Uriah Heep’s classic and influential early 1970s line up shine in the studio and live.
AN INFLUENTIAL BAND
Uriah Heep were not perhaps the most fashionable of bands in the world of hard rock. Yet together with Black Sabbath they can justly lay claim to have set some of the foundations for the metal genre. Their influence can be decidedly found in the new wave of UK metal bands like Iron Maiden and Def Leppard. Just as importantly, they were able to successfully bring together hard rock with elements of progressive rock and boasted a line up where everyone contributed to the backing vocals, leading to a unique vocal harmonising aspect to their sound. This box set of five discs covering the period from 1973 to 1974 captures this influential band both live and in the studio, arguably at the height of their musical powers.
DISC ONE: URIAH HEEP LIVE (JANUARY 1973)
Uriah Heep Live was recorded at Birmingham Town Hall in January 1973 and released three months later. A classic live hard rock album of the 1970s, it showcases the classic early 1970s Uriah Heep line up in blistering form. With the supremely talented rhythm section of Lee Kerslake on drums and Gary Thain on bass, the band had a secure foundation from which they could really fly. The line-up was completed by David Byron on lead vocals, Ken Hensley on keyboards and guitars, and Mick Box on guitars.
The set opens with Sunrise and Sweet Lorraine from the 1972 album The Magicians Birthday. Immediately striking is the strength and clarity of David Byron’s vocal that confidently flows over the instruments. The guitar and organ parts create a swell of atmospheric bluesy backing, enhanced by the harmony vocals. Sweet Lorraine goes more up tempo, but with a jazz like swing, courtesy of the talented rhythm section. Mick Box’s dynamic changes of tone in his rhythm guitar playing add a real edge to the song.
Traveller In Time and Easy Livin’ follow, from the classic Demons and Wizards album, also released in 1972 (they were a very hard working band!). Traveller In Time has a driving momentum, with Lee Kerslake’s drumming fills really impressive. The instrumental section features duelling keyboards and wah-wah guitar before effortlessly segueing into Easy Livin’, which highlights those classic close harmony vocals in full flight, that really marked the band out from other contemporaries. It is clear from these first four performances that the band could fully reproduce the sound on their albums, while also adding in edge and a dynamic sense of timing, that allows the songs to really take off.
THE BAND’S PROGRESSIVE ROCK SIDE
July Morning from the earlier 1971 album Look at Yourself, shows off the band’s progressive rock side. The epic anthemic sections are contrasted by gentler interludes, and of course Ken Hensley’s moog synthesizer is fully to the fore. Gary Thain’s melodic bass runs show just why he was such a highly rated bassist. Then we have Tears In My Eyes from the same album, which is a full-on slice of blues rock, with both Mick Box and Ken Hensley on guitar. Ken Hensley’s slide guitar work and the Crosby, Stills and Nash like vocal section are very winning aspects of the performance of this song.
Gypsy from the bands unfairly maligned 1970 debut album is a stunning extended fourteen minute slice of early metal with its central crunching doom metal type riff. It is also a showcase for Ken Hensley to create some inspired organ and moog led gothic like soundscapes in the song’s instrumental section. Mixing up an early form of metal with swathes of progressive rock keyboards is risky and ambitious, but the band pull it off in this magnificent live interpretation of the song. The obligatory drum solo, characteristic of many 1970s rock shows, is here a deserved platform to highlight Lee Kerslake’s tightly honed drumming skills and lightness of touch.
Circle of Hands, another from the Demons and Wizards album, is a majestic ballad, with Mick Box adding some lovely harmony-based guitar phrases, as the band keep pushing the song into a stormy ascendency, where the instrumental lead is handed over to the moog synthesizer.
A WELL-PITCHED SET CLOSER
Look At Yourself, the title track of the album of the same name, has David Byron bringing the audience to their feet to clap along with the intro. Featuring some lovely organ fills and guitar motifs, the song has a driven momentum, that slows down into a call and response with the audience. A well-pitched set closer.
The set encore includes the short Happy Birthday segment from The Magicians Birthday title track, followed by Love Machine from Look At Yourself. Here all the Uriah Heep heavy rocking elements are in place, with a head banging intensity, acting as a prelude to the band’s traditional Rock ‘N’ Roll Medley. Often a bit of a live staple with hard rock bands and not always done very well. Uriah Heep are a notable exception adding their own unique touches like the harmony vocal sections that run through most of the numbers. In particular, the snippet from At The Hop shows off the finely developed vocal skills of the band at their very best.
A classic live album. One that shows Uriah Heep were a very talented group of musicians with their own unique musical vision. A vision that they were able to effortlessly communicate live, supported by a keen ability to connect with their audience.
DISC TWO: LIVE 1974
Disc two was originally released as part of the deluxe version of Uriah Heep Live (January 1973) and includes the “Film Mixes” used for radio, taken from the 1974 Shepperton show, to be found on disc 5, and which we will cover in more detail later in the review.
DISC THREE: SWEET FREEDOM (1973)
Uriah Heep were never a band to stand still and 1973’s Sweet Freedom shows them widening their range, while retaining the core of their sound. Stealin’ has a soul/funk feel with Gary Thain’s striking bass work to the fore. A catchy chorus adds to the song’s attraction. The alternate live version, one of the six bonus tracks, adds a little more heaviness, showing another dimension to the song.
The title track has a soulful rhythm and blues trajectory with David Byron’s vocal at its most expressive. Ken Hensley’s organ melodies and effects further build this musical mood. Circus is a singer songwriter style acoustic ballad further deepening the Uriah Heep musical palette. It is a lovely, understated track with acoustic guitars and percussion topped off with jazzy guitar accents.
Pilgrim comes in two forms, the original version and an extended bonus version. The wah-wah rhythm guitar, time signature changes, atmospheric instrumental section, and fantasy lyrics, are classic Uriah Heep from this period. David Byron pushes his falsetto vocals to the limit. A magnificent centrepiece to the album.
The bonus tracks include extended and live versions, a demo, and a track that didn’t appear on the album.
DISC FOUR: WONDERWORLD (1974)
Wonderworld from 1974 provides further evidence of a band seeking to always move forward and explore additional musical routes. The Shadows And The Wind has a very nice soft rock stomp, and some overlaid crossing vocal harmonies that have a dramatic acapella final coda.
So Tired has an old-style rock and roll drive, with some complex drum fills, accompanied by a series of short instrumental breaks allowing each of the band to interject their own unique instrumental approach. This is followed by a straight ahead piano and strings led ballad, The Easy Road. It turns the spotlight on one of David Byron’s best ever vocal performances, understated and full of tenderness, embracing and giving meaning to Ken Hensley’s words.
I Won’t Mind and Dreams are longer tracks clocking in at around the six minute mark. I Won’t Mind is a blues soaked number, with some dynamic rhythmic changes. The florid guitar solos that punctuate the track, throw the number around the room, creating a storm of sound. Dreams features those distinctive vocal harmonies to full effect, and has lots of intricate instrumental touches, including a section where the flowing organ and slide guitar effects run across an ebb and flow of harmony vocals. Sadly, this was the last studio album to feature Gary Thain on bass, and on this track his dexterous and melodic style is well to the fore.
The bonus tracks include previously unreleased material, a single B-side and extended and live tracks.
DISC FIVE: LIVE AT SHEPPERTON ‘74
Live At Shepperton ’74 is a live set recorded before an invited audience at the Who’s Shepperton Studios, three months prior to the release of Wonderworld. The show was filmed in March 1974, and broadcast on US TV in September of that year. The audio was the basis for a live album released much later in 1986, and as mentioned earlier, the basis of the Film Mixes used for radio to be found on disc two.
The set mixes older tracks like Easy Livin’ and Love Machine alongside selections from Sweet Freedom and the still to be released at that time Wonderworld album. It is a good recording with the live power of the band fully captured. Though the guitars at times feel like they could perhaps be a little higher in the mix. Interestingly the guitars seem to have a little more audio presence in the Film Mixes on disc two.
The opening Easy Livin’ is completely driven, and a magnificent juggernaut of a live version Other highlights include a lovely interpretation of The Easy Road, with David Byron’s vocal completely sublime, beautifully framed by Ken Hensley’s piano. While a superb version of Stealin’ has a mesmerising rolling rhythm and perfectly placed harmony vocals. The band seem to be having a lot of fun with The Rock ‘N’ Roll Medley, with Ken Hensley’s organ work providing some high energy accompaniment, and of course those catchy harmony vocals adding an exciting sheen to the band’s take on these rock and roll classics, including songs like Roll Over Beethoven and Blue Suede Shoes
AN EXTENSIVE SNAPSHOT OF THE CLASSIC URIAH HEEP LINE UP
This set provides an extensive snapshot of the classic Uriah Heep line up. The live sets evidence their ability to confidently deliver their unique sound in a live setting. It was a multilayered sound that offered hard rock with exhilarating time signature changes and harmonic shifts, anchored by a truly talented rhythm section, who enabled the music to develop in a myriad of directions. The two studio albums featured underline the openness, and ability within the band, to explore new musical directions.
The accompanying booklet includes a detailed essay by Rich Davenport, that sets the recordings in the context of the band’s history and includes comments from founding member Mick Box.
You can view Uriah Heep performing Stealin’ live on The Midnight Special in 1973 here:
Uriah Heep: Website