Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10
No Heavy Petting, but surely a deep embrace for old times, a sweeping kiss gently placed on the brow, and the firm handshake of recognition that accompanies the hearty grin; a rerelease, expanded, given even more oomph, and one that places UFO in the realm of best heavy rock/ proto metal bands of all time.
Time has moved on, so many great bands have come and gone, some into the ether only to surface as one may expect a dream that slowly fades in time, others renowned for a song or two that might appear on popular radio in between adverts and disc jockey ramblings; and yet the brilliance of one complete album is to be admired for as long as there is a beating heart in even one solitary person, one spark of ingenuity that acknowledges that immortality is a freedom possessed by genius, and one that UFO’s Phil Mogg, Andy Parker, Pete Way, Michael Schenker, and for the first time within the confines of the band, keyboard player Danny Peyronel, showed with a sheer sense of tenacity and untroubled fortitude in their sensational follow up to Force It, the elegant and resolute No Heavy Petting.
The album is not only forceful, it is insistent, unrelenting, determined to keep the pressure up, and with the introduction of Danny Pevronel and his keyboards, a sense of sweeping change can be heard, one that was later utilised productively by the likes of Magnum, but which gave the band an early, dynamic edge which complemented Michael Schenker’s guitar and the dimensional inference gained by Phil Mogg’s increasingly proud and unwavering vocal.
The reissue of the album stamps its authority even further on the consciousness of the listener as a upbeat and powerful live performance from The Roundhouse is unveiled with ceremony, and whilst the natural beat of studio songs such as Belladonna, I’m A Loser, and Martian Landscape all weigh heavy and beautifully arranged, so the expression of the four sides of vinyl recorded in London is a beefy assortment of chilling fury and statement.
With tracks such as Doctor Doctor, Out In The Street, This Kid’s, the outrageously cool Rock Bottom, and Boogie For George all competing for headlines, but sincere enough to know they all share UFO’s bill of tension and fierce delivery, the reissue of No Heavy Petting cries out to be examined once again; to look beyond the idea of fifty years of music, and see it in the raw as if for the for the initial, glory grabbing time.
In the spirit that these reissues are being produced for fresh ears and long-time fan alike, No Heavy Petting is a masterstroke of illumination.
Ian D. Hall