The band may have learned a lesson they never cut a song that long again. Overall, this album-the band’s second-is pretty good. Too much noodling (as was popular at the time). Now… I think they could have shaved five or six minutes off and had a stronger song. At the time it came out, I thought that was pretty cool.
#Uriah heep album covers full#
The sound is big and full and a bit ostentatious. “Salisbury” features church organ, woodwinds and brass, and goes on for more than 16 minutes of orchestral dynamics. The centerpiece of the album is the title track, and the piece that Uriah Heep offers to prove its Prog bonafides.
His vocals quickly identify the band on first listen. “Bird of Prey” kicks things off, and it sounds like Black Sabbath without Ozzy Osbourne. And that’s an important point: Dave Byron has a huge range, an operatic presentation, and he’s not afraid to use it. The first album to showcase Ken Hensley’s songwriting talents. And I won’t go over every song, just some highlights. The five essential albums all come from that period and provide a heaping (oops! Sorry) helping of Heep. But during that time, they were up there with Black Sabbath and Deep Purple as hard rock players. It was short-lived, only about four years. And I can tell you from experience, in concert, Uriah Heep could blow the roof off. The triumvirate of vocalist extraordinaire David Byron, Box, and keyboardist/composer Ken Hensley created a sound that was uniquely theirs and led to record-selling success, strong radio airplay and sold-out shows. After it’s 1970s debut, Very ‘eavy…Very ‘umble, the group hit its stride and came out with a strong mix of hard rock and Prog. Only guitarist Mick Box remains from the original group.īut most Heep fans look to the early 1970s as the band’s heyday, a time when they were at the top of the heap (yeah, yeah, I’ll try to stop the puns). They’ve had 25 different members (including, briefly, bassist John Wetton and longtime Elton John drummer Nigel Olsson).
Since that time they’ve cranked out more than two dozen studio albums (not counting various compilations and live sets). My old high school radio-television teacher hated them, calling them “Uriah heap of feces.” It even stuck out to him. And let’s face it, Uriah Heep is one that sticks out. So late 1969 being the 100 th anniversary of Charles Dickens’ death, they decided to honor the author by borrowing a name from one of his books. They were originally called Spice, but the record company thought that was pretty weak. But the character only shares a name with the British rock band, which traces its roots back more than 50 years. The guy from David Copperfield is darkly unctuous, insincere, full of fake fawning. Which probably applies to some rock bands, then and now. A character straight out of Dickens - literally.