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Chrysalis Records [Release date 20.01.23]
Re-issues and re-masters are two-a-penny and often there’s marginal benefit in penning a review, much less making an actual purchase. This album was previously remastered in 2007. I have, though, been impressed with the series that Chrysalis is putting together for UFO. Super-deluxe (their words, not mine!) versions of ‘Phenomenon’ appeared in 2019, an out of synch ‘Strangers in the Night’ in 2020 and then ‘Force It’ in 2021. Now, the band’s (arguably) least celebrated studio album from their classic period, ‘No Heavy Petting’, has been given the full makeover treatment.
Originally released in May 1976, the album was the last of three produced by Leo Lyons before Ron Nevison brought a more modern, slicker, sharper sound for 1977’s ‘Lights Out’. And with it came a better level of success.
NHP sometimes fares poorly in comparison with its harder-rocking, raw-sounding predecessor ‘Force It’. I’d argue that the material is equally strong, but that the production was a bit woolly, a bit muddy, a bit lack-lustre. For instance, the original versions of ‘Natural Thing’ and ‘I’m A Loser’ were transformed into vibrant, scintillating tracks on the live album ‘Strangers In The Night’ (even though we now know that Nevison made UFO record a new version of the former to fit the double album format better).
Sure, the band were a more confident outfit by 1978, but those tracks were still gold in 1976. What Andy Pearce has done with this superb remaster is to strip away that wool and mud to unearth the energy, power and excitement at the heart of this album. This is no feather-duster polish up. This is a full deep clean. A veritable colonic irrigation. (Is that a bit much?)
‘Can You Roll Her’ simply sets the pulse racing. That beefed up Andy Parker double-bass drum pattern is worth the ticket price alone. The guitar-fest of ‘Reasons Love’ sounds fresh and Michael Schenker’s solo grabs you by the scruff of the neck.
But step forward Danny Peyronnel. Added to the line-up as keyboard player for this album only, the former Heavy Metal Kid has finely been given his moment in the sun. The brilliant ‘Highway Lady’ is powered as much by his belligerent playing as it is by Michael Schenker’s fat riffs and gorgeous tone or Pete way’s bubbling bass. Peyronnel wrote the track and it is simply electric. I am breathless listening to it again in this shape.
Elsewhere, Peyronnel lifts the ballad ‘Belladonna’ and paves the way for some of UFO’s more ambitious ballad compositions on subsequent albums. He adds newly highlighted percussive colour to the infectious Frankie Miller cover ‘A Fool In Love’ where the remaster brings Parker’s intricate drumming to the fore. ‘Martian Landscape’ is still a weird one. A three part mini-epic of tremulous Peyronnel piano/Mogg vocals giving way to something of an oompah band vibe before the climatic chorus.
But I’ve saved the best til last. ‘On With The Action’ was always a stone cold classic of crawling lead guitar, dirty keyboard/riff undertow and Mogg’s brilliant lyrical depiction of seedy urban life. Pearce has brought a new fluidity and clarity to track, toning down the previously overwrought backing vocals and providing a grand-standing platform for the best Schenker solo on the album.
In terms of new material, there is precious little here that has not previously seen the light of day. The 2007 re-issue included most of the bonus material also found on this new version, albeit now remastered again.
Of these, Mogg’s soulful vocals on the Small Faces’ ‘All Or Nothing’ alongside Schenker’s fuzzy guitar boogie is a thing of joy. ‘French Kisses’ is pretty lightweight but fizzes along pleasantly and features one of those clear, mid-tone solos that Schenker is famed for. Peyronnel is actually less percussive on this number and plays the keys in a much more jaunty style than on the album proper.
‘Have You Seen Me Lately Joan’ is a bit of an oddity with its curious lyric and gravel-voiced delivery from Mogg. The spare, country-tinged acoustic demo of this is the only previously unreleased track on the package.
The bonus material is completed by mid-paced rocker ‘Tonight Tonight’ and the mournful ‘All The Strings’, heavily featuring Peyronnel’s talents on electric piano and organ. They all sound better than on the 2007 version, though it’s hard to imagine that any of them would have been contenders for the original album.
The live material has also been released before. It comes from The Roundhouse in 1976. It is a great benchmark of the band’s sound at the time. The introduction of keyboards moved the band forward and some of Peyronnel’s playing is very Jerry Lee Lewis/rock ‘n’ roll.
Listen out for a rare outing for Phil Mogg’s acoustic guitar on ‘I’m A Loser’, effectively pointing the way to a combined guitar/keys player for future incarnations of the band. This recording does not find the band in as polished or slick state as later, but you can see where they were going with the emerging arrangements of ‘Rock Bottom’ and ‘I’m A Loser’. They, of course, became live staples at the expense of older material like ‘C’mon Everybody’ and ‘Boogie For George’ that close this set.
The 2CD deluxe digipak edition comes with a poster booklet and features the remastered album and five bonus tracks on disc one plus this Roundhouse live set on CD 2. A 3LP clear vinyl edition has the album on LP 1 and the live set on the other two records. Michael Hann provides extensive liner notes.
How can I do anything other than give this already great album a super-deluxe 5 out of 5? I can’t wait for ‘Lights Out’ to get the same treatment. *****
Review by Dave Atkinson
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