UFO Album: “Obsession [Japan]”

This album is good from start to finish. Not one bad apple in the bunch. Schenker's guitar tone is fantastic! My favorites are Only You Can Rock Me, Arbory Hill, Looking Out For No.1, Hot N Ready, You Don't Fool Me, and One More For The Rodeo. I like the lyric to I Ain't No Baby ("Stay Away, FOREVER"). Cool cover prompting Schenker to ask his bandmates "Why am I the only one without balls?". This would be Schenker's final studio album w/ UFO until the rocking Walk On Water in 1995. Lights Out is another classic UFO album you should get if you don't have it!

After the studio masterpiece Lights Out, UFO had crafted a sound that was all their own, the three albums before it built towards developing the classic sound found on Lights Out and it's follow up, 1978's Obsession. While Phenomenon, Force It, and No Heavy Petting are chockfull of lost 70's nuggets Lights Out was a massive musical acheivement and it's follow up, although shares much of the same light is almost just as good. The album opens with another powerful UFO anthem Only You Can Rock Me and goes into the Zeppelinish Pack It Up (And Go). Ron Nevison(Zeppelin, Bad Company) returned to the knobs to produce this album after Lights Outs and his experience with Zeppelin often takes a similar approach in the sound here as Andy Parker's drums are the heaviest they've ever been a la John Bonham. Arbory Hill as is several other tracks, shows a lot of ambition and experimenting with the bands sound...a short pretty acoustic piece driven by Michael Schenker on flute! Though it might be an oddity for some, it is the very fabric that provides the light and shade of UFO. Ain't No Baby keeps things rolling but the real key track here is Looking Out For No.1 This song is a monster of a power ballad and serves some the best emotion and depth UFO ever displayed. Next, the they lay it on the listener with two classics Hot N' Ready and Cherry. Though these original versons are barnburners in their own way, after hearing the live album, you'll recognize these studio cuts were outshined. Cherry, however finds Pete Way's bass leading the track into this intelligent start-stop rocker. You Don't Fool Me is another highly recommended moment complete with some amazing Schenker soloing. The LOFN1 melody is reprised for a flash in the pan of more progressive diversity. This kinda thing is usually only seen on Pink Floyd or Eagles albums. It feels experimental and commercial all at the same time, which all adds up to a very impressive mark point for the band. One More For The Rodeo kicks off without pause from the reprise moment to add another dose of melodic rock but the albums ending cut again leaves you blown away. While UFO sacrifice in your face rock for more mellow string arrangements (as in Looking Out For No.1 ), this song has some breathtaking Schenker guitar work and becomes quite a beautiful song in the process (both of heartfelt songwriting and axe man wizardry). Obsession has a very American feel, as the it was recorded in LA. But tracks like Only You Can Rock Me and Hot 'N Ready also come off as very 70's American hard rock (Kiss, Ted Nugent). UFO previously had a very British sound but on this album they seem to be aiming for a lot more. Lights Out had a top 30 chartplacing in America giving them the spotlight for a bit in all the rock trades and even gave them the oppurtunity to make headway into bigger venues and larger audiances. But even still UFO remained a cult band and sadly still do. This was the last album to feature Schenker on guitar and although some UFO fans will tell you some of their 80's work was worth hearing, their 70's work is by far the stuff to hear before you check that out. Obsession had a commercial sound, yet it experimented, it had a big sound, obviously with the impression of taking UFO to the next level. Had Schenker stayed with the band who knows what they could've done. He plays the best riffs of his tenture with UFO on this stellar package. But even as is, they remain one of the bare essentials to heavy metal, it's influences, great guitar rock, melodic rock anthems, and even just great groovy rock and roll. Obsession, while sounding commercial at times (especially when compared to their first three albums, withstanding Lights Out had hints) but it shows a band of great development. UFO fans consider this UFO's best album. It may be true. The last offical record with this truely impressive to no end group would be a live record...Strangers In The Night. That album would work its way into the top ten lists for best live records ever and would also become UFO's only real recognized album to anyone outside the seekers camp. With Obsession, UFO gave us some dazzling studio work, and while I'd say its just a notch below Lights Out, of course reigns as an essential rock album for all concerned.

UFO has its legions of fans particularly in England and Europe, which is good because outside the larger U.S. cities, they never quite broke into the big time, which is a shame because this band was far better than Bad Company, Foghat, or (gag) Styx, to name a few mid-'70's outfits that stole the thunder undeservedly.

UFO has the last laugh right now; at least they're still together, playing and recording new material while the others have withered away.

"Obsession" is one reason why this hard rocking outfit still survives. The focal point has always been the street smart Phil Mogg on vocals, whose lyrics are intelligent and do not pander to anybody. It's heavy music for people who demand some sophistication in their rock. Mogg's vocals are slightly raspy at times, but his tone is great, and should have been in the same pantheon as Robert Plant or Paul Rodgers.

Add to Mogg's sensibilities Michael Schenker's five alarm lead guitar work that wails all over the disc and you have a band that maybe was too hot for its own good.

Cuts like "One More For The Rodeo" and "Hot And Ready" were as pyrotechnic as guitar gymnastics got before some hotshot from LA debuted with his "Eruption" solo soon thereafter. UFO also excelled in ballads that actually meant something and weren't just tossed in for filler. "Lookin' Out For Number One" and "Born To Lose" are wistful, Schenker's guitar frantic but surprisingly melodic and show a song writing skill very uncommon for heavy rock acts of the mid-'70's.

"Obession" is worth the import price, and goes very well with its predecessor, the semi-classic "Lights Out". Lovers of Scorpions and Saxon will dig this fer sure.