Ufo
Ufo 1

THE REVIEW

Ignorant-pedia labeled the band's early works as "Space rock", so, attracted by what seemed like a juicy morsel, I threw myself into their first record, very unimaginatively titled "UFO 1".

My first impression was that I had hit the mark: an instrumental intro, "Unidentified flying object", opens the record immediately painting it with cosmic sounds...

But within the physical boundaries of the album, there is very little Space rock.

The album is actually one of the numerous and beautiful Heavy Psych records that mushroomed during that period (early '70s).

There's plenty of room for Blues rock, whether it's seventies-style with a pleasant Stoner aftertaste ("Boogie", "Evil") or more lighthearted and sixties ("C'mon everybody", "Follow you home", "Who do you love"). A couple of slow tracks show us the band's more introverted side and recall the spatial suggestions of the intro: "Come away" is a melancholic ballad punctuated by the use of the crybaby, "Tracle people" is instead sonically akin to certain Pink Floyd. The good batch of songs is closed by the Acid rock of "Timothy".

The lyrics are often unpretentious, which might make some people wrinkle their noses, but the album is really very enjoyable and varied, also thanks to good production that highlights the excellent bass play without diminishing the predominant importance of the guitar.

Many seventies bands dedicated to psychedelic Hard rock had little critical success, and disappeared after just one album: just think of the excellent Yesterday's children, or Leaf Hound. This is not the case with UFO who, despite the necessary sound rearrangements, are still active and have produced some great records, especially "Phenomenon".

So I invite you to rediscover this group, which is talked about far too little. You, however... I'll still be searching for someone who sounds like Hawkwind.

See you next time!