Sure, ‘Dreamer’, ‘Stealin’’ and ‘Seven Stars’ were like wrecking balls, but it was in the spacey rock of ‘If I Had the Time’ and the gorgeous acoustic guitar work and percussion of ‘Circus’ that they really showed just how progressive they were in their thinking. Given that, you can see where Queen, and in particular Freddie Mercury, got their influences from and this range is still a thing of wonder almost fifty years later.įurther experimentation was seen on ‘73’s ‘Sweet Freedom’, the band adding more subtle twists to both writing and performance. Some felt that with his delivery on tracks like ‘Echoes In The Park’ and opener ‘Sunrise’ that Byron verged into the same territory as musicals like ‘Jesus Christ Superstar’ and ‘Hair’ at times but his vocals were a very flexible instrument in themselves, hitting the more showy and dramatic tones needed whilst also being able to deftly handle the rockers. Whilst other bands were happy to find a groove and stick with it, Heep continued to add layers with piano ballad ‘Rain’, the sci-fi keys-soaked rocker ‘Sweet Lorraine’ and the Prog Metal workout of the title track all adding up to a stimulating and immersive listen. There was a Southern Rock feel to the blues boogie of ‘Spider Woman’ as the band once more spread their ever-widening range, diversifying but never losing their sound nor going too far from their key elements. The knock-out blow of ‘The Magician’s Birthday’ arrived later that same year and continued the unstoppable momentum built up. From the acoustic ‘Paradise’ through to the guitar and organ driven ‘Rainbow Demon’, here was a band at the height of their powers.
The addition of Lee Kerslake on drums and the bass of Gary Thain to the band cemented the line-up and the sense that everyone was utterly focussed lay deep within its core.
URIAH HEEP METALLUM FULL
Chock full of classic tracks, including the turbo charged Heep live staple ‘Easy Livin’, it was suitably the release where their magic truly happened and the stars aligned. With a cover by Roger Dean, who also created the artwork for their following release, 1972’s ‘Demons and Wizards’ was as visually eye catching as it was sonically. A game changing album that marked their ascent to the big leagues, numbers like ‘Tears In My Eyes’, ‘Shadows of Grief’ and ‘Love Machine’ rocked hard and furiously fast pointing the way to the future heights the band would reach. From the opening salvo of the title track and ‘I Wanna Be Free’ blasting from the speakers, perpetual favourite ‘July Morning’ swept in afterwards and caught everyone up in its classically grandiose charms, as evocative as the songs name. The band really hit their stride with ‘Look At Yourself’, released a scant six months later in what was a bumper year for Heep fans. Released the following year, 1971’s ‘Salisbury’ built nicely on what the first outing achieved and tracks like ‘Bird of Prey’ and ‘High Priestess’ were heads down hard rock, ‘Time To Live’ was grinding heavy blues with added dynamics, ‘Lady In Black’ infected folk touches and the title track was an epic piece of prog. Whilst these and the boogie of ‘Real Turned On’ showed their fiery side, it was tracks like the beautiful Scott Walkeresque balladry of ‘Come Away Melinda’ that highlighted their range and the wide appeal of the well written, well produced material. With the attack of Mick Box’s guitar, the glistening keys of Ken Hensley and David Byron’s soaring vocals, the band cut a mighty swathe and their Prog infused hard rock quickly found an audience for a legion of music lovers seeking something just a little bit different.ĭebut ‘Very ‘Eavy, Very ‘Umble’ kicks things off with the classic ‘Gypsy’ in a breathless welter of keys and guitar, the drive accelerated with the insistent riffing of ‘Walking In Your Shadows’. Irrespective of this particular line of thought, what you have here is seven discs that provide the basis of a career that has seen the band influence artists like Iron Maiden and Queen to name but two.
Despite this rapid work rate, the quality of the releases is uniformly high, each having its own highlights and two of the set, in the form of ‘Look At Yourself’ and ‘Demons And Wizards’, are considered by many to be the best the band have done. As with a lot of bands at that time, the early 70’s were an incredibly fertile era and the albums included here were released between 19.
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