VERY 'EAVY...VERY 'UMBLE

Some fairly good moments on the bands first album. I will admit that this first one is much more on the heavy metal side of prog, but there are still some prog elements. The musicianship is excellent throughout, and some of the lyrics are fascinating, though not as good as later albums. Hammond Organ is very present in most of the songs.

"Gypsy" is an instant classic. Hammond Organ turned on high, with nice basslines and guitar, you can't go wrong. With the long intro out of the way, David Byron can really show his vocal abilities. The little scream at the end of some verses is excellent, nice and loud harmonies. "Walking in your Shadow" is more of Black Sabbath sound than some of the other stuff on the album. The riff presents itself very well, and is very dark. The lyrics on this one are simply the best of the album. Definatly a short trip on it's own. "Come Away Melinda" is an excellent and sad song, sort of a ballad type of song. The intro is excellent, nice and soothing. The acoustic guitar sets in, and then Dave starts to sing. The lyrics are frighting with him talking about Melinda's mother dieing in a war, terribly frighting, a good cut. "Lucy Blues" is probably my least favorite, it's too un-heepish sounding to me. The piano is old classic sounding, and it just kind of dosen't seem to fit in with the album, despite the slow to mid paced speed of the song. "Dream Mare" is a good song, nice name. The organ intro is fairly haunting, but the heavy metal riff seems to drown out everything else, thats why it's the bottom end of the album really. The guitar solo at the beginning is really nice too. "Real Turned On" has a nice riff, and it really seems like it would be a hit song, considering the time. The song is about, well, having sex with some hot chick. The vocals are really nice on this song though, and the guitar presents itself really well. "I'll Keep On Trying" is a slower track, with excellent vocal harmonies and a haunting intro. The organ is very nice on this track, as with the nice guitar at the begining. It seems a bit boring though, but I do like the bass solo. "Wake Up" is a nice song, at least. It's not the greatest closer ever, but it's not that bad. The guitar is very different, a jazzy sounding chord, but this song ends chapter one of Uriah Heep, the metal phase.

This a good album, but not as prog as one would like, unlike some of the next albums. It should be in your collection, thats why its a 4 stars.