UFO pretty much rescued their career from oblivion by abandoning the unsuccessful space-rock of their first two albums and reinventing themselves as melodic hard rockers on 1974’s Phenomenon. So it stood to reason that Force It, released in July 1975, would take that learned wisdom and run with it.
Originally released in 1975, Force It is UFO's fourth studio album. Produced by Ten Years After's Leo Lyons, it was their first album to chart in the US and enabled the band to kick up a rockier gear.
Force It, the second album by UFO that Michael Schenker appears on (and their fourth album in all), shows even more improvement in songwriting and the overall sound of the band. Phenomenon showed the start of something great, and Force It took that great to another level. Phenomenon still somewhat hung on to that "space rock" sound that the band started out making in the first place, but Force It completely ditches that sound, replacing it with straight forward rock.
Michael Schenker gets to shine, and start showing his real style as a guitarist. Phil Mogg also shows a more aggressive vocal style than previous albums. The whole album incorporates more guitars and solid fast grooves, with melody added by Phil Mogg, and solid drumming by Andy.
One of UFO's best albums, this is recommended if you are a fan of great guitar playing, and 70's rock. The entire album can be played through without skipping a track, and not many albums can have that said about them.
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It has some great classic tracks, but I have to judge it from that hard rock.
Great hard rock record with melodic and fun guitar work and inspired vocals. A continuation of the previous album in terms of sound although I would say that this is a little harder rocking than its predecessor.
Did Michael Schenker play one of the Greatest Rock Guitar Solos Of All Time in 1977?
In my opinion not nearly as well written as phenomenom and more commercial, However it stil delivers hard rocking riffs and acoustic ballads that are a staple of Shenkher UFO.
Musical Highlights and Standout Tracks
Musically, UFO’s fourth album kicked off with a pair of lean and muscular heavy rockers in “Let it Roll” and “Shoot Shoot.” Both songs maximized the crunchy riffs and incendiary solos of German-born guitarist Michael Schenker, who had been the catalyst behind the otherwise English ensemble’s stunning reinvention.
Not that singer Phil Mogg, bassist Pete Way and drummer Andy Parker were in any way slouches, but with Schenker adding the final piece of their collective puzzle (check out his otherworldly solo in “Mother Mary”), the quartet was finally able to shine their talents on more ambitious and expressive numbers.
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The opener "Let it Roll" may be Phil's most aggresive vocal performance to date, with him shouting and yelling the lyrics, but pulls it off nicely. "High Flyer" is the only ballad on the album, and slows things down which is a nice addition to Force It.
“Out in the Street” is the most dynamic song, featuring pianos, tempo changes, and excellent vocals. The grooving “This Kid’s” and “Dance your Life Away” both feature some of band members best performances.
These included “High Flyer” (a strategic nod to their wisely abandoned space-rock past), the anthemic “Out in the Street” (enhanced by Chick Churchill’s piano work) and “This Kid’s” borderline progressive assemblage of spare song parts (subtitled “Between the Walls”).
Elsewhere, “Too Much of Nothing” parsed out some vocal lines to bassist Way (the song’s composer) over a pounding heavy metal foundation, while “Love Lost Love” and “Dance Your Life Away” delivered yet another sampling of UFO’s newfound hard rock focus, albeit with less stellar results. But then no album is perfect.
For me the standout tracks on Force It are "Mother Mary," "Shoot Shoot," "This Kid's," "Out on the Street" and "Let It Roll." Every time I pick up the guitar and start improvising, I think a lick or two from that album squeaks out subconsciously.
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Track-by-Track Analysis:
- Let it Roll - 6/10
- Shoot Shoot - 6/10
- High Flyer - 5/10
- Love Lost Love - 5/10
- Out in the Street - 6/10
- Mother Mary - 10/10
Michael Schenker's Impact
When it got to the guitar solo, I was just blown away by Michael Schenker's tone, phrasing and technique. By the time the second solo came on with the fastest descending lick I'd ever heard, I was totally hooked! I immediately grabbed the album cover and saw the picture of Schenker playing a Flying V.
From that point on I knew there was an entire rock vocabulary out there that was not just based on pentatonic scales, and I set out to learn as many Schenker solos as possible while trying to write heavy riffs just like UFO. i also wanted a Flying V so bad!
That record taught me a lot about solo structure, phasing and melody, as well as playing for the song. I was amazed how UFO could be so heavy and so melodic in the course of one song. I think the band I was in at the time added two UFO songs to its set that week.
Additional Notes
They completed things with cover art which boasted a typically racy and perplexing design courtesy of those popular crackpots at Hipgnosis.
A little piece of trivia: the couple on the front cover are Genesis P-Orridge & Cosey Fanni Tutti, who, a year or so later, would be co-founders of Throbbing Gristle.