OUTSIDER

Uriah Heep is a British hard rock band which has been playing since 1970. Their music has had a lot of progressive elements even if they mainly are a hard rock gang. They recorded their first record 1970: "Very' eavy... Very 'umble" and this year came their twentyfifth album "Outsider" 2014. Thirteen records in the seventies, five in the eighties, three in the nineties, two in the 00- decade and two in the tenth decade.

Outsider was for me a very positive surprise. It's grey cover is surrealistic with a grey circle which is filled with an umbrella man, a winter tree and birds. I liked what I heard imediately here. Bernie Shaw's voice is strong and it's a classical hard rock voice. The music is heavy but not too loud and the organ virtuosity makes the music interesting. You get a strong feeling of older rock when you hear this. I would say it is really enjoyable music. Uriah Heep hasn't done what Yes have done, becoming more nice, this is hard beating rock from minute one to fifty.

The album has many especially good songs such as "Is anybody gonna help me?", "Looking at you", "Jessie" and "Kiss the rainbow" but I like them all. Perhaps the most fair voting should be 7/10 but I feel that the album is as strong as four stars. On this album Bernie Shaw sings, Mick Box plays guitar, Phil Lanzon plays keyboards, Davey Rimmer plays bass and Russell Gilbrook drums. The former bass player Trevor Bolder died unfortunately last year. This is, I most say it, not a prog rock album but it is a great rock album of 2014.