URIAH HEEP - LIVE

Seldom do live albums capture a band at its peak. "Yessongs" had only a few songs with Bruford, "Welcome Back My Friends..." was an extremely bloated albeit enjoyable mess, the live side on "Living in the Past" was uneventful, "Playing the Fool": good, not great. Here we have a band in its classic lineup with magnificent performances. All songs outshine their studio counterparts, and are beautifully recorded. Only towards the end do things begin to fall apart. The medley (thankfully removed from my truncated CD) is totally confusing. Except for "Genesis Live" and "Vital" by VDGG this is absolutely one of the most powerful and greatest statements made by the pantheon of 70's "prog" bands. God bless Thain and Byron.