VERY 'EAVY...VERY 'UMBLE

Uriah Heep´s debut album. This CD is more a curio than anything else. There are few remarkable moments. The band had yet to find its own personality and most songs are just simple blues rock numbers that not distinguished them from hundreds of other groups at the time. Ken Hensley had arrived when most of the tracks were already recorded, he just redid the keyboards parts of Colin Wood (except on two tracks, Come Away Melissa and Wake Up, which were left as they were before Hensley joined Uriah Heep).

Highlights are the classic Gypsy with its heavy riffs and thumping rhythm, and Come Away Melissa, probably the best song, a beautiful ballad (also covered by UFO) where David Byron shows he was a gifted, sensitive and versatile singer from the very start. The backing vocals are, on the other side, very strong and unique, and this feature was a good sign of the greater things that would come very soon. Wake Up is another clue that this band could go further, with its spacey, almost jazzy, feel. But that´s pretty much all of it.

I can only recommend this album for the ones who are already familiar with the other UH albums and are curious about their very early times. Not bad at all, but for collectors and fans, definitely.