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.

The last four tracks on this album are NOT from the original UFO 1 album, they are taken from the band's second full-length release, Flying. Every track from that album other than the title track in here. If that track were here, it would be two complete albums on a single CD. But since it's not, they just come off seeming like bonus tracks.

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.

lets boogie...

ufos first, and most blues based album. only tracks 1-10 are actually ufo-1, the other four are taken from ufo-2(flying) some of the songs on this album are cover tunes(come away melinda,cmon everybody) that they do a great job on. its got a raw, grainy edge to it that their other albums dont,get it and see what kicked off the coolest band you may never have heard of.