By Steve Newton
UFO released its seventh studio album, Obsession, in the summer of 1978, and you bet your ass I ran out and bought a copy ASAP.
I’d been a huge UFO fan ever since hearing the band’s 1974 LP, Phenomenon–the one with “Doctor Doctor” and “Rock Bottom”–so it wasn’t surprising that the first thing I heard when I dropped the needle of my Yamaha YP-701 turntable on Obsession‘s opening track was a beautifully raunchy riff by guitarist Michael Schenker.
“Only You Can Rock Me” is still one of my fave songs from the heyday of UFO, and it’s obviously well liked by the members of Vancouver tribute band Coast to Coast. The quintet–which specializes in music by UFO, Scorpions, and the Michael Schenker Group–performed the song at their Surrey Food Bank fundraiser at the Surrey Arts Centre in September, and today they released a video of it on YouTube.
That’s Les Paul-slinging guitarist Dave Groves kicking things off with that beautifully raunchy riff before the rhythm section of drummer Ed Johnson and bassist Tobias Haas kicks in. The band recruited guest musician Mike Russell to play the keyboard parts originally handled by Paul Raymond, singer Shawn Klatt does a worthy tribute to the vocal stylings of Phil Mogg, and guitarist Ken Scheller is spot on recreating Michael Schenker’s gorgeously melodic lead solo.
I must say, though, that “Only You Can Rock Me” isn’t my all-time favourite song on Obsession. As I’ve mentioned before, that honour is reserved for Track 10, “One More for the Rodeo”.
To hear the full audio of my 1992 interview with Michael Schenker subscribe to my Patreon page, where you can eavesdrop on over 600 of my uncut, one-on-one conversations with the legends of rock since 1982.