Favourite 1970s Uriah Heep Album!
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Topic: Favourite 1970s Uriah Heep Album!
Posted By: Rob The Good
Subject: Favourite 1970s Uriah Heep Album!
Date Posted: January 02 2005 at 20:11
Hi everyone! Uriah Heep is my favourite band! I don't know if this poll has been done before, but what is your favourite Uriah Heep studio album from the 1970s? I have a sneaky suspicion that everyone's going to put "Demons & Wizards"...I love pretty much all of them, but at the moment "Salisbury" is my favourite.  ------------- And Jesus said unto John, "come forth and receive eternal life..." Unfortunately, John came fifth and was stuck with a toaster. |
Replies:
Posted By: gdub411
Date Posted: January 02 2005 at 20:59
Shamefully, I must admit, I have never heard anything Uriah Heep has ever done...and I'm 38 years old!!
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Posted By: greenback
Date Posted: January 02 2005 at 21:22
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i voted return to fantasy:that's the only one i have!! ------------- [HEADPINS - LINE OF FIRE: THE RECORD HAVING THE MOST POWERFUL GUITAR SOUND IN THE WHOLE HISTORY OF MUSIC!> |
Posted By: Ivan_Melgar_M
Date Posted: January 02 2005 at 21:46
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Even though they didn't have reached the definitive formation with Gary Thain and Lee Kerslake, I have a clear predilection for Look at Yourself. For the first time they had three obviously progressive tracks, the epic July Morning, the incredible Look at Yourself (With the Osibisa Rhythm section) and of course Tears in my Eyes, a track that has everything, killer keyboards, complex vocal work and a fantastic wah - wah guitar by Mick Box. A perfect album. Iván |
Posted By: Peter
Date Posted: January 02 2005 at 21:55
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BTW, who will be first to tell me where the band got their strange name, and where the title of their first album comes from as well? ------------- "And, has thou slain the Jabberwock? Come to my arms, my beamish boy! O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!' He chortled in his joy. |
I'm with Ivan: track for track, Look at Yourself always did it best for me! A terrific disc!
Posted By: Ivan_Melgar_M
Date Posted: January 02 2005 at 22:03
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Uriah Heep is a character of David Copperfield by Charles Dickens, an obscure hypocrite clerk. Uriah Heep describes himself as very umble (humble) in the novel, and playing witrh the lack of "H" they added Heavy without "H" also. Iván |
Posted By: Peter
Date Posted: January 02 2005 at 22:49
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^ Right you are Ivan! (Of course, you were probably here a year ago when I first asked those questions....) Dickens' Heep (Copperfield's nemesis) was also very evil. Though he described himself as "very 'umble," he was anything but!
------------- "And, has thou slain the Jabberwock? Come to my arms, my beamish boy! O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!' He chortled in his joy. |
Terrific book, BTW, perhaps Dickens' best! (It was his personal favourite.) I HIGHLY recommend it, to those with a taste for 800+ page Victorian novels....
Posted By: Ivan_Melgar_M
Date Posted: January 02 2005 at 23:50
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Nope Peter I'm here since May (Last 3 days of April to be exact), but I'm a Uriah Heep fan and forced to read David Copperfield at school for my English class. Iván |
(Of course, you were probably here a year ago when I first asked those questions....)
Posted By: Sweetnighter
Date Posted: January 02 2005 at 23:59
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hmm.... uriah heep looks really interesting... if i were to get an album to start with what should i get?
------------- I bleed coffee. When I don't drink coffee, my veins run dry, and I shrivel up and die. "Banco Del Mutuo Soccorso? Is that like the bank of Italian soccer death or something?" -my girlfriend |
Posted By: Ivan_Melgar_M
Date Posted: January 03 2005 at 00:04
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Sweetnighter asks:
LOOK AT YOURSELF Iván |
Posted By: Prog_Bassist
Date Posted: January 03 2005 at 02:35
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Demons and Wizards, Look at Yourself, and The Magician's Birthday are all excellent albums.
The only thing I dont like about uriah heep is their guitar player mick box, he sucks, and his name makes me mad for some reason. But they are as a whole excluding the GEAR BOX, they are quite good. ------------- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhuxaD8NzaY" rel="nofollow - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhuxaD8NzaY |
Posted By: ShrinkingViolet
Date Posted: January 03 2005 at 03:56
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mick box sucks.........er dumb ass comment... I find it hard to choose between the first five albums...Eek i love them all..hmm i'll have to sit thru and listen to my collection and choose....hmm and get coffee...oh and no ones voted for the first one yet |
Posted By: Dragon Phoenix
Date Posted: January 03 2005 at 04:14
| Add another one fo Look at yourself. July morning is a relatively unknown masterpiece. |
Posted By: ShrinkingViolet
Date Posted: January 03 2005 at 04:52
| uriah Heep are greatly underrated...which is sad. God rest our beloved David Byron |
Posted By: Rob The Good
Date Posted: January 03 2005 at 05:11
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David Byron is quite possibly the most overlooked and yet amazingly talented rock vocalist in history! I'm actually quite pleasantly surprised that Look at Yourself is leading. I was listening to it earlier today, and the song Shadow of Grief is wonderful. My favourite as I said before is (at the moment anyway, I have "phases") Salisbury because it has the song Lady in Black on it! But it also has Bird of Prey, High Priestess, Salisbury, The Park...arrgh they're all great.
The best place to start I think, would be Demons & Wizards as it's considered the band's classic, but Salisbury is just as good an intro as any as it gives a good overview of what the band was capable of: there's a couple of ballads, a couple of hard rockers and an extended Prog piece. Brilliant! Buy them all! My introduction was a double cd "best of" compilation called Travellers in Time which I picked up for about $50NZ (that's about $25US). ------------- And Jesus said unto John, "come forth and receive eternal life..." Unfortunately, John came fifth and was stuck with a toaster. |
Posted By: Richardw
Date Posted: January 03 2005 at 05:42
| I voted for 'LOOK AT YOURSELF' too. Some great songs : the title track, July Morning, I Wanna Be Free, Tears In My Eyes and Shadows Of Grief. Good Album. |
Posted By: Rob The Good
Date Posted: January 03 2005 at 05:53
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Oooh no one's voted for the first album Or Magician's Birthday! The band's debut is a great hard rock album because it defines who the band was but also gave them room to expand and progress to greater things: SALISBURY!
The band themselves considered Magician's Birthday to be rushed and they would've appreciated more time to expand on it a bit further...personally I think it's fantastic! The title track especially. In fact, I think Magician's Birthday is more prog than Demons & Wizards. ------------- And Jesus said unto John, "come forth and receive eternal life..." Unfortunately, John came fifth and was stuck with a toaster. |
Posted By: Easy Livin
Date Posted: January 03 2005 at 06:52
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Rob, Good to have another Heep fan around here! As you'll see from my "name", they are my favourite band too. As member Hibou once said when asked to chose her favourite Genesis album (I think), it's like asking a mother to chose between her children! Like yourself, my actual favourite varies with the album I'm listening to, but over the years, Demons and Wizards has been the one I always come back to. I saw the band in Edinburgh a couple of months ago, they were superb. PS, Interesting to see you included the unfinished "Five miles" sessions in the list! |
Posted By: tuxon
Date Posted: January 03 2005 at 07:45
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Look at yourself. Their best work up to date (IMO). ------------- I'm always almost unlucky _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Id5ZcnjXSZaSMFMC Id5LM2q2jfqz3YxT |
Posted By: Certif1ed
Date Posted: January 03 2005 at 09:53
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Magician's Birthday is not a prog album at all, IMO - I only hear rock music (very good, but rock) Demons and Wizards likewise contains not one single iota of prog. I'm going to track down Look At Yourself, but at the moment, I think that Queen have produced far more prog than Uriah Heep - the only thing that is prog about the albums I own is the Roger Dean covers (except on Abominog, which is a 1980s metal album and not prog). I sincerely do not understand why anyone thinks that Uriah Heep are prog - but I'm open to enlightenment. They're a great rock band though |
Posted By: Peter
Date Posted: January 03 2005 at 13:31
 Well Cert, I never did either, and still don't really (apart from a track or two, eg., I put "The Wizard" on one of my prog compilations) but they are here, so I play the game.
As you know, I have "issues" with the whole notion of "prog metal," and do not consider Talk Talk or Audience to be prog either, but that won't stop me from reviewing their albums as MUSIC, after offering the caveat that "I don't really regard this as Progressive Rock, but...."
I can live with that -- I WOULD NOT want that contentious responsibility. ------------- "And, has thou slain the Jabberwock? Come to my arms, my beamish boy! O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!' He chortled in his joy. |
It's subjective, isn't it? -- and you and I are not the "subjects" who make the executive decisions re a band's status here.
Posted By: gdub411
Date Posted: January 03 2005 at 13:39
| I never likedededededed Pariah Sheeple |
Posted By: Certif1ed
Date Posted: January 03 2005 at 13:56
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I concur with what you're saying there, Peter - I guess I don't do sincerity very well; I really would like to know why anyone might think that UH are a prog band and, for example, Queen are not. The only answers that people give are they are or they are not, which are unsatisfactory to say the least! Simple as that really - not confrontationalist |
Posted By: Fragile
Date Posted: January 03 2005 at 18:01
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I loved this band from 1970 until around 1975.From Very 'Eavy to Sweet Freedom they were at their peak and I agree it is very difficult choosing between them.Their music changed with each album and my own opinion is that Demons and Wizards just edges out Look at Yourself.In David Byron they had Rock's best vocalist/frontman.Certified says they weren't prog and I would have to agree in the strictly true sense of the word Prog,but,with some of the other names being put forward as prog here on this site tracks like The Spell,The wizard,July Morning,Rainbow Demon and a few others could certainly be thought of as almost prog.I saw them with Byron at least 8 times and live they were just fantastic.This band brought me such joy for years and for that I will never forget them.For those who haven't heard them Look at Yourself and Demons are a very good place to start. |
Posted By: Prog_Bassist
Date Posted: January 03 2005 at 18:08
when i say he sucks, i mean that I don't like his playing, but it doesnt mean that he sucks to everyone else, im just saying that he sucks to me, it's my opinion. On another note, David Byron is a godly vocalist. It's not a dumb ass comment at all, I'm simply stating my opinion on the boxman. ------------- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhuxaD8NzaY" rel="nofollow - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhuxaD8NzaY |
Posted By: Rob The Good
Date Posted: January 03 2005 at 19:51
Well Uriah Heep are certainly not Prog in the same way Yes are, but I think they bear quite a good comparison with Dream Theater. Magician's Birthday is a concept album (apparently...to do with Magic and things), with a title track which is 10 mins long. The song starts off with a rock bit, followed by the Happy Birthday segment, followed by a continuation of the rock bit, followed by a bit of an ominous organ part, and then an amazing guitar/drums duel, and then the finale! (Sorry for the very basic way I put it, but I'm no music guru  )
This I believe characterises them as Prog-metal. I think their BIO on the archives said that they always focused on melody and vocal harmonies (I think there's a bit of a Vanilla Fudge influence here). Certainly there are some albums of theirs which aren't really Prog at all, but Salisbury (with its title track), Look at Yourself (with July Morning & Shadow of Grief), Demons & Wizards (with the Paradise/The Spell medley) and Magician's Birthday all contain Prog-metal elements. Albums such as Return to Fantasy and High & Mighty have lost such elements, but still remain fantastic albums in their own right, as they concentrate on the vocal harmonies, melody and strong rock that were Heep's hallmarks!
And yes, David Byron was one of the world's greatest rock frontmen! There is actually a DVD of the Byron-era out, but I have yet to get it. ------------- And Jesus said unto John, "come forth and receive eternal life..." Unfortunately, John came fifth and was stuck with a toaster. |
Posted By: Rob The Good
Date Posted: January 03 2005 at 19:53
Oh, and I stand by my claim that if anyone still believes that they aren't Prog (which I can understand), then they should check out Salisbury - Heep at their Proggiest!  ------------- And Jesus said unto John, "come forth and receive eternal life..." Unfortunately, John came fifth and was stuck with a toaster. |
Posted By: Ivan_Melgar_M
Date Posted: January 03 2005 at 20:11
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I can't understand why nobody mentions the best bass player in rock history Gary Thain, the guy was a wizard, not only limited to be part of the rhythm section (Which is enough for a bassist) but he also played an important role in the melodic section of the band, simply outstanding. He did in 4 years what other bassists don't do in a whole life, sadly his addiction to heroin took him too early to the grave, what a waste of talent!!!!! Uriah Heep not Prog??? If you listen Look at Yourself you'll find why I believe they were a progressive band, July Morning is an epic that goes in crescendo in intensity to the end, with incredible changes and massive keyboard, the structure of the track is totally symphonic. The title track is a masterpiece of abrupt changes in tempo, also with a massive dose of mellotron and Hammond (I believe so) but Tears in my Eyes is a totally progressive song, the changes in the track happen 5 or 6 times, plus a killer keyboard and an ultra complex vocal and choirs work. If all this is not progressive, I don't know what you may consider progressive, because it has all the characteristics of good prog'. Iván |
Posted By: Rob The Good
Date Posted: January 03 2005 at 20:21
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Oooh I agree. Gary Thain was rock's greatest forgotten bassist. From New Zealand actually (where I'm from)!
Oh and yes I did include the Five Miles sessions. They're actually quite lightweight, but one can still find songs from these sessions in places. I don't know if the Lansdowne Tapes compilation has any, but I certainly know the recent remaster of Fallen Angel has a couple as bonus tracks. These remasters are amazing! ------------- And Jesus said unto John, "come forth and receive eternal life..." Unfortunately, John came fifth and was stuck with a toaster. |
Posted By: Wizard/TRueStar
Date Posted: January 03 2005 at 20:27
| As their first being the only one I have it gets my vote. I think that album blows bands like Led Zepplin and Deep Purple away! |
Posted By: tuxon
Date Posted: January 03 2005 at 20:49
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Your serious here? Uriah rocks, and it is a great band, but to compare them to Led Zep- or Deep P. that's ludicrisy. You only have one album you say, how many of LZ, or DP have you got? Nah can't be serious ------------- I'm always almost unlucky _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Id5ZcnjXSZaSMFMC Id5LM2q2jfqz3YxT |
I'm just the sucker that takes the baitPosted By: Rob The Good
Date Posted: January 03 2005 at 21:36
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I personally agree that Uriah Heep's debut is much better than a lot of their hard rock contemporaries. But it's just personal taste you know? What some people consider musical ambrosia I may think is utter rubbish, and vice versa of course. ------------- And Jesus said unto John, "come forth and receive eternal life..." Unfortunately, John came fifth and was stuck with a toaster. |
Posted By: Certif1ed
Date Posted: January 04 2005 at 02:34
Well, one progressive album does not a prog band make, otherwise Queen would certainly be prog. I'll check out "Look At Yourself" - thanks |
Posted By: Jim Garten
Date Posted: January 04 2005 at 03:39
Look At Yourself being one of my favorite albums, full stop, how could I possibly vote for another (but why couldn't I vote for 'Return To Fantasy' or 'Sweet Freedom' as well....  ?)
I once took Look At Yourself to a party & played 'Shadows Of Grief' to some friends whom I thought would appreciate it, which they did, in a way; it had them all rolling around laughing, thanking me for playing them the best comedy track they'd ever heard... (there are those who will never understand.....) - you know, you never have an Uzi when you need one! ------------- 
Jon Lord 1941 - 2012 |
Posted By: Easy Livin
Date Posted: January 04 2005 at 11:40
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Rob, You have to get the Byron era DVD, it’s manna from heaven! The music is dubbed onto it though, presumably due to the shortcomings of the original recordings. The sound recordings used seem to be mainly taken from the Live in ’73 album. The synchronisation is very good though. I got the double DVD version, which includes some great stuff which was not considered of sufficient quality to include on the commercial release. Happy memories. The recent deluxe remasters are a great tribute to the Heep catalogue. The extra tracks are all worthy of inclusion, many of the albums almost doubling in length. Excellent sleevenotes too. Prog Bassist. I sympathise with your views on Mick Box (although I’m not sure why you take exception to his name!), but terms like "sucks" can be inflammatory and lead to a perhaps valid point being missed. Personally, I’ve always felt Ken Hensley was the better guitarist, but I still preferred him to be at the keyboards. Box’s guitar work on tracks like "Salisbury" though is superb. It should be born in mind too that without Box, Uriah Heep would long since have ceased to exist. Box is the only original member of the band still with them. While Hensley wrote many of the band’s classic tacks, Box too has contributed many fine compositions. He is one of life’s real characters too, and a genuinely warm and friendly guy. |
Posted By: Fragile
Date Posted: January 04 2005 at 18:45
| Purple I loved, but I could take or leave Zeppelin, Uriah really were an awesome band, but I was never a huge Plant fan; for me Byron and Gillan were far superior singers. |
Posted By: Rob The Good
Date Posted: January 04 2005 at 18:59
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Yes! I have to get the Byron-era DVD! Holy Grail... ------------- And Jesus said unto John, "come forth and receive eternal life..." Unfortunately, John came fifth and was stuck with a toaster. |
Posted By: Garion81
Date Posted: January 04 2005 at 19:23
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I saw this band live in the 70's with Hensley, Box and Byron. Maybe they were having a bad night but I thought them boring and as several of my friends said after the show a poor man's (watch out now) Deep Purple. I liked Hensely and I liked Byrons studio voice on things like The Wizzard and such but over all, nope, just didn't do it for me. But if Uriah Heep is Prog then Deep Purple has more of a claim. I thought Ken Hensley's solo album (name escapes me) had some decent moments on it. ------------- 
"What are you going to do when that damn thing rusts?" |
Posted By: Rob The Good
Date Posted: January 04 2005 at 19:25
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------------- And Jesus said unto John, "come forth and receive eternal life..." Unfortunately, John came fifth and was stuck with a toaster. |
Posted By: ShrinkingViolet
Date Posted: January 04 2005 at 20:54
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Prog Bassist I see you point and he an average player, but with Uriah Heep he is awesome. Garion81, Hensley had a few solo albums, but i think you are thinking of the album : Proud Words on An Empty Shelf. Oh and i have byron era stuff on dvd |
Posted By: Rob The Good
Date Posted: January 04 2005 at 21:05
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Brrr wish I did ------------- And Jesus said unto John, "come forth and receive eternal life..." Unfortunately, John came fifth and was stuck with a toaster. |
Posted By: Twystie
Date Posted: January 04 2005 at 21:49
| I've only got 3 of the albums of that list- very 'eavy very 'umble, demons & wizards, and magicians birthday... and i think demons is the best out of those.. |
Posted By: Rob The Good
Date Posted: January 04 2005 at 21:52
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TWYSTIE!!!! Post Number 1! GET ALL THE URIAH HEEP ALBUMS! Most of all, get Look at Yourself and
SALISBURY  ------------- And Jesus said unto John, "come forth and receive eternal life..." Unfortunately, John came fifth and was stuck with a toaster. |
Posted By: CRIMSONFROST
Date Posted: July 20 2005 at 10:03
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SWEET FREEDOM FOR ME BUT LOADS OF THEM ARE QUITE BRILLIANT BUT WHAT THE HELL IS FIVE MILES NEVER HEARD OF IT CLOSET FIVE MILES HIGH BY MIKE OLDFIELD ------------- Scott c Wills |
Posted By: philippe
Date Posted: July 20 2005 at 10:41
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SALISBURY first (for the magical tune "the park" and to heavy prog rock standards as "lady wore black"...), LOOK AT YOURSELF in second place. ------------- 
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Posted By: Hammill
Date Posted: July 20 2005 at 12:01
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salisbury and look at yourself are equal to each other....magician's
birthday and demons and wizards are excellent too...but my all time
hfave heep record is firefly
------------- 
|
Posted By: BaldFriede
Date Posted: July 20 2005 at 12:49
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I've noticed something funny about "Salisbury". In every track on the album, and I mean every, David Byron goes "ooh" or "aah" at least once. -------------  BaldJean and I; I am the one in blue. |
Posted By: yesman72
Date Posted: July 20 2005 at 19:49
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Any fan of classic rock should have Uriah Heep's first 6 albums at least. Even though Salisbury is considered by most to be their most progressive album, Demons and Wizards is their masterpiece. It has their biggest hits(Easy Livin' and The Wizard), one of their heaviest songs(Rainbow Demon), and two of the main reasons they're considered progressive(Circle of Hands and Paradise/The Spell). The album slightly surpasses Look At Yourself because of the overall feel and togetherness of the material. But of course other great tracks like Gypsy, Lady In Black, and of course July Morning. Btw.....BaldFriede is right. That is a bit odd isn't it |
Posted By: yesman72
Date Posted: July 20 2005 at 19:52
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*But of course other tracks like Gypsy, Lady In Black and of course July Morning cannot be overlooked. Now it makes sense. |