VERY 'EAVY...VERY 'UMBLE

The first Uriah Heep album is a most charming hard rock album. Some of the songs go in strange directions but most of them feature all Heep elements that would make them popular among both hard rock and prog fans.

In a way, all continuing albums can be seen as attempts to perfect the sound the achieved here. A bluesy Hammond organ soaked hard-rock fest with churning wa-wa guitars and those typical vocal harmonies. The opener Gypsy has it all and is one of my favourite Heep tracks. With it's almost 7 minute length it has a perfect balance between tight rocking and ample room for solos.

Walking In Your Shadow is the next blues rocker and one of their classics for me. The sound is a bit thin but the 1996 remaster has blown some fresh air into it. Come Away Melinda is a beautiful romantic ballad, simple but effective, all it takes is good melodies and a bit of mellotron. It gets a bit operatic as it goes along but in the most charming way possible.

Lucy Blues would be the first track I regularly skip. It's not bad but just standard blues, missing the Led Zeppelin testosterone needed to make it interesting for a rocker like me. Dreammare is another favourite, lalalala's all over the place and simply irresistible.

On Real Turned On the Blackmore influence in the riffing is very obvious. Mike Box adds his own wa-wa feel to it. Nice bluesy rocker again. I'll Keep On Trying is probably one of the more symphonic tracks here, it still has a strong basis in blues but some classical influences and the looser song structure are clear indications of an ambition beyond their core hard rock business. Wake Up is the second track that I tend to skip. It's quite fun but it has some tendencies towards melodrama that are fun once in a while but that would lead to a thing called Queen which is not really my taste.

The reissue adds one more track of interest. Born In A Trunk is interesting as an example of their Zeppelin influences.

Uriah Heep is probably the first band who forged the style of 2 other pioneers (Deep Purple + Led Zeppelin) into their own blend. Most successfully I must say.