04. UFO Phenomenon 1974 (Chrysalis)
Hard Rock
Just what the Doctor ordered and a repeat prescription.
Overview
UFO would become a pillar of the ‘heavy scene’ throughout the 1970s and recorded some of the genre’s most essential albums, but their beginnings were somewhat removed from the melodic hard rocking band that they would become well known for. They formed as far back as 1969 under the guise of Hocus Pocus but soon re-named themselves UFO after the London club they regularly performed at. Their first couple of albums featured the vital line-up of Phil Mogg on vocals, Pete Way on bass and Andy Parker on drums and for these first two albums they featured Mick Bolton on guitar. The first two UFO albums
UFO a real homemade sounding effort with a 1960s sound and
Flying often referred to as
UFO II, were basically an amalgamation of hard rock Blue Cheer style, heavy blues, R&B, psychedelia and an obvious space rock influence, which became even more dominant on their second album
Flying and is actually a very interesting listen. Whilst these recordings are of interest to any UFO fan, the band were never going to set the stage alight despite being quite popular on the European mainland around this period and with a vocalist of the calibre of Phil Mogg his talents were surely being wasted here. The band around the 1972 period decided that a change of direction was in order and guitarist Mick Bolton left for Mott the Hoople and his position was briefly filled by Larry Willis of the Pink Fairies and then by Bernie Marsden who would later go on to feature with Whitesnake. By 1973 they then decided on young German guitar maestro Michael Schenker to fill the role and he was recruited from the Scorpions. In fact the Scorpions were in much the same dilemma as UFO around this period, because like UFO they were struggling to find their true sound and would actually have to wait longer than UFO to find it (but that’s a story for another day) The band now decided to head into a more focused and heavier edged direction with Schenker on board, they had a new record label in Chrysalis and in maintaining producer Leo Lyons from the band Tens Years After, the band were all set to record their essential third album
Phenomenon!
Phil Mogg- Vocals
Michael Schenker- Guitar
Pete Way- Bass
Andy Parker- Drums
Production- Leo Lyons
Album
Oh My- A thumping rocking intro which certainly sees the band in a new frame of mind. The song has a constant throbbing sound and is propelled by Schenker’s guitar. The only negative on the song is that it could’ve been longer as the song is there to be exploited.
Crystal Light- This is a melodic rock number that is fuelled up by an acoustic guitar and is an accomplished effort.
Doctor Doctor- One of the most famous intros which resonates 1970s rock in every way, the song then moves into its blistering galloping section with Phil Mogg singing “Doctor, Doctor please, Oh the mess I'm in!” and the song doesn’t let up for a minute and this really is a true hard rock anthem!
Space Child- A gentle effort as the band chill out between the two songs either side of it. The song sounds like a possible farewell to their failed early sound.
Rock Bottom- Electrifying guitar, amazing in every way, what more can I say about this song……. just listening to it for Michael Schenker’s guitar is enough, possibly one of the very best hard rock classics of the decade!
Too Young to Know- An upbeat rocker that is a good album track that grows on you with each listen.
Time on My Hands- One of the quieter more melodic efforts on the album, that possibly is one of those songs that goes on for longer than it needs to.
Built for Comfort- A Willie Dixon cover song which unsurprisingly is the most blues orientated track on the whole album. It’s a very good cover but most definitely chosen as a filler effort.
Lipstick Traces- A refreshing instrumental that surprisingly fits in nicely on the album.
Queen of the Deep- A low key start and then we kick into some heavier terrain and a great pulsating riff. This song is a heavy number effort in every way and it's a song very much in the direction that the band would stay for the rest of the decade.
Verdict
Phenomenon was an album that I quickly fell in love with and in many ways that overshadowed some of the album’s weaknesses for me, which were essentially some lower energy level songs that sat between the album’s true stunners “Doctor Doctor” and “Rock Bottom”. The band on this album were truly forging the perfect marriage of incorporating melodic rock into their newish hard rock sound. It’s also fairly obvious that the band were divorcing themselves from their older sound, whilst trying to work out how much free rein they should allow the electricfying Michael Schenker on guitar! For all that though, the album does contain a fair amount of quieter material, but this material is accomplished and that’s what counts! With “Doctor Doctor and “Rock Bottom” the band ushered in two of the great hard rock tracks of all time. “Doctor Doctor” is just pure genius at its very best, whilst “Rock Bottom” even today leaves me drooling for its sheer power, energy and Michael Schenker’s friggin guitar soloing! These two songs were simply built to last and they sound just as great today as they did back then. Then there is “Oh My” a great rocker which just shows how the band had streamlined their sound from their earlier material and also the album closer “Queen of the Deep” which is a superb five minute plus track with again some truly great guitar featured throughout. On this album Michael Schenker was treated as a newbie and kept on a leash for this album, now this surely begs the question, had he been given a free roam here how much better could this album have been? Because let’s face it, when his guitar exploded the band played their best stuff. If a criticism can be aimed at the album, then it could be the few times that the band are reluctant to totally part with their earlier slower sound and this can be heard on “Crystal Light” which seems too bogged down in acoustics and does have a tendency to plod along. Then there is “Space Child” a kind of poignant reminder of the sound they gave up to move into a new harder edged direction and the idea of putting both “Too Young to Know” and “Time on My Hands” back to back is probably not that smart a move either. The band had an amazing grasp of what melodic hard rock was all about without losing their heavy edge and even today they could still give a lesson or two to a multitude of bands out there on how to achieve this perfect balance.