A decent debut

UFO 1 (1971.) UFO's first album.

It was in 1971 that classic hard rockers UFO released their first album, UFO 1. What many people, even fans of the band, fail to realize, is that this band DID exist before Michael Schenker joined them. Their first album, as well as the next few, didn't have his guitat mastery on board. Despite this all, is their debut album a success? Read on for my review of UFO 1.

The first thing I should state about this album is that the band didn't find their sound right away, and it really shows here. A artist's debut album can be one of two things - an underrated masterpiece of an album that captures the respective artist in their prime, or a desperate cry for help that the artist needs to find their sound. Sadly, UFO's debut album comes off as the latter. It's a much more bluesy album than their later ones. Likewise, lead singer Phil Mogg hasn't found his voice yet, and instead, mimics John Fogerty of Creedence Clearwater Revival (I'm not sure if this is what he was going for or not, but the similarities between the voices are striking.) Although there are a number of tunes on this album that are actually quite good, it ultimately falls flat when you compare it to the albums the band did with Michael Schenker. Unless you're a die-hard fan of the band, pass this one by and start with the Schenker albums. You'll find some good songs here, but nothing up to the quality of, say, Doctor Doctor and Only You Can Rock Me.

My final verdict is simple here - unless you're a die hard fan of the band, start with the Michael Schenker albums, or buy a hits compilations (these generally cover his stint with the band and not much more, making them ideal to casual fans.) This ISN'T a bad album, but it's not a great one by any means either.

A good first Album

For diehard ufo fans, this is the begining of the band, and the start of a hard rock story that endures to this day. This album is a product of the times in which it was created, the echoes of the sixties were fading, and the violence and upheaval of the seventies were on the horizon, and ufo was there to create some sounds that were different than the peace and love era, and a preview of things to come. With the first incarnation of this band, they delivered some solid tunes, timothy is a great tribute to the orginal guru of the acid days, boogie for george is a solid rockin tune as well, all the songs are cool, and this is a must have album for the collector, and a good intro to the band before they became the icons of the area shows of the seventies during the michael era. Give it a listen, and turn on, tune in , and drop back to a time when the winds of change were a coming.