Obsession Album Review

5/5 Stars

                 

    Obsession is definitely my favorite studio album by UFO.  The many reasons of why it is my favorite include that it features memorable songs from top to bottom, and it is also the best production on an album ever by the band.  The album starts out with the classic song "Only You Can Rock Me."  Even though this isn't my favorite song on the album, it is still an amazing opener to an album, and it is also a very catchy song.  The next song is "Pack it up and Go," and the drum intro alone makes this a very special song.  It also features a very catchy chorus, and a monster riff from Michael Schenker.  The next song is instrumental "Arbory Hill."  While not as good as "Lipstick Traces" on the album Phenomenon, it is still a great instrumental, and it features some great acoustic guitar playing by Michael Schenker.  The next song "Ain't No Baby" is one of my favorites by the band, mainly because of the attitude of Phil Moggs's vocals, and the great riff/ guitar solo from Michael Schenker.  Another neat thing about this song is the soft intro on the guitar that goes into the heavy riff.  The next song "Lookin' Out For No 1" is a heartfelt ballad that is one of the best vocal performances by Phil Mogg.  The strings that are played in the background of the song also bring a very peaceful feeling to the song that was also brilliantly done in "Love To Love."  The headline of this song though is the guitar solo by Michael Schenker.  It has such a strong emotion to it, and it gives me chills every time I hear it, because you can really feel Schenker's passion that he lays out.  The next song "Hot 'N' Ready" is a very catchy song that starts with a cool guitar solo, has amazing vocals throughout the entire song, and has a great riff.  I think it would be the perfect song for a Little Caesar's commercial, and I wish it would, because then people could finally see the true brilliance of this band.  The next song "Cherry" is probably my least favorite song of the album, but that in no way means that it isn't a good song.  It is a very different song, and it almost has an alternative sound to it.  The chorus of the song is very neat, and Phil Mogg puts a great vocal performance into it.  The next song "You Don't Fool Me" is a very cool song, because it has a Jame's Gang feel to it, and it is very funny.  It also features a very Eddie Van Halen sounding guitar solo that has a huge amount of raw energy.  The next song is the instrumental reprise to "Lookin' Out For No 1" and it is very cool because it brings a rock opera type of feel to the entire album, and it features some great piano playing by Paul Raymond, and amazing guitar work by Michael Schenker.  The next song "One More For the Rodeo" features an awesome riff on the guitar, and a great vocal performance from Phil Mogg, who truly gives his all on this song.  The thing that I like the most about this song is the feel, because it has a very dramatic and perilous sound to it, and it immediately gets your attention.  The final song on the album "Born To Lose" is my personal favorite song on the album, because it starts with a Scorpions esque guitar riff, and it has a very soft verse, but then when the chorus comes in, you feel so much emotion coming from Phil Mogg's vocals, and from Michael Schenker's guitar playing.  The headline of this song, like many UFO songs, is the guitar solo.  I remember the first time I heard the solo, I felt like I was going on a journey, because it starts with a soft solo, but it gradually gets faster, and it comes to the point where Michael Schenker just starts shredding the neck like it will be his last time playing the guitar.  It is easily my favorite guitar solo by Michael Schenker, and it is also in my Top 5 solos from any guitar player.

      Obsession is in my opinion; the crowning achievement in the studio for UFO.  This is just the album where you see the band gave everything that they had, and it is just completely amazing.  I think that if you are looking for a studio album by UFO, then you should definitely get this one first; I wish I had.