Lights Out (UFO album)

Lights Out
Studio album by
UFO
ReleasedMay 1977 (1977-05)[1]
StudioAIR (London)
GenreHard rock, heavy metal
Length36:41
LabelChrysalis
ProducerRon Nevison
UFO chronology
No Heavy Petting
(1976) 		Lights Out
(1977) 		Obsession
(1978)
Singles from Lights Out
  1. "Alone Again Or"
    Released: 13 May 1977[2]
  2. "Too Hot to Handle"
    Released: June 1977 (US)[3]
  3. "Try Me"
    Released: 1977 (US)[4]
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[5]

Lights Out is the sixth studio album by English rock band UFO, released in 1977. All songs are band originals except "Alone Again Or", a cover of a song by the band Love. Reaching number 23 on the Billboard 200, it is the band's highest-charting album in the United States. In the UK, it hit number 54 and stayed on the chart for two weeks.[6]

The album was UFO's first to feature lush string arrangements, alongside more complex song structures than on previous albums. Producer Ron Nevison brought in Alan McMillan to handle the string and horn arrangements. The most notable song to feature orchestral colouring was "Love to Love". Lights Out is also the first UFO album to feature Paul Raymond on keyboards and rhythm guitar.

In 1994, a CD comprising this album and No Heavy Petting was released by BGO Records. 2008 EMI's remastered edition includes four live tracks recorded at The Roundhouse, London. The album cover erroneously states that these tracks were recorded in 1976: the correct year is 1977. EMI did, however, correct the writing credits, with Paul Raymond finally being acknowledged for his contributions.

Legacy

The title track and "Love to Love" were featured in the 1999 movie Detroit Rock City. "Love to Love" was covered by Djali Zwan for the 2002 movie Spun and by Europe for their 2008 live album Almost Unplugged. An instrumental version of "Too Hot to Handle" is used at the beginning of Mark Madden's radio show on WXDX-FM in Pittsburgh, Madden being a longtime fan of UFO.[7]

Kerrang! magazine listed the album at No.28 among the "100 Greatest Heavy Metal Albums of All Time".[8]

Steve Harris of Iron Maiden called "Love to Love" his favourite song.[9] "'Love to Love' is brilliantly written and constructed," observed Quireboys guitarist Guy Griffin. "It has a majesty that makes it world-class. The Quireboys covered it… and when you do that, you get to understand how good the song is."[10]

Track listing

Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Too Hot to Handle"Pete Way, Phil Mogg3:37
2."Just Another Suicide"Mogg4:58
3."Try Me"Michael Schenker, Mogg4:49
4."Lights Out"Schenker, Mogg, Andy Parker, Way4:33
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
5."Gettin' Ready"Schenker, Mogg3:46
6."Alone Again Or" (Love cover)Bryan MacLean3:00
7."Electric Phase"Way, Mogg, Schenker4:20
8."Love to Love"Schenker, Mogg7:38
Total length:36:41
2008 CD reissue bonus tracks - Live at The Roundhouse, London 1976*
No.TitleLength
9."Lights Out"5:14
10."Gettin' Ready"4:03
11."Love to Love"7:15
12."Try Me"4:03
Total length:56:16
  • The date of the live show stated on the album cover and booklet is incorrect. The show was on 2 April 1977,[11] not in 1976.

2024 Deluxe Edition

CD 1
No.TitleLength
9."Too Hot to Handle (Edit)"3:12
10."Alone Again Or (Acoustic Rough Studio Version)"2:18
11."Try Me (7" Version)"3:27
CD 2: Live at The Roundhouse, London, 2nd April 1977 (2024 Mix)
No.TitleLength
1."Lights Out"5:19
2."Gettin' Ready"3:51
3."Love to Love"7:38
4."On with the Action"4:59
5."Doctor Doctor"3:52
6."Try Me"5:24
7."Too Hot to Handle"4:48
8."Out in the Street"5:24
9."This Kid's"4:38
10."Shoot Shoot"3:33
11."Rock Bottom"9:48
12."Let it Roll"5:07
13."C'mon Everybody"8:34

Personnel

The band
Production and cover art
  • Ron Nevison – producer
  • Alan McMillan – horn and string arrangements
  • Hipgnosis – cover design and photographs

Charts

Chart (1977) Peak
position
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[12] 31
UK Albums (OCC)[13] 54
US Billboard 200[14] 23
Chart (2024) Peak
position
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[15] 63

References

  1. ^ Strong, Martin Charles (1995). The Great Rock Discography. Canongate Press. p. 853. ISBN 9780862415419.
  2. ^ "Music Week" (PDF). p. 54.
  3. ^ Hung, Steffen. "UFO - Too Hot To Handle". Hitparade.ch.
  4. ^ "UFO singles US cat no". Dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved 30 December 2022.
  5. ^ Kantor, Matt. "Lights Out - UFO". AllMusic. Retrieved 19 January 2015.
  6. ^ "UFO". Official Charts. Retrieved 23 June 2021.
  7. ^ "UFO Won't GO AWAY | 105.9 the X".
  8. ^ Guy, Lyn (21 January 1989). "UFO 'Lights Out'". Kerrang!. Vol. 222. London, UK: Spotlight Publications Ltd.
  9. ^ "Bruce Dickinson, Steve Harris, Adrian Smith and Dave Murray Interview". Maidenfans.com. 2013. Archived from the original on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 7 December 2016.
  10. ^ "100 greatest songwriters". Classic Rock. No. 157. May 2011. p. 63.
  11. ^ UFO - Lights Out, 2 April 2006, retrieved 30 December 2022
  12. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – UFO – Lights Out". Hung Medien. Retrieved 28 June 2023.
  13. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 28 June 2023.
  14. ^ "Billboard 200 - 1 October 1977". Billboard. Retrieved 15 May 2021.
  15. ^ "Swisscharts.com – UFO – Lights Out". Hung Medien. Retrieved 11 February 2024.