05. UFO Obsession 1978 (Chrysalis)
Hard Rock
A slow heavy lumbering and melodic beast on call.
Overview
Obsession may well have been one of those last great hard rock albums at the end of the 1970s that was still being referred to as hard rock, as in just a few short years and with the advent of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal in 1980, everything and anything that was loud was usually being referred to as ‘heavy metal’. As in the early 1980s the ‘genre label’ had became more dominant than ever, by now categorizing music in a much more detailed way than before. If the truth be told though, any current musical trend that had any band displaying some of its characteristics could easily find itself being pigeon-holed and often this was done incorrectly.
Obsession is an album that seems to split opinion and for many it’s a disappointment after the previous
Lights Out and I’ve seen various negative reviews that refer to it as a heavy lumberer that lacks spark, along with references about a number of the songs not being up to scratch amongst other things. In one aspect I do agree with some of these negative comments, but a lot of this negativity I also do see as a positive aspect overall for the album. For example the lumbering heavy feel of the album is in stark contrast to
Lights Out and so instead of giving us a
Lights Out MK.II which the band could’ve done, they probably give us their heaviest album even more so than
Force It in their discography! Some of the songs on
Obsession are indeed not quite up to scratch, but the sheer volume and the style at which some of the songs are played at, make it one of the strongest albums in the whole UFO discography and also it’s one of my personal favourite albums by the band as well.
Obsession would also see the break-up of the classic band line-up, as guitar maestro Michael Schenker due to band differences amongst other things would leave the band and go solo, until finally returning again to the band in 1993. The band would again retain the production skills of Ron Nevison, whose touch had ignited the classic
Lights Out album just the year before and of course Ron Nevison would go onto become a dominant producer for AOR bands in the 1980s. The album cover was certainly very contemporary for the late 1970s and kept up the band’s standards when it came to quality album covers as a whole.
Phil Mogg- Vocals
Michael Schenker- Guitar
Pete Way- Bass
Paul Raymond- Keyboards/Rhythm
Andy Parker- Drums
Production- Ron Nevison
Album
Only You Can Rock Me- Commercial with a feel good factor, as this song kicks off proceedings on the album. The song would also be included in a 3 track EP that included fellow album track “Cherry” and the older classic “Rock Bottom”.
Pack It Up (And Go)- One of the more typical tracks on the album, it’s a heavy and cumbersome sounding beast, and a great pounding song from beginning to end, with some great drumming by Andy Parker.
Arbory Hill- This is a delightful instrumental of just over a minute and composed by Michael Schenker.
Ain’t No Baby- After a brief melodic and commercial sounding start, the song does a u-turn and we have another slow plodding heavy number yet again.
Lookin’ out for No.1- The band’s only real attempt at a power ballad this time around, but unlike some of their other power ballads, this one firmly lacks any real spark.
Hot ‘N’ Ready- After the previous drab power ballad, the pace of the album really picks up again and the band are spot-on by inserting this pacey hard rocker right here.
Cherry- We’re back on the melodic trail here and the second track on the EP that was released from the album.
You Don’t Fool Me- Strong later album track which fits in with the general feel of the album.
Lookin’ out for No.1 (Reprise)- As the name suggests a reprise, which is probably a better listen than the main song.
One More for the Rodeo- A track that actually has Ron Nevison all over it and this type of song would soon represent the harder rocking side of the then contemporary AOR sound.
Born to Lose- The album closer is a poor effort for such an exalted position on the album and it’s one of the weakest album closers on any UFO album,
Verdict
When the album kicks off with the carefree and melodic sounding “Only You Can Rock Me” the listener is probably expecting another
Lights Out type album, in an attempt to tap out the commercial appeal of the band and with Ron Nevison on production duties, this is surely what is expected on this album. But then on the second track “Pack It Up (And Go) which sounds like a very heavy of combo of Led Zeppelin meets Aerosmith, we have a track that is far more in line with the album as a whole and this sentiment is quickly followed-up on the fourth track “Ain’t No Baby” with its great guitar work and pounding rhythm section. This same sound is echoed on the b-side of the album with tracks like “You Don’t Fool Me” and its stellar guitar playing by Michael Schenker. Then there are softer moments like the delightful instrumental “Arbory Hill” which is a great one minute solo song from Michael Schenker, which harks back to earlier on in the decade and then onto “Cherry” which is probably the best balanced of all the melodic moments on the album. “Hot ‘N’ Ready” starts proceedings on the b-side and it’s probably the most energetic track on the album as a whole, and is strongly matched by the melodic rocking flow of “One More for the Rodeo”. Some of the more derogatory comments that surface on some reviews for this album, are usually aimed at the power ballad “Lookin’ Out for No.1” which ultimately fails in what it sets out to do and that is give us one of those memorable epic 1970s power ballads, also surprisingly the song wasn’t issued as a single. If this isn’t enough, the band then give us a fairly pointless reprise of this same song later on in the album! The song “Born to Lose” as an album closer is such a lowlight, that the band could’ve replaced it with any number of songs that probably would’ve been better. Overall though
Obsession is a strong album for fans of a heavy hard rock that has a dash of melody added, but bear in mind its central softer heart is certainly its weakest spot and falls well below its heavier outer core quality wise, making it something of an anomaly in the UFO discography, which is strange considering just how strong the band were when it came to softer melodic moments of real richness on their albums.