REMASTERS - THE OFFICIAL ANTHOLOGY (AKA URIAH HEEP GOLD - LOOKING BACK 1970-2001)

The current line up of Uriah Heep has now outlasted all the previous line ups added together. While they have made a couple of superb studio albums, the classic era for the band will always be the early to mid 70's when Box, Byron and Hensley formed the nucleus. Byron sadly has long since passed on, and Hensley left the band many years ago. It is therefore to the credit of the current line up, that a large proportion of their live act is still taken from the band's Golden Age.

The title of this album is a bit misleading. The term "remastered" usually implies that an original work has been dusted off and sonically improved. In this case, these are new recordings by the current line up, of tracks from the entire history of the band. The objective is clearly to allow those current band members who did not participate in the original recordings (i.e. all except Box, and in some cases Kerslake), to stamp their mark upon them.

The tracks are presented chronologically, starting with "Gysy" which opened their first album "Very 'eavy, very 'umble", through to their latest album "Sonic origami". The emphasis is very much on the Byron era material, which occupies the whole of the first CD, and part of these second. On some of these songs, such as "Lady in black" (additional strings section) and "Sunrise" (nice atmospheric ending) the current line up offers slightly different but nonetheless successful interpretations. Others are less notable. "Look at yourself" is a pale imitation, and Bernie Shaw struggles a bit with the vocal dexterity required for "Come away Melinda". Other ballads such as "Rain" and "The easy road" are better.

Given that the tracks included here have all been performed live by the current line up, this collection may be summed up as little more than recordings of the rehearsals for their tours. Indeed the similarities with the versions of some of the tracks which appeared on the "Acoustically driven" album rather give the game away. "Blind eye" for example has some superb flute, and "Why did you go" is pretty much identical. This is not grounds for criticism though, "Acoustically driven" was an undoubted high point in the history of the band.

Where the criticism is perhaps justified is in the inclusion of nine tracks which were originally recorded by this line up. While these may be new recordings, they are to all intents and purposes the same tracks which appeared on "Different world", "Sea of Light" etc. The package would have benefited substantially from the inclusion of more songs from previous incarnations of the band. It is not that these newer songs are inferior, indeed "Love in silence" and "The golden palace" are well up there in the list of Uriah Heep's best songs. These versions though simply repeat what is already available on this line up's albums.

In all though, a good if far from essential package which effectively serves as a Rites of passage for the current line up.

"Remasters" was re-released in 2004 on the budget Dejavu retro label under the title "Uriah Heep - Gold, Looking back 1970-2001".