01. UFO Lights Out 1977 (Chrysalis)
Hard Rock
Lights out, as an identified object flew under the radar!
Overview
Upon their breakthrough on the
Phenomenon and
Force It albums, UFO had an enviable line-up in Phil Mogg, Michael Schenker, Pete Way and Andy Parker all basically the stuff of rock legend. For their fifth album
No Heavy Petting they had added a fifth band member in Argentinian keyboardist Danny Peyronal to flesh out their sound and initially this looked a great addition, especially on some of the cuts that can be found on the
No Heavy Petting album, but on repeated listens the album came across as a somewhat pedestrian effort and lacked spark. This was shame really, as it had one hell of an album cover! Danny Peyronal was soon replaced by Paul “Kipper” Raymond on keyboards (ex-Chicken Shack and Savoy Brown) and he covered rhythm guitar as well and looked a far more suitable band member. In fact he forged a great working partnership with the band and especially with guitarist Michael Schenker. For
Lights Out the band waved goodbye to mainstay producer Leo Lyons and recruited American producer Ron Nevison, who had worked as an engineer on the Who’s
Quodrophenia album (you can’t get a better recommendation than that) but even more crucially he had worked on the Bad Company
debut and the quality of that debut can certainly be echoed on
Lights Out on varying occasions. Around this time, UFO were threatening to step into the popularity breach that would soon be vacated by fellow British bands Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath, who despite their status, had both fast gone downhill with the quality of their output and the stage now seemed set for UFO to step in.
Lights Out therefore should’ve been the album that launched the band into this level of superstardom, but it didn’t quite happen and even today it’s still one of the great rock mysteries. There are a number of reasons of course, but I think the most important might be the timing and the year that the band found themselves in. UFO were a band who musically were playing within the confines of a tried and tested musical style, the fact that they did it amazingly well was besides the point here. Had they been more multi-dimensional like Thin Lizzy or even gimmicky like AC/DC, I’m sure they would’ve attained a greater level of success. Like most things in life, it was all a question of timing, had
Lights Out come out just a few years earlier, their superstardom would surely have been signed and sealed. Whereas in 1977 a more punk rock inspired approach could’ve done wonders for the band, therefore the band would have to be contented with being a well-known band rather than household name.
Phil Mogg- Vocals
Michael Schenker- Guitar
Pete Way- Bass
Paul Raymond- Keyboards/Rhythm
Andy Parker- Drums
Production- Ron Nevison
Album
Too Hot to Handle- A very hands on and instantly catchy album opener that has a rock anthem feel about it, along with Phil Moggs gritty vocals with Michael Schenker’s guitar that cements the whole song together nicely.
Just Another Suicide- A melodic rock delight of almost 5 minutes here from the band and the song is penned by Phil Mogg, which just seamlessly leads on from the opening album track. Paul Raymond makes his presence and talent felt on this track nicely.
Try Me- An orchestrated ballad that has some great deft touches and stunning guitar work by Michael Schenker, especially towards in latter part and is as good as any of the well-known ballads from the decade.
Lights Out- The title track is fast and furious and the nearest the band probably ever got in appeasing the hordes of punks that swarmed the UK in 1977. The song is one of the band’s most recognizable as well and an absolute killer! It also ends the first side of the album as tightly as it began.
Getting Ready’- Steady, melodic and with a heavy overtone and it kicks off the second side of the album.
Alone Again Or- I’m a huge fan of Love and
Forever Changes and its songs are timeless classics, and most of its covers have been accomplished as well. But I’ve always been dubious of this song on the
Lights Out album, but over time I’ve warmed to it, but I do know that not everybody would agree with that conclusion.
Electric Phase- This is a late album track that is one of the heaviest offerings on the album.
Love to Love- With its subtle opening dynamics this is a powerful 8 plus minute track, which captures the band at their boldest and most focused. The song is a gem as is the album.
Verdict
Lights Out might be one of the most perfectly constructed hard rock albums of the decade. The group were able to combine a level of melody, heavy playing and music accomplishment that few bands were capable of reaching.
Lights Out has them applying a Led Zeppelin type heaviness with a melodic slice that Bad Company would’ve been proud of (in fact by 1977 Bad Company were distinctly division two sounding in comparison and never came anywhere near this kind of quality) and the album as expected, had some of the most intense playing of the year. One of the great aspects of
Lights Out were the vocals of Phil Mogg and his street level approach to them. Street level in that they didn’t rely on an arena rock delivery, an exaggerated rock approach or a limited vocal style. His vocals were gritty, tough sounding and concise, and were certainly in line with current music trends of the time. For this reason alone, he would be such an influential vocalist over the next several years, just think Paul D’Anno as a devotee here. Then there is the bass work of Pete Way, which powerfully underpins the whole album and again was one of the most influential bassists of his time. As for the music, the songs on
Lights Out just go seamlessly from one to the other starting with “Too Hot to Handle” and then onto a song like “Just Another Suicide” a song that is archetypal of this flow and could go anywhere on the album. The ballad “Try Me” is a delight in every aspect and is further enhanced by its clever position on the album. Then there is the blustery title track “Lights Out” or as it should’ve been called ‘Lights Out in London’ which has Phil Mogg crying out about the state of the UK economy and the work of both Michael Schenker and Andy Parker really make the song. Of the other songs on the album “Alone Again Or” is a beautiful song, that despite not really belonging on the album, somehow finds its own niche. “Getting Ready’” keeps us in melody and “Electric Phase” has the power button switched firmly on. The album closer though “Love to Love” is the showpiece track of the album, with its clever opening musical variations, before then travelling into being a powerful slow-burning statement of a track and it always gives out that it has the ability to explode at will. The seamless flow of this album may well be its crowning glory, as the songs on
Lights Out are often different. For example just take a look at the first four songs on the a-side of the album, all are quite different but still flow perfectly with each other without any kind of hitch, in fact these songs could’ve been played in any order without losing their overall effect. The flow on the second side of the album, has a less flowing impact about it, but who cares when the album finishes up with “Love to Love”.