Tag: uriah heep (Page 1 of 2)

Another band that I still love from my schoolboy days. Nothing can compare to when I first heard the voice of Dave Byron opening up the album with The Wizard. This album was recorded in ’72 and still sounds fresh to me. The Heep were huge around this time and sold out everywhere. Just before COVID, I saw them in a small bar near where I live. How the mighty have fallen!

Lots of live favourites and Heep classics are enclosed in these grooves: Traveller In Time, Easy Livin’, Circle Of Hands, and the monumental Paradise/ The Spell. That huge Hammond sound of Ken Hensley combined with Mick Box’s raw guitar used to blow me away, and this is pure nostalgia for me. I have to go with Easy Livin’ as my favourite, I just love singing along to the earworm hook and chorus.

Mick Box is still playing with the band and has been there for way over 50 years. Happy days!

9/10 from The Grooveman.

It may seem hard to believe now, but Uriah Heep along with Deep Purple and Black Sabbath were one of the biggest hard rock acts around in the 70’s, selling out everywhere they went. To put things into perspective somewhat, just before COVID they played a local bar near where I live. I was a huge fan of 70’s Heep and it’s safe to say that after the passing of Dave Byron things were never the same. Don’t get me wrong, they have made some great albums since (Abominog), but that spark was missing.

Recorded throughout the UK in ’73 in support of the Magician’s Birthday album, the band sound amazing. Dave Byron’s vocals were so good, he had a great range. On Traveller In Time, which was one of the heavier songs, Byron actually reminds me of Bruce Dickinson. There are so many huge songs on this album: July Morning, Gypsy, and the showpiece Magician’s Birthday where Mick Box and Ken Hensley show their talents. Easy Livin’ was actually released as a single, it has a very catchy hook and chorus – I guess someone at the record company was paying attention. A great live album from a band in their prime.

9/10 from The Grooveman.

I feel old listening to this album as I remember buying it the week of its release in ’75. Most people think of 70’s Heep as this big big rock/Prog crossover band – especially after the release of Demons And Wizards, and The Magicians Birthday with those fantasy Roger Dean covers and the big extended songs. In reality, through most of the 70’s the band wrote melodic hard rock albums with emphasis on vocal melodies and big harmonies.

This album is somewhere in between, as songs like Beautiful Dream and A Year Or A Day have that old Heep vibe with Prog very much in evidence. The title track shows the great vocal qualities in the band, with Dave Byron showing what an amazing range he was, while the rest of the band back him with killer harmonies. The band almost reach country/blues territory with Why Did You Go and shows how eclectic this album is. A solid album but not their best.

8/10 from The Grooveman.

This is the 14th studio album by one of Britain’s finest rock bands. This was something of a mini rebirth, as their fortunes had been fading somewhat after the bands 70’s heyday. This was the first album after the departure of Ken Hensley, one of the originators of the band and a main songwriter. Bob Daisley, after his removal from Ozzy’s band, was brought in to obviously help with songwriting duties, as half of the songs were cover versions by other artists but given the Heep treatment.

This was one of the band’s most successful albums in the US, as two of the tracks: On The Rebound, and That’s The Way That It Is, both charted. The band’s sound was a lot more up to date and contemporary sounding with the emphasis on melody and hooks. This is one my favourite Heep albums, and they sound like a totally different band on this record. Great arrangement of the songs, great playing from all involved, and the production from Ashley Howe is fantastic. As well as the aforementioned singles, the other great tracks are Too Scared To Run and Running All Night. Both have great melodies and hooks with memorable sing-a-long chorus’. It’s also great to hear Mick Box let loose more on this record, as Hensley was taking more control and there was less guitar. Still sounds great nearly 40 years later.

9/10 from The Grooveman.