VERY 'EAVY...VERY 'UMBLE

A very weak debut by Uriah Heep. Ken Hensley - who was to become the band leader and principal songwriter on future albums - played on this album but he didn't write any of the material. And that is probably the main explanation for the weak material on this album. This is further indicated by the fact that one of the better songs here was a cover, the beautiful ballad Come Away Melinda (who did the original version?).

There are a couple of other good songs here too though. Wake Up (Set Your Sights), clearly the best song on this album, is a progressive and somewhat jazzy piece, similar to The Park from the next album. Had everything on this album sounded as good as that song, this could have been a very good album. Sadly, it is not. The rest of the material is much more blues based and traditional without memorable melodies. Gypsy is the most overrated song by Uriah Heep.

Better things was to come from this band. The next album Salisbury is very good and much better than this one. To compare this album to Black Sabbath's self-titled debut album from the same year is simply ridiculous. Uriah Heep is and will always be a second division band, though with some good stuff in their vast discography.

Only for fans!