Mid Seventies Heep – a fertile period – gathered in one fell swoop.

TRAILBLAZERS

On the back of The Shadow And The Wind set covering 1973-1974, the next few years comes four mid-70s albums from rock trailblazers Uriah Heep.

The 1970s were proving a very prolific time for Uriah Heep, sometimes releasing two albums in the same year. This collection captures what some might call a transitional period for the band during the middle of that decade which saw a significant number of line-up changes. A good starting point is Rich Davenport’s liner notes detailing the soap opera comings and goings that give some context to what with hindsight, might be viewed as the peaks and troughs of the musical content. As usual with any reissues and repackages, part of the appeal in reappraisal is the a wealth of rarities and non-album versions, including demos and live tracks.

CLASSIC CORE

Return To Fantasy (Prog trivia buffs will spot the the name of a nice 1991 soundboard Yes bootleg) sees Heep still feature what many see as the core of the classic version of Uriah Heep; vocalist David Byron, guitarist Mick Box, multi-instrumentalist Ken Hensley, drummer Lee Kerslake, but now joined by Jon Wetton on bass. As the album’s title would suggest, the new record harked back to the more fantasy driven themes that had given Uriah Heep a global legion of fans.

The album features the dramatic Beautiful Dream (“sail down the stream, such a beautiful dream” a sign of the times lyric) plus the more poppy, rock ‘n’ roll number, Prima Donna that’s right up the Mott street complete with brassy stabs. A bit of a catch all album, the Bluesy gospel vibes on Your Turn To Remember and Showdown and angsty balladeering of Why Did You Go add to the variety.

REVITALISED

A revitalised band with the presence of John Wetton in the ranks who would hang around for the subsequent High & Mighty. An album that Mick Box called “less ‘eavy, more ‘umble“. A record that saw Heep moving away from the progressive Hard Rock template towards a more commercial sound. The same line-up that had recorded Return To Fantasy remained in place, yet it was the last to feature vocalist David Byron. The single and opening track One Way Or Another sets the tone for a set that has its lighter moments. The road tales expressed in the tile see Can’t Keep A Good Band Down all keyboard flurries and sprightly riffing and rock and rolling.

Returning briefly to the sword and sorcery stylings, Weep In Silence gets revealed in an extended version while the likes of Woman Of The World and Can’t Stop Singing deliver the lighter and softer touches and Make A Little Love fires up the sort of boogie that made Stealin’ such a thrill ride. And while Confession does what it says on the tin and tones things right down with an opening that suggests a McCartney influence, the demos see a few star turns that might have missed out in a case of something in the same ballpark being a better fit. Name Of The Game fits the dramatic Heep bill and I Close My Eyes and Take Care (another Beatles/Procol hanging organ chord arrangement) is a close enough relative to Confession to have no need for both.

NEW BEGINNINGS

With Byron sacked and Wetton quitting, Firefly is the first Heep album with former Lucifer’s Friend singer, John Lawton. Also making his debut with the band was former Spider From Mars bassist Trevor Bolder. Featuring the single Free Me and produced by Gerry Bron with Ken Hensley, there’s another ‘new members’ element of resurgence.

The difference in vocals is a most noticeable difference with a strong element of more straight Rock songwriting. A bit of boogie on Who Needs Me where the histrionics might grate a tad; a softer touch balladeering on Wise Man and the country cum blues vibe of Rollin’ On all lead to the multifaceted title track. One that earns an anthemic status with the hanging keyboard chords slowly building to an insistent riff and hook and easy closure.

Nothing majorly new lies amongst the extras which have been swept up in previous reissues of the album, with a couple of previously unreleased numbers – I Always Knew tending toward the mawkish and Dance Dance Dance an ‘interesting’ disco slant plus a few Lawton squeals. Most interesting is the live cut of Who Needs me which fans the flames started by the album cut. Pacey and worthy of a place in the live set.

THE LINE UP REMAINS THE SAME…

And finally, for now, featuring the same line-up as Firefly’ Innocent Victim was the second album to with singer John Lawton. May be a controversial personal view but it’s always been hard to get beyond the image of a cabaret crooner in the opening few minutes – “There’s another town and the singer needs a song,” or “sawng“. Even the more uptempo Rock numbers can’t quite escape the vision, presumably decked out in the fashions of the times.

The slow-mo co reggae in The Dance is perhaps the moment when you might start to really miss the Byron presence, even balanced with the harder Rock in Choices that follows with a Bad Company/Free styled flourish. With the  tag of “too poppy” for Mick Box’s liking on the follow up – Fallen Angel – and with the declining status of Prog Rock in the tide of Punk, times were indeed a-changing (or, given Heep’s cavalier use of the apostrophe, changin’)

All said and done, the full eight minutes of Illusion extended into Illusion Masquerade is included, adding the change of pace to add to the usual suspects in the bonus tracks available on the Sanctuary remaster.

ALL IS NOT LOST

Who might have figured that Uriah Heep would continue to tour and release new albums until the present day. Thank someone for Bernie Shaw steadying the ship in the mid 80s and hanging in there for the duration. In 2025 they launched their farewell tour, celebrating 55 years of music. The Seventies may be a time of the dim and distant past, but retain that sepia tinged warmth for which these albums provided much of the soundtrack.

Here’s Free ‘n’ Easy:

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