Ufo
Force It

THE REVIEW

We are in 1975 when UFO releases their fourth album, the second with Michael Schenker, "snatched" from his brother Rudolf's Scorpions, on guitar after "Phenomenon", a convincing episode from the previous year in which the four took a turn in their style following Mick Bolton's departure, heading towards that solid hard rock that will henceforth characterize them.

"Force It" is the second step of a group towards their masterpiece, that "Lights Out" which will see the light two years later. The compositions begin to include keyboard parts, and the gears driven by Phil Mogg's voice, Pete Way's bass, Andy Parker's drums, and Michael Schenker's guitar are well-oiled.

The German guitarist barely speaks English, but this does not prevent him, alongside Way and Mogg, from creating songs like "Let It Roll", "Shoot Shoot", or "Mother Mary", all tracks that will become their classics and serve as pillars in their live performances. Schenker is one of those instantly recognizable guitarists, able to elevate the level of any piece with one of his solos; for confirmation, listen to "High Flyer", a ballad illuminated by a solo in which he manages to condense so much feeling in just a few notes that for many "normal" guitarists it would be unthinkable.

But one must not fall into the error of considering UFO merely an appendage of Schenker. On the contrary, Way and Mogg know their stuff, they know how to write great pure hard rock pieces and deserve credit for having devised a winning formula, in which Schenker's guitar fits like a marvelous diamond.

Until misunderstandings begin to materialize, leading to Schenker's departure in 1978, whose character poorly reconciles with that of the other members, UFO enjoys a very fruitful creative season, producing a series of great albums that project them among the greats of 70s hard rock, and "Force It" is a fundamental step in that journey, not yet on the level of "Lights Out," but still an album of excellent music.