The year was 1980, and Michael Schenker had left his gig in UFO. The guitarist that was destined to replace him was a veteran to the band named Paul Chapman. With the help of Beatles producer George Martin; the band was able to make the classic album No Place To Run. This album was a great start with the new lineup, and while it isn't perfect, it is still a great album that features some of my all time favorite UFO songs.
The album begins with the synthesizer filled instrumental "Alpha Centauri." This is probably the weakest track of the album, but it does make a cool intro just like the title track of Van Halen's album 1984. It also transitions well into the next song "Lettin' Go." One of my favorite songs on the album is the band's cover of "Mystery Train." This song had been recorded by its original artist Junior Parker, and then it was famously covered by Elvis Presley. The UFO version is my favorite though, because they really made the song their own. It features fiery blues licks from Paul Chapman, and one of the best interpretations of the simple riff. The acoustic intro is also amazing, and I have a feeling that it made many guitarists of the time extremely intimidated. This has to be my favorite cover song of all time. The next song "This Fire Burns Tonight" is a much more upbeat song, and it features a very cool riff. "Gone In The Night" is a very neat song, but it isn't one of the more memorable songs of the album. The next song "Young Blood" is another one of my favorites. This song is so simple, because it is a three chord so with a very slow tempo, but it is so catchy at the same time. It really has a Buddy Holly sound in my opinion, because it is a little rockabilly in a sense( mainly because of Phil's vocals). The next song is the title track, and I love this song. It is so dark, and the line "jungle land" has forever stuck in my head. This song has a little bit of a Foreigner sound to it, and I think that UFO can really pull that sound off. The next song on the album is a much softer song called "Take It Or Leave It." I like this song because it gives a lighter twist to the album. The song after this is called "Money Money." This song is kind of like a story, because the line " Money, look what you've done to me" is telling what has happened to people that go downhill in show business. I love the riff to this song because it is so mischievous but uplifting. The last song on this great album is called "Anyday." This song may be my favorite Paul Chapman era song, and it is definitely in my top 10 UFO songs. My love for it is really because of Phil's dark vocal performance. You can really hear that he is giving everything he has for this one song, because he has so much pain and emotion to each note. Another part of this song that stands out is Paul Chapman's lead work. It is some of the best solos I've ever heard, because the notes are so perfectly hit, and his tone is so flawless. Pete Way's bass riff is also very important, because it is the majority of the song.
As you can see, this album is pretty much great top to bottom. It is just as good as most of the Schenker albums, and I really love it. I think that every fan of classic rock should listen to this album, because it is more than a UFO album, it is a landmark in music.
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