UFO (UK) - UFO 1 (LP, Beacon, 1970)

RATING: 6/10

UFO's quest for world domination started with this humble LP from 1970, a low-budget album recorded in almost live-in-studio fashion and released by a medium-sized record label. But the roots of the story behind this huge (if not comercially ultra-successful) entity lie in a previous outfit called Hocus Pocus, formed in 1968 and already featuring the recognizable line-up of Phil Mogg (V), Mick Bolton (G), Pete Way (B) and Andy Parker (D). It was pretty much UFO under an early guise, you see, and it makes sense to add this period to UFO's timeline, as they would only adopt their alien-influenced household name after signing with Beacon Records in late 1969, as something of an homage to the London club where they played countless times and were finally spotted by the label's representatives.

Those were still formative years for heavy rock music as a whole, you see, and it's perfectly understandable that the music here featured isn't exactly analogous to the hard/heavy input that would earn them a healthy and convoluted career in later years. It's heavy enough already in a sense, but way more in a Blue Cheer approach of heaviness if you know what I mean, with many bluesy/boogie overtones and some distinct psychedelic influences. Therefore, one must have in mind that this is not archetypal UFO by any stretch: what you're going to get is proto-metal stuff, produced by a band willing to explore some then recently-opened musical avenues, but also a bit insecure about what would exactly be the roadmap to follow.

The basslines of Pete Way are in your face here, showing how hugely influenced by John Entwistle he is, which is not a bad thing at all, of course. Phil Mogg's voice would surely mature with time, but one can easily hear the promise in songs such as the ballad "(Come Away) Melinda", one of the finest moments IMO. Andy Parker and Mick Bolton do their job in a less spectacular manner perhaps (though Parker is the driving force behind the passable "Who Do You Love?"), but the band sounds tight and catchy most of the time. Still, the production values do very little to disguise the occasional rough edges of the performance, something that may surely be unpleasant if you're unwilling to take the context of the recording that much into consideration.

"Boogie for George" and Eddie Cochran's "C'mon Everybody" would be sucessful singles in the Japanese charts, and both are adequate, although a little bit too simplistic for my liking, if I'm to be point-blank honest here. Interestingly, the main riff of "Follow You Home" is a total rip-off from The Kinks' "You Really Got Me", in such a glaring fashion that I sincerely hope UFO were never sued for that! Some songs here featured are quite nice, with "Evil", "Shake it About", opening instrumental "Unindentified Flying Object" and the aforementioned "Melinda" being good examples. But listeners must be aware that most tracks are a bit too rudimentary (and with far too throwaway lyrics) for their own good, and I'm afraid nearly half of the compositions didn't stood that well the test of time.

Despite its shortcomings, "UFO 1" made quite an impact in places like Germany and most of all Japan, prompting the group to tour the Land of the Rising Sun quite extensively from an early stage. This recognition was very important to originally keep them on the road, as the LP caused little to no reaction in its two high-profile targets, England and USA. It's not a record you should buy whatever the price, mind you, but everyone has to start somewhere, you know, and this humble slice of wax works as a nice document from an era when heavy metal, as we all came to know and love, was still taking shape.

Phil Mogg (V), Mick Bolton (G), Pete Way (B), Andy Parker (D).

01. Unindentified Flying Object (Way, Mogg, Parker, Bolton) 2:19
02. Boogie for George (Way, Mogg, Parker, Bolton) 4:16
03. C'mon Everyody (Cochran, Capehart) 3:12
04. Shake it About (Way, Mogg, Parker, Bolton) 3:47
05. (Come Away) Melinda (Hellerman, Minkoff) 5:04
06. Timothy (Way, Mogg, Parker, Bolton) 3:28
07. Follow You Home (Way) 2:13
08. Treacle People (Bolton) 3:23
09. Who Do You Love (McDaniel) 7:49
10. Evil (Way) 3:27

Have you been involved with any of the bands mentioned here? Have any extra info and/or corrections? Please e-mail me (drequon@gmail.com) and let me know!

BOOMERANG (USA) - Boomerang (LP, RCA Victor, 1971)

RATING: 8/10

This is the one and only album from this now-obscure American bunch, formed by singer/keyboardist Mark Stein after the first of many break-ups of Vanilla Fudge. Without delving too deep into the reasons for the split, fact is that the lads were at loggerheads with each other, and their typical, organ-heavy psych/prog song was losing ground to the more direct, guitar-driven sound of contemporaries such as Mountain, Sir Lord Baltimore and Grand Funk, who seemed to be more of the flavor of the time in the USA. When his colleagues Tim Bogert and Carmine Appice decided to jump ship in order to form Cactus, Mr. Stein and his bandmate Vince Martell (guitar) tried to keep Vanilla Fudge sailing on at first, enlisting James Galuzzi (D, ex-Dino and the Cavemen) and Sal D'Onofrio (bass) to fill the blanks. But it was a short-lived endeavor, and when Vince Martell decided he wasn't that willing to soldier on after all, Stein felt the time was right to try a different approach. Keeping the services of Galuzzi, the singer/keyboardist recruited Jo Casmir (B/V) and guitar wonder Richard Ramirez (who had only 16 years of age at the time of recording), and word soon spread around that a new venture named Boomerang was born.

If you expect to hear the psychedelic heaviness of Vanilla Fudge, you may be heading for a slight disappointment - not that they disregard their former style completely, but it's clear as day that Mark Stein wanted his new project to be a diferent beast altogether, moving towards a dynamic hard rock sound not at all dissimilar to what groups like Deep Purple and Led Zeppelin were developing at roughly the same time (and not much of a surprise that is, as Stein was good friends with several Zep members and had many strong connections in the British rock scene). It didn't took him long to sign the dotted line with RCA, and the debut LP from Boomerang was at the shops before 1971 was over - a record that the contemporary rock scene really should had paid more attention to, if you ask me.

The opening track, "Juke it", is sure to bring a smile to any self-respecting heavy rock fan in a matter of seconds, with a strong (and heavy as hell) guitar-organ interplay that Ritchie Blackmore and Jon Lord would be proud to call their own. The band is tight, the musicianship is remarkable, and, being little more than a kid at the time, Richard Ramirez plays with a blend of dexterity and ingenuity that is no less than jaw-dropping given his age. Stein's singing is top notch throughout, but he's clever enough to allow Casmir (a very good singer in his own right) ample access to the mike stand as well, their duets during the subtle semi-ballad "Fisherman" being an instant highlight. The alternate singing in the excellent rendition to Inez and Charlie Foxx's "Mockingbird" is perhaps even better, with Casmir sounding a lot like Glenn Hughes (an extraordinary high praise in my book, you can rest assured of that) and the whole band allowing their soul influences to take rein for great effect. Every single song works beautifully, and the 4-piece move with great confidence from the solid rockers ("The Peddler") to the more subtle material (as in the really moving ballad "Brother's Coming Home", a poignant and not-remotely-overdone homage to the veterans from Vietnam), with a few surprises (such as the acoustic intro and the backmasked guitar solo during "Hard Times") to keep every listener alert and interested throughout. The only bad thing about this album is that it's pitifully short (only seven tracks in little more than 30 minutes), but you can always play it all over again as soon as it's over, you know.  

The cruel fact that Boomerang's eponymous LP just didn't sell is truly a life's great mystery (the prominent "featuring Mark Stein" sticker seemingly doing little to help matters), the public's reception being so unspectacular that the prospect of a USA tour to promote it never got past the planning stage. Still, the band somehow got as far as laying down tracks for a second release before RCA concluded there was no reason to keep it going and finally opted to pull the plug on them. Though it was never officially issued (and, according to Mark Stein himself, most probably never will), bootleg versions of this tentative sophomore album have been circulating for a long while now, and it's not that difficult to locate mp3 files of it if you know where to search. I won't make any effort to write a full review of it (as it is, in its current form, little more than a collection of unreleased songs), but let's say the material shows the band doing something of a detour towards blues rock, sometimes being strongly reminiscent of acts such as Savoy Brown. It's an interesting development, and most songs are nice enough, but it lacks some of the punch and charming enthusiasm of their innaugural LP, and I honestly don't think they were heading for world domination had it been released as originally planned. Whatever the case, Mark Stein unceremoniously disbanded Boomerang in 1973, taking something of a sabbathical from the music scene before resurfacing as a member of the Tommy Bolin Band. He was also a feature in some of the many reunions of Vanilla Fudge, including the most recent - and successful - one, that started in 1999 and is still going strong to this day. Of the other members, only Richard Ramirez (now signing as Rick Ramirez, perhaps to avoid any confusion with a certain serial killer, you see) kept plugging in, releasing records with bands such as Striker, Bruzer (where he was joined by drummer Vinnie Appice) and the Pamela Moore Band - none of those, unfortunately, attaining the level of adulation his guitar playing damn sure deserved.

In the years that followed Boomerang's demise, Mark Stein (though acknowledging the quality of some songs in particular) opted to dismiss the whole thing as little more than a period of experimentation, something he did to kept busy while trying to reassess his career after the great success - and sudden downfall - of Vanilla Fudge. I kinda can see where he's coming from, you know, but I politely beg to differ, as I think Boomerang were a great heavy rock band that could have really got somewhere under different circumstances. It's not only about the music, as we all know, and some stars must be aligned in order for a band to make it big, which simply wasn't the case around here. Still, I would be very proud of Boomerang's sole LP if I was in Stein's shoes, and those of you who enjoy some heavy music as it was done in the early 1970s should really take this one home if you ever see a copy of it coming your way.

Mark Stein (V/K), Jo Casmir (V/B), Richard Ramirez (G), James Galuzzi (D).

01. Juke It (Galuzzi, Stein, Ramirez)

02. Fisherman (Stein)

03. Hard Times (Galuzzi, Stein, Ramirez)

04. Mockingbird (I. Foxx, C. Foxx)

05. Cynthia Fever (Galuzzi, Stein, Ramirez, Brennen)

06. Brother's Coming Home (Stein)

07. The Peddler (Galuzzi, Stein, Ramirez)

Have you been involved with any of the bands mentioned here? Have any extra info and/or corrections? Please e-mail me (drequon@gmail.com) and let me know!