FROM TIME TO TIME

After a long absence Ken Hensley returned with this compliation of unreleased material in 1994. It´s a great treat for any fan of Hensley´s work through the years. The first thing that surprises is the quality of the material. Songs like I don´t Wanna Wait, Love At First Sight and You can be counted as some of his best ones and it´s unbelieveable how they were left unissued all this time. Also of interest is some early demos of songs that turned out on his solo albums like cold Autumn Sunday and Longer Shadows. Both very well done and include musicians like the late Paul Kossoff on guitar and Simon Kirke on drums (both from the supergroup Free at the time).

On The Name Of the Game he is accompained by Simon Kirke, Boz Burrell and Mick Ralphs (all from Bad Company). Also of notice is the presence of singer Clare Torry (of the Pink Floyd´s Great Gig In The Sky fame) singing backing vocals on two tracks. Another puzzling question is why tunes like Who Will sing For You (a b side for the single In The Morning, from his second solo LP Eager To Please) and Free Spirit (not included on the album of the same name, released when he left Uriah Heep) were left out. Both tracks are actually stronger than most of the original songs that ended up on those LPs.

For Uriah Heep collectors the last part of the CD is the most interesting since it includes such demos as Take Care (a track that would eventually become Footprints In the Snow form High & MIghty), Does Anything Matter (Woman Of The world from the same LP, including a false start) and If I Had The Time (also featuring Paull Kossof on guitar and quite different from the version that turned out on the Sweet Freedom album).

All the tracks were remastered from the original tapes and produced by Hensley himself which gave From Time To Time a very good and smooth overall sound. The tracklist was very well though and its flow gives the CD a cohesive feel when it could sound like a mixed bag had those tapes fell on less capable hands.

Conclusion: an excellent collection of original material (and some demos). The very good booklet has extensive liner notes written by Hensley himself and some great pictures. A must have for any ken Henlsey fan! But it can eventually please the newcomer too. 3,5 stars.