Just like the Scorpions existed after Michael Schenker, UFO existed before he joined the band.
But while the Scorpions went on to worldwide fame in the '80s with such albums as Love At First Sting following Schenker's two departures, UFO seemed to flounder in their earliest days, prior to Schenker joining up for the Phenomenon album in 1974. Their debut effort, UFO 1, showcases a band that has no idea who they want to be when they grow up.
The core of the classic band was there, with Phil Mogg handling vocals, Pete Way on bass and Andy Parker on drums. It would be too simple to say all of UFO's problems, therefore, lay with guitarist Mick Bolton - and, while he wasn't as showy, it would be incorrect to leave him to shoulder all the blame.
In fact, these 10 tracks highlight a band that jumped musical styles more often than a caffeinated toad. At one stage, they seemed to be a psychedelic space-rock band ("Unidentified Flying Object"); at others, they were a groove-based hard rock outfit ("Timothy," "Boogie For George"), still others showcased a classic rock band ("C'mon Everybody," "Who Do You Love"). While they would eventually settle into a solid hard rock groove in their career, at this stage it proved to be annoying that they hadn't made up their minds as to who they should be as a band.
Musically, UFO hadn't quite gelled as a unit yet. Mogg often sounds a bit tentative in his vocals, and neither Way nor Parker had really locked in with each other. Bolton was a competent guitarist but, similar to his bandmates, his overall sound wasn't strong enough to push the music forward. Their overall tentative sound, and lack of solid musical direction, effectively sink this album.
Songwriting was also a bit of a weak point at this stage in their career. I still don't know what the hell "Timothy" was supposed to be about, but it definitely had a sci-fi edge to it that just didn't seem to fit UFO's style. I know that UFO was never meant to be a deep-thinking person's band, but some of this went beyond even the realm of esoteric, and into the just plain cosmically weird. Exhibit "A": "Treacle People". Yeesh...
UFO would eventually go on to bigger, better and brighter pastures; their lineup would come together as a stronger unit (though they would always seem to have a revolving door policy regarding who was in the band), and their songwriting and overall sound would definitely improve. It's just a shame that all those factors weren't there on UFO 1; this is one that has to be called an album for die-hard fans or completists only.