URIAH HEEP - LIVE

Talking about this album, I would definitely remember my childhood. Yes, this album was released when I was a child and "Gypsy" really blew my mind! Why not? This track deserves to be loved as teenagers usually like something energetic and rocking (of course). And "Gypsy" in this live version is the best that the band has ever performed as it has a drum solo and keyboard solo that I kept repeating with my cassette at that time. When this track reached the solo drum, I have a habit turn up my amplifier volumes to get a full sense of pedal drum as well as the snare drumming. The other interesting part of this live album is in introduction when Byron shout "URIAH HEEP .." followed by Hensley's punch on his keyboard to start "Sunrise". Wow! Such a wonderful opening, mate! "Jreng! Jreng! Sunrise ..." Ghuszzzzz .. great sound!

My first version of this album was a cassette personally recorded by my big brother, Henky, who was one of rock station broadcasters in Yogya. (Intermezzo - Have u ever been in Yogya? It's another tourist destination beside BALI island).The cassette handed to me was unlabelled with no track list. But it created curiosity to me as I wonder who the band was. Fortunately, before I got this cassette, I had listened to "Demons and Wizards" so that when it reached "Traveler in Time" I knew exactly the band! But now I got the CD version, of course, after I could afford it.

Through this live album I realized how brilliant GARY THAIN was with his bass guitar. He played dynamically. Even after having enjoyed this album I tried to trace down who he was and found out KEEF HARTLEY's "Half Breed" album where he played his bass guitar. Mick Box guitar playing is unique and I have not heard any musician plays the guitar like the way he does. Byron has an excellent vocal and unique. Ken Hensley? No question at all - he is a great musician. I even love his solo work. Lee Kerslake is also, a terrific drummer.

Well, it's enough now to justify this brilliant album with a five star. Even though, I never thought that this sort of music could be classified as progressive. Never mind. This is a great album that you MUST have in your collection regardless you love prog or not. Especially, if you enjoy LIVE album, this one is definitely the best choice as is the case with SAGA "In Transit" live album. Gatot Widayanto - Indonesia.

A definitive live album

There are many fine live albums, "Yessongs", "Made in Japan (Deep Purple)", "Welcome back my friends" (ELP) etc, but arguably the finest of them all is "Uriah Heep live 1973".

Despite numerous well documented problems which meant that it very nearly never happened, everything fell into place for the band for this recording. The line up is the classic one - Box/Byron/Hensley/Kerslake/Thain, with each member of the band attaining top form. There is some doubt as to whether the tracks included here were all taken from the same concert, but there's no obvious indication that subsequent overdubbing has been undertaken.

There are so many highlights to the album, I could wax lyrical about every track. What is especially pleasing is the way the longer tracks have been developed and reworked, while retaining their identity. "July Morning" has a much more satisfactory ending, with the opening theme returning in place of the fade out. "Gypsy", a track which changes with every tour, has a superb synthesiser solo from Hensley. "Circle of hands" is completely transformed from the track on "Demons and Wizards", the slide guitar which ends the studio version gives way here to a synthesiser solo, which builds majestically, powered on by Kerslake's frantic drumming, to a euphoric crescendo.

The album closes with the encore "Rock'n'roll medley". Byron is in his element here, as the band power through the old favourites. Truly a classic live album, which captures the essence of the band perfectly. The double LP came in a programme style sleeve, and sold for the price of a single LP which turned out to be a very effective marketing move.

The recently released deluxe remastered CD has the entire album on a single disc, with a bonus CD of other live tracks.

This Live album ranks right up there with Made in Japan and Steppenwolf live as the real blueprints for early 70's double live albums (Rockin the Fillmore from Humble Pie is also fine but I am not a fan). This album contains some of their better material bar one : Salisbury ( another point added against it ) I recognize that this would've been hard to do live , BUt THAT IS EXACTLY MY POINT - THEY WERE NOT EQUIPED OR DESTINED OR EVEN WANTED TO BECOME A PROG BAND. Apart from that , Gypsy is marred by a drum solo , and the R'nR Medley was pointless on record . July Morning confirms that it is a scorcher , but I was never a fan of Loraine.

So , I may finish to review the classic line-up (until Freedom or even to the Wetton album but after that this lacks interest and From Angel , I have not heard anymore than the odd tracks - aptly titled Abominog and so.... Three stars is well paid for this one.

In 1973, it had to happen - the 'classic' lineup of Uriah Heep release a double live album, but although they have in their 35 year career skirted around progressive rock, don't look for the more subtle acoustic songs here - this is Heep at their most bombastic.

Throughout the album, the band rarely put a foot wrong, Box supplys the power chords like a man possessed, Hensley beats seven shades of good for the roses out of his poor Hammond B3, Byron is at the peak of his powers, Thain plays beautifully as usual (his death a couple of years later was a tragic loss to the craft of bass guitar), and Kerslake lays down solid 4/4 from the back as ever.

So why only three stars then?

My problem with this album overall, is that it is too one dimensional; excepting a few standout tracks (July Morning, Tears In My Eyes and Circle Of Hands) the classics are all played at breakneck speed, as if to bludgeon them into submission, thereby losing any of the subtle nuances (yes, Uriah Heep did do subtle) present on the studio albums. 'Look At Yourself' is a case in point, with the band sprinting through as if going for a record, then losing momentum completely with a 'singalong' section....... 'Gypsy' however, initially benefits from a speedier live version, before descending into a lengthy Moog solo (stick to Hammond, Ken), and then a Lee Kerslake drum solo (the less said of which the better).

It is not all doom & gloom, however - July Morning, Tears In My Eyes and Circle Of Hands are all stage favorites of the time, and rightly so, played here with feeling, power and virtuosity (Hensley's slide guitar work in 'Tears' must have had Mick Box wishing Ken had stayed behind the Hammond), 'July Morning', in particular showing Heep at their tightest, and proving that speed is not all there is to a powerful rock epic.

After careful consideration, I gave this album 3 stars - however, had the album been a single, rather than a double, this rating would probably have been increased to a 4, or even possibly a 5 star. The problem is that the breakneck speed tracks are mostly in the second half, as is the rock'n'roll medley; had the album finished with Tears In My Eyes, you'd be left wanting more, as it is, you wonder why you listened to it all..... a clear case of less being more.

In conclusion then, this is Heep as I suspect they would like to be remembered, the classic lineup in full flow (although why did they have to include the awful rock'n'roll medley?) in front of a partisan audience, back in the days when things were so much simpler, and the Hammond ruled over all. By no means an essential album, but a worthy addition to any early '70s collection.

This is very good. As someone has said before, this live album almost didn`t happen. But in 26/january/1973 in a small theatre in Birmingham, U.K., they decided to record this album with very good results, despite the band had doubts before the concert started. From start to finish the music in this album was played with great energy and sometimes with a lot of feeling (in "July Morning" and "Circle of Hands", for example). This is Uriah Heep`s peak. Every member of the band did their best. And I like "Gypsy" with the synthesizer solo and the drums solo. But the best song in my opinion is "Circle of Hands". Gary Thain was one of the best bass players in rock. Sadly, he and David Byron now are dead from this line-up.But this line-up of Uriah Heep recorded one of the best live albums in Rock history, and it seems it was really recorded live without studio overdubs.

Another classic live album from the 70's. There is definitely no better era for live albums when it comes to musicianship, passion and of course the progressive feel of the live gigs around at that time.Uriah Heep Live from 1973 is no exception. To me this is almost the complete Uriah Heep!The opening to ' Sunrise', the atmospheres on ' July Morning', Byron's voice througout, everything about this album is pretty darn perfect.Four and a half stars actually.

Being a long time Heep fan (even before I knew what the words prog' or metal mean) and due to the excellent track list I have a hard time rating this live album, because it's not one of their better releases.

As I said before, Look at Yourself, Tears in my Eyes, and Easy Living among others, are part of my all time favorites, but this live versions and the sound of the album are very poor in my opinion.

Something strange if you take in consideration that this album is a selection of their best recordings and that they were playing with the best line up ever presented by Uriah Heep, including the best bass player of Rock history, the legendary Gary Thain making an excellent rhythm section with Lee Kerslake.

Something that I always loved of Uriah Heep is the high dose of drama and mystery they provided to their music, specially to albums related with demons and magician's, but in this case they loose that darkness, the songs are more rock oriented but the arrangements are unidimentional and too simple for the bunch of talented guys they were at that point-

For example Tears in My Eyes was always one of the best and more clearly Prog' oriented tracks of the band, complex chorus and vocal arrangements, excellent wah - wah guitar and an incredible work with the keyboards, but in this album the song is flat, of course some head bangers will be happy because it's clearly oriented towards heavy metal, but they lost the prog' essence that made a classic of this song.

Magician's Birthday is also a great disappointment, a mutilated version that boosts the guitar parts over the excellent keyboards and the great epic July Morning sounds as a caricature of the original version.

The Rock Medley is totally out of place in a Uriah Heep album, that's ok for a band that doesn't have enough material, but Uriah Heep could have chosen any track from Look at Yourself, The Magician's Birthday or Demons and Wizards and would have pleased the fans (the ones who really matter) more than a simple medley.

After the hard bashing I gave to the album in comparison with the original versions of the tracks, everybody should be expecting a two or one star rating, but I must say Uriah Heep Live is not bad surely not good for the Uriah Heep standards, but many bands just dream playing in their best day as Uriah Heep in their worst, and the track list contains such wonderful music that can't be ruined even if the band does the possible to make them sound bad.

It's essential only for the true Uriah Heep fans, but if you are just starting to be familiar with this excellent band, leave this live album until you have every previous one.

With great pain (because really love this band) I will give Uriah Heep Live only three stars because the tracks and the lineup are the best possible, but nothing more because they proved they could do much better than this. album.

In my opinion the early URIAH HEEP made progressive rock. They had not the complexity like YES, the skills like GENTLE GIANT, the refined attitude like GENESIS (70-77-era) or the virtuosity like ELP. URIAH HEEP's music is a simple but tasteful progressive blend of blues, rock and some jazz. The strong point in their music is the powerful interplay between the fiery guitar and swirling Hammond organ, the variety and power of their compositions and the enthousiastic approach, this band delivers music that makes you feel better! The 2- LP "Uriah Heep Live" is one of my most played records: if I need a boost or when I want to sublimated my frustrations, "Uriah Heep Live" is there to help me, thanks gentlemen! By the way, two years ago I finally could see them live and was allowed back-stage to ask Mick Box some questions for a Dutch progrock magazine. I asked how it felt to play "Easy livin'" so many times. He replied: "When I look at all those happy faces in the crowd, I can keep on playing forever". These guys should get a statue!!

The Heep produced five (yes FIVE) studio albums in less than three years. From very good to great. Due to an extensive tour it was obvious that the band would need some time to produce another one; so the record company which wanted to capitalize on their growing fame, seriously pushed the band to get this live album out.

It was planned to tape most of their concert and select the best moments out of it to produce a live album. But there were so many technical problems during this tour that if the Heep wanted to record one, it would be from their last concert. The Birmingham one.

Hensley said : "We ended up at Birmingham Town Hall,. It was one of the biggest challenges that we ever faced. We all just looked at the shape of the building and believe it still wasn't going to happen. AND THIS WAS OUR LAST DATE. So we put it out of our minds that we were recording, and just got on with doing our regular show.

Box added : "When we arrived for the sound check at the Birmingham Odeon, the stage was so small we almost didn't record that night foreseeing lots of techical problems. We decided to go for it and I remember Gerry Bron, our manager, saying that from the very first notes played he knew we had it in the can, and that's the way it stayed".

And the Heep just recorded one of the best live rock album of all times.

Their record company produced the Birmingham concert in a... record time, and this double LP (almost at the price of a single one, 3,99 £) sold very fast over a million copies. It was voted one of the best 1973 albums by the music press.

IMO, as far as live albums are concerned during that far away era, there are five references : The Who - Live At Leeds (1971), Slade Alive! ( 1972), Made In Japan (1973), Rock and Roll Animal (1974) and this one. Although two out of the five have been reviewed on this site, one must honestly admit that none belongs to the prog genre. But they are god damned great live albums. In terms of true prog, I would add Genesis Live and Keys To Ascension from Yes of course. I would definitely bring those ones if I ever had to live alone on a island.

On "Uriah Heep Live", the track list is fabulous. Well balanced amongst their studio albums. Most of the highlights are here : Sunrise, Easy Livin', July Morning, Gypsy, Circle of Hands (one of the best track here, absolutely devastating) & Look at Yourself.

Only one track features a long (and at times boring) keyboard solo. These extended soli, were the usual stuff at the time for hard-rock concerts. On this album, only one is not too bad. It will be played during "Gypsy". It is the only negative critic I can honestly write about this effort.

The traditional medley is just superb and is a great tribute to the rock'n'roll legends (Berry and Perkins amongst others). Sound is good and all the band is at its best.

Although cheap as such, this album turned out to be an expensive exercise for me. I purchased the original vinyl album in 1973, then the "remastered" CD version which fits on one CD. A few days ago, I was in London and I saw a "definite" version featuring two CD's. The original Uriah Heep Live and a bonus CD with four tracks from a US radio show and what is called "Film Mixes Used For Radio". This is the recording that is known as "Live At Shepperton". I just think that they should have mentioned this on the album information to avoid misleading fans. Anyway, you can read my detailed review for "Shepperton" in its appropriate section if you want to.

Five stars to this fantastic moment of live music history.

A ROCKING BEST-OF LIVE!

How good was it to be a URIAH HEEP fan back then! A new album every 6 months! After the somewhat average MAGICIAN'S BIRTHDAY, i guess it was time to release a -mandatory- double LP live! You couldn't be back then a successful Rock'n roll band and not publish the famous double live LP, every other band was doing. At the time of MADE IN JAPAN, ROCKIN THE FILLMORE , STEPPENWOLF LIVE and others, it was natural that URIAH HEEP would follow this path.

And as URIAH HEEP was at the top of their popularity in 1973, why not take advantage of it and cash in a little more pounds! The design of URIAH HEEP LIVE was very class, nice lettering, very stylish coming with an inside booklet=photo album of all the band members on stage. Yes, David BYRON got the first front page!!Looking at this picture, i know now where FREDDY MERCURY got his inspiration from.

This is a good hard-rocking album with all the musicians in superform. I never noticed before how GARY THAIN could be so good; believe me, he ROCKS on this one. Almost all the hits are including from a speedy EASY LIVIN, a magnificent rendition of the sublime JULY MORNING to a wild version of their first hit GIPSY where KEN HENSLEY is having some fun ( but maybe not the listener) Otherwise the live versions are relatively comparable to the original ones.

A very good album, but i don't listen to it too much as i prefer usually lend my ears to the 5 precedent studio recordings. Moreover, as i never been fond of pure classic rock and roll songs of the fifties, i would have survived nicely without a ...10ms medley of all those ''Roll over Beethoven'' and other ''Blue suede Shoes''.That put the album a little bit down.

A very good album live, but doesn't bring nothing new to the plate like ROCKIN THE FILLMORE from HUMBLE PIE which is still my favorite rock live album. Of course YESSONGS wins it in prog.

3.5 STARS

One of the great live rock albums of all time. Since the demise of their classic line up there has been a flood of Uriah Heep´s live recordings, old and new, but this is the real thing. The band was at its peak, working like a well oiled machine delivering a stunning performance captured on one night only (they tried to record 3 nights in Birmingham, but the equipament malfunctioned badly on the first two).

Everything works on this album and the only complaint I have its the fact taht they did only a small piece of the magician´s Birthday suite. I´d have to wait until the Magician´s Birthday Party DVD some 30 years later to hear (and see) a complete live version of this epic. But anyway, I believe at the time it was a difficult task (besides the limited vinyl time). And the rest of the show is flawless. A great time capsule that capture a quite unique moment. Production is quite good: it succesfully displayed how tight those guys were live.

Ir you ever wanted to hear what was like the music of Uriah Heep in the 70´s and why they have such a big name in rock history, just listen to this album. A must have for any rock fan, prog or not. A classic. Highly recommended!

"Live" is the first live album release by UK hard rock act Uriah Heep. The album was released through Bronze Records (Europe)/Mercury Records (US) in June 1973. After having released five full-length studio albums the group found that it was time to release a live album. The album was recorded while on tour supporting their, at the time, latest album release "The Magician's Birthday (1972)" and features tracks from all five studio albums except "Salisbury (1971)". "Live" was recorded in Birmingham, England during January of 1973. The album features what is widely considered the classic Uriah Heep lineup with David Byron on lead vocals, Ken Hensley on keyboards/vocals, Mick Box on guitars/vocals, Gary Thain on bass/vocals and Lee Kerslake on drums/vocals.

The album features classic Uriah Heep tracks like "Easy Livin´", "Traveller In Time", and "July Morning" but it´s actually the performances by the band members that are the real assets here. When it comes down to it most Uriah Heep tracks from those days could have made it to the setlist, but the performance of the tracks, that did make it to the album tracklist, is what makes "Live" worth the price of admission. The delivery is both powerful and passionate. Both when it comes to the instrumental performances but certainly also when it comes to the vocal performance by David Byron. He was such an incredibly talented and passionate performer, and here he is allowed to show that he can perform in a live environment too, and not just in a studio. Another performance that stands out is the great bass playing by Gary Thain, helped along by how high the bass is placed in the mix.

The sound production is overall well sounding though. It´s raw, powerful and organic, and I can almost smell the sweat, beer, and smoke at the venue. This is how a live album is supposed to sound. "Live" is ultimately a great testimony to how Uriah Heep sounded playing live in their prime and a 3.5 - 4 star (75%) rating is deserved.

Uriah Heep must have been a great live experience. Not only would they leave out the substandard fillers that disgraced their studio albums, they would also add great improvised extensions to the songs.

Some songs that I never cared for all that much, like Sunrise, Sweet Lorraine and Traveller In Time benefit greatly from the live energy boost they get here. They are certainly not the highpoint of the concert but serve as a good up-tempo start. July Morning however has lost some of its threatening atmosphere but the performance is ok.

Gypsy has doubled in length and the extension works really well. Of course with the kind of entrancing 2-note riff that this song is built around you could easily go on forever. But they also added some interesting and fun improvisations in the middle of it. Unfortunately, the drum solo at the end is as boring as drum solos tend to get. Cicle of Hands is a great update over its stuffy studio original, the finale is just great.

Not all songs are equally strong though. Easy Livin' and Look At Yourself were a lot tighter on the studio albums, Love Machine is an energetic take on the original. I'm somewhere around 3.5 stars, but given this is a live album it would need to be just a tad stronger to recommend it to anyone but the Uriah Heep fan base.