U.F.O's Light's Out

Fuckin' rad ass cover work from Light's Out of a headless and shirtless dude standing in a what looks like a futuristic train station but we can't be sure.

Release Date: 1977
Released On: Chrysalis
Phil Mogg - Vocals
Michael Schenker - Guitar
Pete Way - Bass
Andy Parker - Drums
Paul Raymond - Keyboards/Guitar

Lights Out was the pinnacle of UFO's studio career and is considered a genuine seventies rock classic by many rock historians. What is a rock historian anyway? I always picture some dude in leather and chains with big nerd glasses and a pocket protector sticking out of his leather jacket standing at a podium in a library conference room, lecturing on Led Zeppelin, but really it's just some fat, bald dude named Matt Pinfield. I wish I had Pinfield's cred.

I don't know if I would call Lights Out a genuine seventies rock classic but it's certainly shocking that U.F.O. never gained popularity like similar bands Grand Funk Railroad, and Deep Purple, but then fame is a fickle bitch. While technically no where near the aforementioned bands, U.F.O. is an undiscovered gem. I originally checked them out because they were cited as an early influence of such musicians as Dave Mustaine and members of Iron Maiden. That, and they have a song simply entitled Evil. This was part of my excursion into NWOBHM or the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, which included other bands such as Saxon, Diamond Head, Tank, the hilariously named Dumpy's Rusty Nuts, and of course the most famous of these early metal bands, Motorhead.

Track List for Lights Out


1. "Too Hot to Handle" (Mogg, Way) – 3:37
2. "Just Another Suicide" (Mogg) – 4:58
3. "Try Me" (Mogg, Schenker) – 4:49
4. "Lights Out" (Mogg, Parker, Schenker, Way) – 4:33
5. "Gettin' Ready" (Mogg, Schenker) – 3:46
6. "Alone Again or" (MacLean) – 3:00
7. "Electric Phase" (Mogg, Schenker, Way) – 4:20
8. "Love to Love" (Mogg, Schenker) – 7:38

This album is not really heavy metal, the way you might think of Heavy Metal as sounding. It's definitely more of a hard 70's rock album with a few metalesque solos thrown in. The lead track, Too Hot to Handle sounds a lot like some of Rod Stewart's hard-rockin' stuff, like Stay With Me. It kind of reminds me of Kiss' Rock and Roll ALL Nite.

When I saw there was a song entitled Just Another Suicide, I freaked, thinking it would be some totally sick, evil sounding alice cooper/iron maiden metal song. Nope, it's like "rock lite", an odd juxtaposition of lyrics about suicide and a sort of Billy Joel/Todd Rundgren "mellow gold" rock song. Try me is a beautiful, soulful song with a slow and sweeping guitar solo in the middle. Phil Mogg's voice sounds full of emotion and raspy as hell, a nice combination. Lights Out, the title track is the hardest rockin' on the whole album with an evil sounding organ, and my favorite by a long shot.

Bottom Line: U.F.O. is a good, hard rockin' 70's band. Their album, Light's Out is certainly their best work, not metal by a long shot, but still heavy enough to satisfy my demon soul.

Just Another Suicide