UFO really hit their stride with their third effort with German wunderkind Michael Schenker. The album opens with the macho swagger of "Natural Thing". An ode to sex and rock and roll, the song is basically about the band finding various young females to ummmmmmm have fun with. Anyone with a passing interest in hard rock cannot deny the greatness of this track, and it will be playing in your mind for week to come. A classic. Next comes a fan-favorite. "I'm a Loser" is a beautiful song that shows off UFO's range in terms of songwriting. Basically about a man who is down on his luck, the delicate keyboards accompany singer Phil Mogg's hauntingly powerful voice. Schenker's leads add the rock to the song, and words can barely describe what a great song "I'm a Loser" is. Top stuff.
The album rolls along (pun intended) with "Can You Roll Her". I personally like the dimension that keyboardist/songwriter Danny Peyronel added to the band during this short time with them. The ferocity of his playing was great, and it really fills out the song. Great drumming from Andy Parker, killer leads from Schenker, and some of the best bass work by Pete Way combine with Mogg's voice in perfect fashion, a great track. "Belladonna" is a bit of a ballad, and quite different for the band. A big hit in Russia, the song is slower and more introspective than ever before. Seemingly about a failed romance, the song is less rock-like than many of their other tracks, but that's certainly not a bad thing. "Belladonna" shows the band expanding and maturing their sound, becoming equally comfortable with all-out rockers as well as more soft and delicate ballads. A UFO classic. "Reasons Love" closes out side 1, and what a closer it is. A massive riff from Schenker opens with track, with some solid drumming from Parker. Mogg's lyrical and vocal bravado is at its peak here, a great front-man to the one of the most underrated rock bands. Basically about rock's classic "evil woman" archetype, the acid-tongue lyrics are great. Schenker's mastery of the guitar becomes even more apparent during the track, and its hard to believe that the band had only one guitarist at this point, a very full and heavy sound.
Side 2 of the album slows things down a bit. "Highway Lady" is one of the weaker songs on the album. Written solely by Peyronel, the song doesn't match well with the overall sound and feel of the album, sounding like Bruce Springsteen lite at points. Very heavy on piano, it sounds quite foreign to UFO, despite some solid vocals from Mogg and a decent solo from Schenker. "On With the Action" is a great song, another UFO heavy-hitter. Bluesy, the song Mogg's voice taking on a bluesy sound for one of the first times. Schenker's leads are out-of-this-world, backed up by one of best rhythm sections to ever grace the rock world.
"A Fool in Love" is a version of the Frankie Miller/Andy Fraser song. Kind of useless on the album, it sounds very typical of the era of cock-rock, like a Bad Company outtake. Not of the quality of UFO, the song is a mere footnote in the history of UFO. Not bad, but not necessary at all. The album closes with "Martian Landscape", a remaining vestige of their psychedelic days. A utopian tale of a future sci-fi world, I quite enjoy the track, a sign of things to come on "Lights Out", the band's next album. Particularly strong is the great keyboard playing of Peyronel. The song reminds of Queen at points, with some very progressive sections featuring very complex chord changes. An interesting song.
"No Heavy Petting" is a fantastic album. Fans of hard rock need this album, which in my opinion is better than both "Force It" and "Lights Out".
Rating-9/10
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