LOOK AT YOURSELF

This is clearly a transitional album for Uriah Heep. It does contain at least two classics: the beautiful July Morning and one of my favorites, Tears In My Eyes (great slide guitar work done by Hensley and a very fine acoustic guitar break in the second part). The title track is another highlight. The other tracks are not as good, though. Once Ken Hensley told in an interview that Heep´s three first LPs were basicly tentatives, for they were still trying to find their sound (and the right musicians). And Look At Yourself, with all the power of the three aforementioned tracks, sounds just like it. Shadows of Grief is like a krautrock band of the time, something like Eloy, I guess. What Should Be Done is too plain and does not really fit, while I Wanna Be Free mix pop sensibilities to some hard rock. The vocals on the other side are strong, sharp and gutsy as ever and made all the difference. One personal note: I was always intrigued by the fact the name of the drummer was not mentioned anywhere in the album.

The band would find their way soon after, but this album still lacks some direction. On the other side, the strong tracks are so powerful they even up the weaker tunes.