Obsession (UFO album)
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox album
| name = Obsession
| type = studio
| artist = UFO
| cover = UFOObsession.jpg
| alt =
| released = {{start date|1978|06|23|df=y}}{{cite web|url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/UK/Music-Week/1978/Music-Week-1978-07-01.pdf|title=Music Week|page=32}}
| recorded =
| studio = C.P. McGregors, Western Avenue, Los Angeles and West 3rd Carrier Station, Beverly Hills, California with The Record Plant Mobile
| genre =
- Hard rock{{Cite web|url=https://www.spirit-of-metal.com/en/album/Obsession/10466|title=UFO : Obsession|website=Spirit-of-metal.com}}
- heavy metal{{cite web|first=Greg |last=Prato |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/obsession-mw0000793401 |title=Obsession review by Greg Prato |website=AllMusic |quote=UFO's Obsession was to be their last studio record with star guitarist Michael Schenker. It did indeed contain lots of prime metal cuts, but some of the material ultimately fell flat |access-date=February 24, 2023}}
| length = 35:59
| label = Chrysalis
| producer = Ron Nevison
| prev_title = Lights Out
| prev_year = 1977
| next_title = Strangers in the Night
| next_year = 1979
| misc = {{Singles
| name = Obsession
| type = studio
| single1 = Cherry
| single1date = June 1978 (US){{Cite web|url=http://hitparade.ch/showitem.asp?interpret=UFO&titel=Cherry&cat=s|title=UFO - Cherry|first=Steffen|last=Hung|website=Hitparade.ch}}
| single2 = Only You Can Rock Me
| single2date = July 1978 (UK){{Cite web|url=http://hitparade.ch/showitem.asp?interpret=UFO&titel=Only+You+Can+Rock+Me&cat=s|title=UFO - Only You Can Rock Me|first=Steffen|last=Hung|website=Hitparade.ch}}
| single3 = Born to Lose
| single3date = 1978 (NL)
}}
}}
{{Music ratings
| rev1 = AllMusic
| rev1Score = {{Rating|3|5}}{{cite web|last1=Prato|first1=Greg|title=Obsession - UFO|url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/obsession-mw0000793401|website=AllMusic|access-date=19 January 2015}}
| rev2 = Christgau's Record Guide
| rev2Score = C−{{cite book|last=Christgau|first=Robert|author-link=Robert Christgau|year=1981|title=Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies|publisher=Ticknor & Fields|isbn=089919026X|chapter=Consumer Guide '70s: U|chapter-url=https://www.robertchristgau.com/get_chap.php?k=U&bk=70|access-date=17 March 2019|via=robertchristgau.com}}
}}
Obsession is the seventh studio album by English rock band UFO, released in 1978. This was the final studio album to feature Michael Schenker on lead guitar until he returned to the band in 1993. A single from the album, "Only You Can Rock Me" / "Cherry", was also released in 1978. So too was the band's first three-track EP "Only You Can Rock Me", "Cherry" / "Rock Bottom", reaching No. 50 in the UK.{{which|date=July 2024}} The album was recorded at an abandoned post office in Los Angeles.
EMI's 2008 remastered edition includes three bonus live tracks, and also some writing credits are corrected. In 2024, Chrysalis released a deluxe edition on 2 CD's and 3 LP's. It features new remaster as well as an entire live show from Cleveland, remixed in 2024 for this release.
Critical reception
Reviewing the LP in Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies (1981), Robert Christgau wrote: "I've admired their forward motion and facile riffs, so it's my duty to report that they've degenerated into the usual exhibitionism. Theme song: 'Lookin' Out for No. 1,' a turn of phrase that's becoming as much of a watchword in late '70s rock as 'get together' was in the late '60s."
Track listing
{{track listing
| headline = Side one
| title1 = Only You Can Rock Me
| length1 = 4:08
| writer1 = Pete Way, Michael Schenker, Phil Mogg
| title2 = Pack It Up (And Go)
| length2 = 3:14
| writer2 = Way, Schenker, Mogg
| title3 = Arbory Hill
| length3 = 1:11
| writer3 = Schenker
| title4 = Ain't No Baby
| length4 = 3:58
| writer4 = Mogg, Paul Raymond
| title5 = Lookin' Out for No. 1
| length5 = 4:34
| writer5 = Mogg, Raymond
}}
{{track listing
| headline = Side two
| title6 = Hot 'n' Ready
| length6 = 3:16
| writer6 = Schenker, Mogg
| title7 = Cherry
| length7 = 3:34
| writer7 = Way, Mogg
| title8 = You Don't Fool Me
| length8 = 3:23
| writer8 = Raymond, Andy Parker, Mogg
| title9 = Lookin' Out for No. 1
| length9 = 1:14
| writer9 = Schenker, Raymond
| note9 = reprise
| title10 = One More for the Rodeo
| length10 = 3:45
| writer10 = Way, Mogg
| title11 = Born to Lose
| length11 = 3:31
| writer11 = Schenker, Mogg, Raymond
| total_length = 35:59
}}
{{track listing
| headline = 2008 EMI remastered CD reissue bonus tracks
| title12 = Hot 'n' Ready
| length12 = 3:34
| note12 = live In Columbus, Ohio, 17/10/78
| title13 = Pack It Up (And Go)
| length13 = 3:38
| note13 = live In Columbus, Ohio, 17/10/78
| title14 = Ain't No Baby
| length14 = 4:40
| note14 = live In Kenosha, Wisconsin, 14/10/78
| total_length = 46:57
}}
Personnel
UFO
- Phil Mogg – vocals
- Michael Schenker – guitars, recorder
- Paul Raymond – keyboards, guitar
- Pete Way – bass
- Andy Parker – drums
Production
- Ron Nevison – producer
- Mike Clink – assistant engineer
- Alan McMillan – conductor, string arrangements, string conductor
- Hipgnosis – cover art
Charts
| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" |
| Chart (1978)
! Peak |
|---|
| scope="row"|Australian Albums (Kent Music Report){{cite book|last=Kent|first=David|author-link=David Kent (historian)|title=Australian Chart Book 1970–1992|edition=illustrated|publisher=Australian Chart Book|location=St Ives, N.S.W.|year=1993|isbn=0-646-11917-6|page=316}}
|align="center"|89 |
| {{Album chart|Canada|68|chartid=0023b|artist=UFO|album=Obsession|rowheader=true|access-date=28 June 2023}} |
| {{Album chart|Sweden|31|artist=UFO|album=Obsession|rowheader=true|access-date=28 June 2023}} |
| {{Album chart|UK2|26|date=19780716|rowheader=true|access-date=28 June 2023}} |
| scope="row"|US Billboard 200{{cite web|url=https://www.billboard.com/charts/billboard-200/1978-09-23|title=Billboard 200 - 23 September 1978|website=Billboard|access-date=15 May 2021}}
|align="center"|41 |
References
{{Reflist}}
{{UFO}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:Albums produced by Ron Nevison