ACOUSTICALLY DRIVEN

I haven't heard a live Uriah Heep album since one of the best live recordings ever was released by the group back in 1973. Live set the standard for unprecedented successes in live recordings such as Frampton Comes Alive. For those of you too young to remember, Uriah Heep was a progressive-rock band of the highest order for many years. They are going through an enjoyable phase of their long and successful career right now. Interest in their history has been renewed with a series of remastered back catalog recordings (Sanctuary/Castle) and special live events in the U.K. The only remaining original members are co-founder Mick Box (guitar) and Lee Kerslake (drums). Box founded the group with now deceased lead singer David Byron. Some thirty members have come and gone since their inception, and they have survived all the changes to bring you new material and an exciting new live recording. You are informed by the front cover message that the very best of Uriah Heep unplugged. The group's album cover art is always recognizable. Roger Dean (Yes covers) is the man that makes the fantasy science fiction scenes so memorable. Demons And Wizards and The Magician's Birthday are the albums that always come to mind for some of the more colorful, thought provoking, and graphically intense images.

Acoustically Driven is a fabulous collection of all the favs, except this time you get to hear how different they sound unplugged. Any song that was originally electric takes on a different personality when it's toned down and rendered with different colors and textures in an acoustic setting. It's comparable to taking a classic painting and grabbing your brush and painting right over the top of it. Most songs are strummed out on an acoustic guitar or pounded out on the piano before they reach fruition, so essentially what happens is the music comes around full circle. It's always a pleasure to experience what a creator hears first hand in the development of a song. "Wonderworld" pulled out some memories from the attic for me, it was the first Uriah Heep album I ever bought, and from that point on I got everything else by them that I could get my hands on. All the songs sound really good unplugged, and the audience seems to think so as well. The group is backed by the "Uriah Heep Classic Rock Music Ensemble," which consists of strings, including the cello, viola, and violins. Having that kind of back drop softens up the once rocking tunes and eases in the acoustic guitars and keyboards to make for a beautiful marriage between rock music and orchestration. Just when you are getting comfortable with the "Easy Livin" of the unplugged set . it's over. The disc has a nice steady flow with a gradual momentum that reaches its peak towards the end of the show. I can't say enough how much I enjoyed this set. It reminded me of how important this group was to me when I was a teenager. They were one of the first bands that planted the seed that continues to grow and blossom to this day. Uriah Heep is one of the original British prog-rockers that became as important and influential as Yes, the proof is on this CD. Long live rock and roll!