . The best thing is however the many bonus tracks on this disc and that makes this a better buy than ever.

This album is outstanding I heard it back in the day a couple of times from a friend and thought it was OK but I have been revisiting a lot of late 70's and early 80's hard rock and metal( which of course was the best years ever for the genre) and giving this repeated listens along with many other UFO albums I've concluded it's the best of the Chapman era.

Much of the Paul Chapman era of UFO has been unfairly maligned and the albums of that era have languished in some form of critical obscurity. However these records should not be an overlooked part of the catalog as they include some of the band's tightest collection of songs and outstanding productions. `Mechanix' is a fine record, released in early 1982 and the last to feature founding member Pete Way (until subsequent later reformations). While maybe not on par with `No Place to Run' or `WWI', `Mechanix' boasts a loud, modern sound and a decent mix of rockers and some slower numbers. "The Writer" kicks off the LP in fine fashion, being a classic UFO rocker. Other faves include "Doing It All for You", "Feel It" and single "Let It Rain". "Back Into My Life" was also a single as well and could be criticized for being an intentional hit but it is still a very good song. Supposedly it was these concessions to the top 40 that drove Way from the band but a may have been that the runaway substance abuse/internal squabbles clichés may have been more of a deciding factor. Within a few years Phil Mogg would be the only remaining member and the band would become a joke but in the meantime they had a least one more quality record in them before the eighties swallowed them up.