Posts tagged Ken Hensley

(Review from progarchives.com)

This live album is taken from various recordings on John Lawton’s last tour with the band. It was not released at the time, but was put out as an archival live recording later on.

By 1979, David Byron and Gary Thain had left the classic line up, being replaced by John Lawton and Trevor Boulder respectively. Audiences however still demanded to hear a good proportion of material from the band’s Byron era albums, hence we have Lawton singing songs such as “Easy Livin’”, “Look at yourself”, and “July Morning”.

John Lawton is a fine vocalist, and the studio albums he made with Uriah Heep were designed to his vocals well. Yet his style and delivery are far too rough and bluesy though for the Byron era songs which the Uriah Heep audiences expect in concerts. The album would probably have been much more successful if the band were able to stick with the material designed for Lawton.

“Live in Europe” manages to capture an accurate live Uriah Heep of the era. Those who love to explore may find the album interesting.

Line-up:
- Mick Box / guitars
- John Lawton / vocals
- Ken Hensley / keyboard, guitars, vocals
- Lee Kerslake / drums, vocals
- Trevor Bolder / bass

Track List:
01. Easy Livin’ – 3:17
02. Look At Yourself – 5:07
03. Lady In Black – 7:19
04. Free Me – 5:02
05. Stealin’ – 6:06
06. The Wizard – 4:13
07. July Morning – 12:13
08. Falling In Love – 2:57
09. Woman Of The Night – 3:18
10. I’m Alive – 4:11
11. Sweet Lorraine – 11:30
12. Free N’ Easy – 3:20
13. Gypsy – 5:07

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John Lawton, Ken Hensley, Lee Kerslake, Live, Uriah Heep

Weed – Weed (1971) (@320)

08 Jul 2007

5 comments

(Info from Crack in the Cosmic Egg)

Between the release of Uriah Heep’s albums “Salisbury” and “Look At Yourself”, in 1971, Ken Hensley went to Germany to record an album for a project simply called “Weed”.

This “concept” album related to an infamous rock’n'roll habit! Unfortunately the album sleeve didn’t list the line-up. Aside from Ken Hensley, some members of the 1970/71 Virus line-up were also involved, Bernd Hohmann and Werner Monka at least and possibly their rhythm section as well. All six tracks were composed by the concert promoter Bobo Albes and Phillips’ household producer Rainer Goltermann made sure the sessions in the Windrose Studios in Hamburg were preserved for posterity. The album comprised straight-forward heavy progressive blues-rock with twin guitars and organ to the fore, culminating in the excellent, long instrumental title track. Weed can be compared to other German heavy progsters of the era, such as Zarathustra, Blackwater Park, Epitaph and Armaggedon, as well as Ken Hensley’s similarly obscure (Head Machine) album Orgasm dating from 1969 or 1970.

Track List:
01. Sweet Morning Light
02. Lonely Ship
03. My Dream
04. Slowin’ Down
05. Before I Die
06. Weed

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Ken Hensley

Head Machine – Orgasm (1970) (@256)

07 Jul 2007

4 comments

(Info from geocities.com)

During his time with Gods and Toe Fat, Ken Hensley recorded an album for a specific project called Head Machine. At this time, Hensley played mainly guitar again, as in the beginning of his career. The producer of the album “Orgasm” was David Paramor, who also produced The Gods’ albums.

The music is good, but not outstanding, and the style is something between The Gods and Toe Fat. Hensley describes this project as a “mercenary” one, which means that they were involved only for the money, professionally speaking. He states that it wasn’t really his band, and there are some doubts about the songwriting credits, since on the album it’s written that Paramor composed all the songs, but there’s definitely a “Ken Hensley touch” on them. It is one of the heaviest records that Hensley has ever been involved.

Line-up:
* Ken Leslie (Ken Hensley) – organ/piano/guitar/vocals
* John Leadhen (John Glascock) – bass guitar
* Brian and Lee Poole (Brian Glascock and Lee Kerslake) – drums
* Mike Road (?) – percussion

Track List:
01. Climax – You Tried To Take It All
02. Make The Feeling Last
03. You Must Come With Me
04. The Girl Who Loved, The Girl Who Loved
05. Orgasm
06. The First Time
07. Scattering Seeds

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John Glascock, Ken Hensley, Lee Kerslake

Toe Fat – Toe Fat (1970) (@256)

05 Jul 2007

(Info from sleeve)

After Gods dissolved, Hensley, Kerslake and Glasscock moved on to the heavy rock outfit Toe Fat led by 60s soul exponent Cliff Bennett.

Having decided on a major realignment in musical direction – based largely on the new bluesier material which Hensley was writing – and realizing that a more “progressive” moniker was required to go with their new, heavier style, someone came up with “Toe Fat”. They set out on the UK colleges, pubs and clubs’ circuits where they duly broke in their new material.

They cut their selftitled first album at Abbey Road with Jonathan Peel – who’d produced the Gods’ albums and latter-day Cliff Bennett Band singles – at the controls. Peel brought in noted session flautist/harp-player Moxy (something of an Ian Anderson look alike/sound alike, as Bennett recalls) to augment the band, and the album “Toe Fat” came together with the minimum of fuss.

Line-up:
* Cliff Bennett – Piano, Vocals
* Ken Hensley – Organ, Guitar, Piano, Vocals
* Lee Kerslake – Drums, Vocals
* John Glasscock – Bass, Vocals
with
* Moxy – Flute, Harmonica

Track List:
01. That’s My Love for You
02. Bad Side of the Moon
03. Nobody
04. Wherefors and the Whys
05. But I’m Wrong
06. Just Like Me
07. Just Like All the Rest
08. I Can’t Believe
09. Working Nights
10. You Tried to Take It All

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John Glascock, Ken Hensley, Lee Kerslake, Toe Fat

Gods – To Samuel A Son (1969) (@192)

04 Jul 2007

(Review from allmusic.com)

Their first album, Genesis didn’t make much of an impact, nor did some non-album singles. The Gods disbanded in early 1969, though a second album, To Samuel a Son, was posthumously released.

The Gods’ second album is, like their debut, Genesis, early keyboard-based progressive rock with a psychedelic hangover, vaguely tied into a concept about the experiences of the “Samuel” in the title track. It’s more varied in tone than their first record, though, and more surprisingly, a little lighter in touch, though you can still hear some of the bluster of keyboardist Ken Hensley’s subsequent group, Uriah Heep.

Line-up:
- Ken Hensley / keyboards, vocals
- Joe Konas / guitars, vocals
- Lee Kerslake / drums, vocals
- John Glascock / bass, vocals

Track List:
01. To Samuel A Son (3:29)
02. Three O’ Clock In The Morning (3:16)
03. He’s Growing (2:25)
04. Sticking Wings On Flies (2:39)
05. Lady Lady (3:18)
06. Penny Dear (2:34)
07. Long Time, Sad Time, Bad Time (3:12)
08. Five To Three (2:59)
09. Autumn (3:12)
10. Yes I Cry (2:42)
11. Groozy (3:41)
12. Momma I Need (3:57)
13. Candlelight (2:34)
14. Lovely Anita (3:32)
15. Maria (3:58)

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Gods, John Glascock, Ken Hensley, Lee Kerslake

Gods – Genesis (1968) (@256)

03 Jul 2007

(Review from progarchives.com)

The Gods are a band that have gone down in any number of ‘rock family trees’ for housing Greg Lake, Mick Taylor but mainly future Uriah Heep members, Ken Hensley and Lee Kerslake. By the time they released their debut, Greg Lake and Mick Taylor had already moved out; principal songwriting and performing duties are therefore shared between Ken Hensley and Joe Konas. Hensley’s dominance certainly offers hints of the direction he would follow with Uriah Heep.

Musically, they were very derivative of Vanilla Fudge, particularly concerning the bombastic vocal harmonies and heavy musicianship, yet brought their own flavour to proceedings. Certainly, The Gods predictably have a very English sound at times; they are often much more polite than Vanilla Fudge, particularly with the slower numbers.

Line-up:
- Ken Hensley – keyboards, vocals
- Joe Konas – guitars, vocals
- John Glascock – bass, vocals
- Lee Kerslake – drums, vocals

Track List:
01. Towards The Skies (3:24)
02. Candles Getting Shorter (4:28)
03. You’re My Life (3:20)
04. Looking Glass (4:18)
05. Misleading Colours (3:38)
06. Radio Show (3:12)
07. Plastic Horizon (3:26)
08. Farthing Man (3:30)
09. I Never Know (5:41)
10. Love And Eternity (2:41)
11. Baby’s Rich (Bonus) (2:45)
12. Somewhere In The Street (Bonus) (2:47)
13. Hey Bulldog (Bonus) (3:01)
14. Real Love Guaranteed (Bonus) (2:29)

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Gods, John Glascock, Ken Hensley, Lee Kerslake

Uriah Heep – Live At Shepperton '74 (@192)

06 Apr 2007

(Review from progarchives.com)

The recordings on this album are taken from a Television special that Uriah Heep recorded in 1974. Although the special was never actually broadcast, a number of extracts from it appeared on the now deleted “Easy Livin’, a history of Uriah Heep” video. The performance was never intended for commercial release in any format, but with the ongoing demand for Byron era material by the band, a belated release took place in 1986.

The original album was rather brief, but this was rectified by the remastered version, which incorporates a number of additional tracks from the same performance, plus some other relevant additions. A few of the tracks duplicate the superior versions on the “Live 1973” album, but as these recordings took place around the time of the release of the “Wonderworld” album, tracks from that album and “Sweet Freedom” also appear.

The performance by the band is not one of their best, tempered perhaps by the fact that they were conscious of the need to appeal visually as well as audibly. The recording quality too reflects the fact that it was intended only for television broadcast.

While it is good to hear early live versions of tracks such as “Sweet freedom” and “Stealin’”, only the emotive ballad “The easy road” shines through as anything more than average here. Uriah Heep made one of the best live albums ever. Unfortunately, this wasn’t it!

Line-up:
- David Byron / vocals
- Mick Box / guitar, vocals
- Gary Thain / bass, vocals
- Lee Kerslake / drums, vocals
- Ken Hensley / keyboards, vocals

Track List:
01. Easy Livin’ (4:01)
02. So Tired (3.32)
03. I Won’t Mind (5:54)
04. Sweet Freedom (6:59)
05. Something Or Nothing (3:21)
06. The Easy Road (2:49)
07. Stealin’ (5:26)
08. Love Machine (2:23)
09. Rock ‘N’ Roll Medley (7:45)
10. Out-Takes (5:28)
a) The Easy Road
b) Sleazy Livin’
c) Easy Livin’
11. Stealin’ (6:19)

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David Byron, Ken Hensley, Lee Kerslake, Live, Uriah Heep

Uriah Heep – Conquest (1980) (@256)

05 Apr 2007

(Review from progarchives.com)

Generally accepted as the low point of the band’s studio career, “Conquest” has little to recommend it even to the most ardent fan. This was to be Ken Hensley’s last album with the band, and it is a real travesty that his parting album should be so poor.

To be fair, the main problem with the album is the vocals of John Lawton’s replacement John Sloman. The ex Lone Star singer has a good voice which fitted in well with the music of that band. Unfortunately, his style did not suit the music of Uriah Heep at all. Hensley soon recognised this, leading to a major personality clash between the two. Hensley thus departed after the album had been released, leaving Mick Box as the only original member.

Lee Kerslake’s replacement Chris Slade (Manfred Mann’s Earth Band) makes a much better go of the drums, but it’s doubtful whether he saw his membership of the band as anything other than a temporary appointment.

The songwriting credits are slightly more distributed than on previous albums, although Hensley still manages sole or partial credit on six of the eight tracks. Songs like “Imagination” and Trevor Boulder’s “Fools” would have sounded good if performed by Lawton, but Sloman seems to constantly struggle to identify with them, in fact he seems at times to be completely out of his depth. There are occasional moments of inspiration, such as the synthesiser and guitar interplay on “Out on the street”, and the synth driven ballad “It ain’t easy” (which also suits Sloman’s vocals better), but generally the album lacks inspiration and focus. It seems clear that had the album been made by a previous line up of the band, the songs could have been developed into much stronger pieces (the potential IS there), and the performance too would have been much tighter.

After Hensley’s departure, Sloman’s former band mate in Pulsar, Greg Dechart was brought in on keyboards on a temporary basis. Two of the tracks he recorded with Uriah Heep appear as bonus tracks on the CD remaster of “Conquest”, but they sound nothing like Uriah Heep. The band then effectively split up altogether, founding vocalist David Byron having declined an offer to rejoin Box and Boulder. Box was to pull things together again later on, but the road back would be long and difficult.

Line-up:
- Mick Box / guitars
- John Sloman / lead & backing vocals, piano, percussion
- Chris Slade / Staccato drums, percussion
- Trevor Bolder / bass guitar
- Ken Hensley / obx, vocoder, organ, piano, guitars, backing vocals

Track List:
01. No Return (6:02)
02. Imagination (5:49)
03. Feelings (5:26)
04. Fools (5:03)
05. Carry On (3:57)
06. Won’t Have To Wait Too Long (4:54)
07. Out On The Street (5:57)
08. It Ain’t Easy (5:45)

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Chris Slade, Ken Hensley, Uriah Heep

Uriah Heep – Fallen Angel (1978) (@256)

05 Apr 2007

9 comments

(Review from progarchives.com)

The third and final Uriah Heep album with John Lawton on vocals, and the last for the time being with the long serving Lee Kerslake on drums.

While Ken Hensley still dominates the song writing, the rest of the band also make contributions. Lawton for example wrote 2 tracks, and co-wrote a third. Unfortunately, with Hensley having contributed so much to previous albums, his inspiration appears to be declining rapidly, and the rest of the band do not share his worthy credentials in that field. Understandable as this is, It does make for a somewhat disappointing album. Things would get worse on subsequent output before they got better and taken in context, this is far from being a bummer. The band themselves (Hensley and Box) in the sleeve notes for the 1997 remaster felt that the album was a bit “poppy”, and this a fair description.

Ironically the best track is Lee Kerslake ballad “Come back to me” (co-written with Hensley), written as an anguished plea to his then recently estranged wife. Lawton’s vocals are ideal for the song, which he sings with great passion.

The tracks are all short, the longest being the title track at just over 5 minutes. On “One more night”, Lawton almost carries off an Elvis impersonation, but on most of the tracks, the performance is all too similar and lightweight. In retrospect, it’s all to obvious that the band had taken their eye of the ball, and were drifting away from their roots, into a more commercial area which did not fit well with their strengths. It would be several years until they found their way again.

By the way, the sleeve was a vast improvement from “Innocent victim”, with a rather attractive image of a female warrior who has just vanquished her next meal, in the gatefold cover.

Line-up:
- Mick Box / electric and acoustic guitar
- Trevor Bolder / bass guitar
- John Lawton / lead vocals
- Lee Kerslake / drums, syn-drums, back-up vocals
- Ken Hensley / keyboards, synthesizer, slide and acoustic guitar, back-up vocals

Track List:
01. Woman Of The Night (4:07)
02. Falling in Love (2:59)
03. One More Night (Last Farewell) (3:35)
04. Put Your Lovin’ On Me (4:08)
05. Come Back To Me (4:22)
06. Whad ‘Ya Say (3:41)
07. Save It (3:33)
08. Love Or Nothing (3:02)
09. I’m Alive (4:18)
10. Fallen Angel (4:51)

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John Lawton, Ken Hensley, Lee Kerslake, Uriah Heep

Uriah Heep – Innocent Victim (1977) (@256)

04 Apr 2007

(Review from progarchives.com)

Once you get past the rather grotesque and somewhat inappropriate cover picture, Uriah Heep’s second album with John Lawton on vocals is a pleasant, if rather lightweight offering.

The songs are pretty straightforward, leaning more towards melodic rock than prog. Once again, Hensley favours his synthesiser over the Hammond organ sound which laid the foundations of the band’s early work, creating a more orchestral backing. There are a couple of good ballads in “Choices” which has great power, and the softer “Illusion. “Free me” is a catchy pop tune. It’s not exactly challenging but should have been at least a minor hit in the UK, as it was in several other countries.

“The dance” is almost funky, a style which suits Lawton’s voice far better than it would have Byron’s. Finally, there are a number of more traditional rock tracks such as “Keep on ridin’”, “Flyin’ high” “Free’n'easy” and “Cheat’n'lie”

Ultimately I am left with a feeling that the band’s inspiration, and especially Hensley’s, is drying up rapidly. This is perhaps further evidenced by the fact that non band member Jack Williams wrote two of the songs, and co-wrote a third with Hensley.

Line-up:
- Mick Box / guitars
- John Lawton / vocals
- Ken Hensley / keyboard, guitars, vocals
- Lee Kerslake / drums, vocals
- Trevor Bolder / bass

Track List:
01. Keep On Ridin’ (3:41)
02. Flyin’ High (3:18)
03. Roller (4:38)
04. Free ‘N’ Easy (3:02)
05. Illusion (5:02)
06. Free Me (3:35)
07. Cheat ‘N’ Lie (4:50)
08. The Dance (4:49)
09. Choices (5:42)

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John Lawton, Ken Hensley, Lee Kerslake, Uriah Heep

Uriah Heep – Firefly (1977) (@256)

02 Apr 2007

(Review from progarchives.com)

While the history of Uriah Heep is littered with line up changes, the single most important one in terms of their sound took place between the previous album, “High and Mighty”, and this one. With David Byron having been sacked as lead vocalist, John Lawton (ex Lucifer’s Child) was brought in as his replacement.

In opting for Lawton, the other band members had decided to go for someone with a completely different voice and style, so right from the first few bars of “Firefly” the listener is aware of a fundamental change. Lawton’s voice is deeper and much rougher, with more of a blues/jazz tinge.

John Wetton also left the band before this album was recorded, being replaced by ex Spiders from Mars bassist Trevor Boulder. Boulder has gone on to become one of Heep’s longest servicing members, and is in fact still in the band today.

The music on “Firefly” is generally lighter than previous albums, with Hensley choosing to create an almost orchestral texture with the keyboards, on which the album is built. Yet again, Hensley dominates the song writing, with only one short track “Who needs me” being a rare Kerslake composition. The title track is a very soft but beautiful piece, a million miles from “Easy Livin’”. Even when the band rock, such as on “Been away too long”, it’s not the all out wall of sound of the early days.

When listening to this album, it is necessary to first put aside any preconceptions about the music it will contain. It’s not really a follow up to “High and Mighty” but a new beginning for the band with a new direction and sound. Once that is accepted, it’s actually a very enjoyable album, with strong melodies, and tight musicianship.

Line-up:
- John Lawton / lead vocals
- Mick Box / guitars
- Trevor Bolder / bass guitar
- Lee “The Bear” Kerslake / drums, vocals
- Ken Hensley / keyboards, guitars, vocals

Track List:
01. The Hanging Tree (3:42)
02. Been Away Too Long (5:04)
03. Who Needs Me (3:40)
04. Wise Man (4:44)
05. Do You Know (3:15)
06. Rollin’ On (6:32)
07. Sympathy (4:50)
08. Firefly (6:18)
09. Crime Of Passion (Bonus, Single B-Side) (3:37)
10. Do You Know (3:16) (Bonus, Demo)
11. A Far Better Way (5:50) (Bonus, Outtake)
12. Wise Man (4:48) (Bonus, TV backing track version)

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John Lawton, Ken Hensley, Lee Kerslake, Uriah Heep

Uriah Heep – High and Mighty (1976) (@256)

02 Apr 2007

(Review from progarchives.com)

David Byron’s final album with Uriah Heep came all too soon. The recording of “High and Mighty” was apparently a somewhat piecemeal affair, with only Hensley (who yet again dominates the song writing) and Wetton committed in full to the project. The absence of Gerry Bron as producer for the first time is less apparent than might have been expected, but he was reportedly unimpressed with the results.

The two sides of the LP make an appropriate division between what turned out to be an impressive side one, and a poor side two. Mick Box is largely absent throughout, with Hensley by and large providing both keyboards and guitar.

The opening track, “One way or another” doesn’t even feature Byron’s vocals, with Wetton taking on those duties. Ironically Byron, who was reportedly comfortable with the finished track, played Hammond organ on it instead. It is though an intriguingly successful diversion for the band in a slightly less organised direction. Hensley’s middle 8 restores the more melodic sound, providing a harmonic counterpoint. The track has similarities to “Dreamer” which opened “Sweet Freedom”.

Byron first appears on the beautiful “Weep in silence”, a softer track but highly melodic almost emotional, with Hensley’s keyboards swirling around the pained voice of Byron.

“Midnight”, which closes side one, is a miniature epic in about 6 minutes. In that time it moves from an attention grabbing opening riff, through a number of time changes and brief instrumental breaks, to fade with a reprise of the opening riff. “Midnight” stand proud alongside Hensley’s finest compositions, and would have made a fitting end to the Byron era Uriah Heep. Unfortunately, they continued onto side two of the album, which brings together some of the weakest material recorded by the band while Byron was a member.

Had the entire album been up to the standard of the four tracks on side one, “High and mighty” would have been worthy of it’s name. Unfortunately side two of the album only served to indicate that radical change was needed, and such change was indeed, just around the corner.

Line-up:
- David Byron / vocals
- John Wetton / bass, guitar, Mellotron, electric piano, vocals
- Lee Kerslake / drums, percussion, vocals
- Mick Box / lead guitar, acoustic guitar, 12 string acoustic guitar
- Ken Hensley / organ, piano, Moog synthesizer, tubular bells, electric piano, guitar, slide guitar, acoustic guitar, electric 12 string guitar, pedal steel guitar, vocals

Track List:
01. One Way Or Another (4:37)
02. Weep In Silence (5:09)
03. Misty Eyes (4:15)
04. Midnight (5:40)
05. Can’t Keep A Good Band Down (3:40)
06. Woman Of The World (3:10)
07. Footprints In The Snow (3:56)
08. Can’t Stop Singing (3:15)
09. Make A Little Love (3:24)
10. Confession (2:16)

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David Byron, John Wetton, Ken Hensley, Lee Kerslake, Uriah Heep

Uriah Heep – Return to Fantasy (1975) (@256)

31 Mar 2007

4 comments

(Review from progarchives.com)

The title of course refers to the “Demons and Wizards”/”Magician’s Birthday” period, which had brought Uriah Heep both their best music, and their biggest success to date. It is however is somewhat misleading, as there’s little in the way of wizards, demons, or indeed magicians. What there is however is a good collection of Uriah Heep songs.

With John Wetton on bass in place of Gary Thain, the band had the opportunity to exploit Wetton’s songwriting and vocal skills, but once again it’s Hensley’s songwriting which dominates the album. David Byron is still in fine form vocally, thus Wetton becomes almost a session player, providing bass and only occasional backing vocals.

Apart from the opening title track, side one of the LP contains much the weaker tracks on the album. “Return to fantasy” is a fine piece of faster paced Heep, with a driving rhythm, and pulsating keyboards. The remaining tracks on side one are a bit by-the-numbers Heep, although “Beautiful dream” has some good keyboards.

The second side is more diverse, with a couple of fine ballads allowing Byron to display his more sensitive side. The unaccompanied intro to “Why did you go” is particularly delicate, and would have been a challenge beyond most of Byron’s contemporaries. The final track, “A year or a day” builds superbly from a slow soft start to a climactic conclusion, with lyrical echoes of “The wizard”.

While “Return to Fantasy” is a fine album, it does not consistently meet the enormously high standards the band had set for themselves. There are some excellent moments, but there’s also an apparent lack of ambition at times, with some treading of water in evidence.

Line-up:
- David Byron / lead vocals
- Mick Box / guitars
- Ken Hensley / keyboards, guitars, synthesizer, vocals
- Lee Kerslake / drums, percussion, vocals
- John Wetton / bass, Mellotron, vocals

Track List:
01. Return To Fantasy (5:52)
02. Shady Lady (4:46)
03. Devil’s Daughter (4:48)
04. Beautiful Dream (4:52)
05. Prima Donna (3:11)
06. Your Turn To Remember (4:22)
07. Showdown (4:17)
08. Why Did You Go (3:53)
09. A Year Or A Day (4:22)

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David Byron, John Wetton, Ken Hensley, Lee Kerslake, Uriah Heep

Uriah Heep – Wonderworld (1974) (@256)

30 Mar 2007

(Review from progarchives.com)

With the soon to come sacking and subsequent death of Gary Thain, it seems incredible that this was to be the last album by the line up which has come to be regarded as Uriah Heep’s finest. In fact they only recorded four studio albums together, although the nucleus of the band (Box, Byron, Hensley, and from “Demons and Wizards on Kerslake) recorded more.

“Wonderworld”, Hensley’s name for his dream world where he finds inspiration for many of his songs, continued the slightly softer more melodic approach of its predecessor “Sweet Freedom”. The opening title track is a power ballad, with soft melodic verses and a sweeping chorus; it is reminiscent of “Sunrise” from “The Magician’s birthday”. “The shadows and the wind” has Heep’s most complex ever vocals arrangement, almost Beach Boys like in structure, if not sound. “The Easy road” is one of those lovely soft Hensley ballads, which he appeared to write with Byron’s vocal prowess in mind. It really is a truly moving song.

On side two of the album, “I won’t mind” is a plodding blues, and despite the excellent guitar work, one of the most disappointing Heep tracks of the period. The final track “Dreams” has a melody which sounds very similar to the old single “Windmills of your mind” by Noel Harrison. It’s a very good track though, if slightly lacking in the impact which previous final tracks have had.

In all, “Wonderworld” is another solid album by the classic line up, but the cracks are definitely beginning to show It does lack the knockout punch of other albums by that line up.

Line-up:
- Ken Hensley / organ, guitars & vocals
- David Byron / vocals
- Mick Box / lead guitars
- Gary Thain / bass
- Lee Kerslake / drums

Track List:
01. Wonderworld (4:29)
02. Suicidal Man (3:38)
03. The Shadows And The Wind (4:27)
04. So Tired (3:39)
05. The Easy Road (2:43)
06. Something Or Nothing (2:56)
07. I Won’t Mind (5:59)
08. We Got We (3:39)
09. Dreams (6:10)

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Uriah Heep – Live (1973) (@256)

29 Mar 2007

(Review from progarchives.com)

There are many fine live albums, “Yessongs”, “Made in Japan (Deep Purple)”, “Welcome back my friends” (ELP) etc, but arguably the finest of them all is “Uriah Heep Live 1973″.

Despite numerous well documented problems which meant that it very nearly never happened, everything fell into place for the band for this recording. The line up is the classic one – Box/Byron/Hensley/Kerslake/Thain, with each member of the band attaining top form. There is some doubt as to whether the tracks included here were all taken from the same concert, but there’s no obvious indication that subsequent overdubbing has been undertaken.

There are so many highlights to the album, I could wax lyrical about every track. What is especially pleasing is the way the longer tracks have been developed and reworked, while retaining their identity. “July Morning” has a much more satisfactory ending, with the opening theme returning in place of the fade out. “Gypsy”, a track which changes with every tour, has a superb synthesiser solo from Hensley. “Circle of Hands” is completely transformed from the track on “Demons and Wizards”, the slide guitar which ends the studio version gives way here to a synthesiser solo, which builds majestically, powered on by Kerslake’s frantic drumming, to a euphoric crescendo.

The album closes with the encore rock ‘n’ roll medley. Byron is in his element here, as the band power through the old favourites. Truly a classic live album, which captures the essence of the band perfectly. The double LP came in a programme style sleeve, and sold for the price of a single LP which turned out to be a very effective marketing move.

Line-up:
- David Byron / vocals
- Mick Box / guitar, vocals
- Gary Thain / bass, vocals
- Lee Kerslake / drums, vocals
- Ken Hensley / keyboards, vocals

Track List:
01. Sunrise
02. Sweet Lorraine
03. Traveller In Time
04. Easy Livin’
05. July Morning
06. Tears In My Eyes
07. Gypsy
08. Circle Of Hands
09. Look At Yourself
10. The Magician’s Birthday
11. Love Machine
12. Roll Over Beethoven
13. Blue Suede Shoes
14. Mean Woman Blues
15. Hound Dog
16. At The Hop
17. Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On
18. Blue Suede Shoes

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David Byron, Ken Hensley, Lee Kerslake, Live, Uriah Heep

Uriah Heep – Sweet Freedom (1973) (@256)

28 Mar 2007

(Review from progarchives.com)

The third album by the Byron/Box/Hensley/Kerslake/Thain line up found them moving away from the fantasy theme, but producing what was probably their most melodic album of all. The sleeve was the first clue of the changes as, unlike the previous two albums, Roger Dean was not involved. This was compensated for to some extent by the double fold out, but it still lacks the impact of Dean’s work.

Musically however, the band were still in top form. Hensley dominates the song writing once again, and the tracks generally lean towards his keyboard work, with Box’s lead guitar outings being less frequent. The album includes one of Heep’s most famous works in “Stealin’”, which in many ways is a slightly slowed down version of “Easy Livin’”. The band were as close as they’ve ever come to a world-wide hit single with this track, foiled only by it being banned from radio play because of the reference to “doing the rancher’s daughter”!

The title track is a wonderful power ballad on which Byron interprets Hensley’s sensitive lyrics in a very emotive and effective way. I remember a reviewer at the time described the track as “swimming in organ”. It was intended as a criticism, but while quite correct, is in fact a strong recommendation.

“If I had the time” sees Hensley still in power ballad writing mode, this time using the synthesiser to create the depth of sound. It’s interesting to compare the demo version of this track which first appeared on Hensley’s “From time to time” album with the finished article here. It demonstrates clearly how, while Hensley was the main songwriter, the band as a whole created the finished articles.

“Pilgrim” closes the album in more progressive mode. The track has two distinct sections, separated by a screaming guitar solo from Box. Byron exercises the full range of his vocal capabilities during the track, cumulating in a screamed finale. While the track is truly excellent, it could have been even better. This may be due in part to the fade out ending which seems to imply that the band couldn’t come up with a satisfactory conclusion.

In all, another fine, polished product from the band, which generally finds them moving further away from their “’eavy” beginnings.

Line-up:
- David Byron / vocals
- Ken Hensley / keyboards, guitars and vocals
- Mick Box / guitars
- Lee Kerslake / drums, percussion, vocals
- Gary Thain / bass guitar

Track List:
01. Dreamer (3:41)
02. Stealin’ (4:49)
03. One Day (2:47)
04. Sweet Freedom (6:37)
05. If I Had The Time (5:43)
06. Seven Stars (3:52)
07. Circus (2:44)
08. Pilgrim (7:10)

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Uriah Heep – The Magician's Birthday (1972) (@256)

27 Mar 2007

(Review from progarchives.com)

The second album by the “classic” line up is a natural follow on to the magnificent “Demons and Wizards”. All the elements are still in place, the Roger Dean Sleeve, the fantasy themes, and of course the great music. “Sunrise”, which became the opener for the live set, sets the scene immediately, with Byron’s first appearance being in the form of a controlled scream.

The track are generally short and straight forward, with only the title track having a more complex structure. “The Magician’s Birthday” (track) picks up the fantasy theme, and weaves a tale around the battle between good and evil. This is interrupted by a lengthy guitar solo from Mick Box, accompanied only by Lee Kerslake on drums, and the occasional spooky theme from Hensley’s keyboards. The track climaxes in the battle itself, played out with stereo effects, before Byron ascends to ethereal bliss and fades.

There are softer numbers on the album such as the lovely Hensley ballad “Rain”. Apparently Hensley wanted to make the final chorus much louder and more powerful, but the rest of the band pushed back. He took the opportunity to record his preferred version on his solo album “Proud words on a dusty shelf”.

The tracks are generally marginally less strong than those on “Demons and Wizards” but, “The Magician’s Birthday” is still a superb album with many fine moments.

Line-up:
- Gary Thain / bass guitar
- Lee Kerslake / drums and percussion
- Mick Box / guitars
- Ken Hensley / keyboards, guitars, Moog synthesizer
- David Byron / vocals

Track List:
01. Sunrise (4:04)
02. Spider Woman (2:25)
03. Blind Eye (3:33)
04. Echoes In The Dark (4:48)
05. Rain (3:59)
06. Sweet Lorraine (4:13)
07. Tales (4:09)
08. The Magician’s Birthday (10:23)

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David Byron, Ken Hensley, Lee Kerslake, Sakalli's Pick, Uriah Heep

Uriah Heep – Demons and Wizards (1972) (@256)

26 Mar 2007

7 comments

(Review from progarchives.com)

I must admit to finding it somewhat difficult to write dispassionately about this album, since for the last 30+ years it has been my all time favourite. I do remember however when I first heard it, the one minor criticism I had at the time was that, when compared to the previous “Look at yourself”, there were too few instrumental breaks. That misgiving soon vanished however, and ever since it has taken pride of place in my collection.

This was the first album recorded by the “classic” line up, with Lee Kerslake (drums), and Gary Thain (bass), completing the quintet. Ken Hensley was now fully installed as the main composer with the band, and had just entered his “fantasy” phase. These were the final pieces which would see the band creating it’s finest works.

The album is supremely melodic, and much less “’eavy” than previous albums. The opening track, “The wizard” is an acoustic number, which finds David Byron in his best vocal form. “Easy Livin’” is wonderful three minute burst of driving rock, with everything turned up to 11. The Hammond organ and lead guitar combine with a great bass line from Thain, to provide the basis for this brief masterpiece. “Circle of hands” is similar in structure to “July Morning” from the previous album, with a repeating instrumental conclusion.

The closing two part track “Paradise/The Spell”, is awesome. It is two separate pieces, which happen to combine well together. “Paradise” is a soft acoustic number, on which Byron and Hensley alternate the vocals on the repeating choruses. “The spell” was in many ways a predecessor for Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody”. It has a complex structure with a multitude of vocal styles, and time changes a plenty. The centre point is a choral backed slide guitar solo by Hensley, which on its own would have made an excellent single in the “Sylvia” (Focus) vein. It sends shivers up my spine every time I hear it.

Had the other tracks appeared on any other album, I would have been listing them individually with glowing praise. I’m sure you get the message though, this album is the pinnacle, a work of pure genius.

Line-up:
- Gary Train / bass guitar (except Mark Clarke on ‘The Wizard’)
- Lee Kerslake / drums and percussion
- Mick Box / guitars
- Ken Hensley / keyboards, guitars, percussion
- David Byron / vocals

Track List:
01. The Wizard (2:59)
02. Traveller In Time (3:26)
03. Easy Livin’ (2:36)
04. Poet’s Justice (4:14)
05. Circle Of Hands (6:34)
06. Rainbow demon (4:30)
07. All My Life (2:46)
08. Paradise (5:15)
09. The Spell (7:26)

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Uriah Heep – Salisbury (1971) (@256)

26 Mar 2007

(Review from progarchives.com)

Uriah Heep’s second album took its name from a town in England. Apparently the audience at a Uriah Heep gig there helped out when the band found themselves in a tight spot and this, or more precisely the title track, was their reward. Salisbury Plain nearby is used for army exercises, hence the tank (about to symbolically destroy a flower) on the sleeve.

The album was a natural but defined progression from “Very ‘eavy, very ‘umble”, with greater emphasis on melody and refinement. This was in part due to Ken Hensley having a much greater involvement in song-writing duties, something he would come to dominate on future albums. His poem “The Park” which became the album’s second track, has Byron singing falsetto. It’s a song about as far away from the metal image of the band as you could find. Hensley takes lead vocal on “Lady in Black”, an acoustic guitar driven chant-based track, which became their biggest hit in some countries.

The stand out track is the 16 minute title epic, which is quite different from anything else the band has done. This difference is mainly down to the addition of orchestral backing (the band appear to have conflicting recollections as to whether they actually recorded with the orchestra or whether those parts were added later). The track has a far more complex and progressive structure than the vast majority of the band?s work. Mick Box is truly inspired on the three improvised guitar solos had adds, and Byron’s vocal timing is immaculate throughout. This really is one of Uriah Heep’s best pieces on any album.

The risk with having such a dominant piece on an album is that the remaining tracks are overshadowed. The lasting appeal of “Salisbury” is that the tracks are strong throughout, with the title track providing a wonderful climax.

Line-up:
- David Byron / lead vocals
- Ken Hensley / organ, piano, slide & acoustic guitars, harpshicord, vibes and vocals
- Mick Box / lead guitar, acoustic guitar, vocals
- Paul Newton / bass guitar, vocals
- Keith Baker / drums
with
- John Fiddy / brass and woodmind on “Salisbury”

Track List:
01. Bird Of Prey (4:05)
02. The Park (5:38)
03. Time To Live (4:02)
04. Lady In Black (4:33)
05. High Priestess (3:39)
06. Salisbury (16:02)

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David Byron, Ken Hensley, Uriah Heep

Uriah Heep – Very 'eavy… Very 'umble (1970) (@256)

25 Mar 2007

(Review from progarchives.com)

This is where it all started for Uriah Heep. The band’s transition from their previous incarnation as “Spice” was more than just a name change, with this album they became a formidable act. The nucleus of the band (Byron and Box joined by Hensley) was already in place, although the rhythm section still had a number of changes to come before the “classic” line up was completed. With Hensley only having recently joined the band, his song writing is much less in evidence than on future albums.

The group name is taken from a Dickens character, and the “‘umble” in the album’s title reflects his self declared personality. The “‘eavy” reference is of course related to the music, but is a bit misleading. The band?s music does indeed often have a dominant rhythm section, but it is highly melodic, and every album has a variety of loud rock and soft ballads. Most tracks are based around the (predominantly organ) keyboards of Ken Hensley, the great rock voice of David Byron, and the distinctive guitar sound of Mick Box.

The opening track, “Gypsy” is indeed ‘heavy’, with a driving Hammond organ, a thumping beat, and an early burst of Mick Box’s famous wah wah guitar soloing. There are however several decidedly softer moments. “Come Away Melinda” (also recorded by Ufo) is one of the very few covers the band has done. Their interpretation is quite stunning, with David Byron adopting various vocal sounds to distinguish between the two characters in the song. It’s a beautiful, haunting number, with a peaceful message. “Wake up (set your sights)” also has a lovely soft conclusion which follows an almost jazz like opening section.

“Lucy blues” sounds somewhat out of place on the album, and in fact was omitted from the US release (called “Uriah Heep”), being a straight forward blues number, pleasant but hardly essential. The remaining numbers are indeed generally ‘eavy with tracks like “I’ll keep on trying” and “Dreammare” (a dream and a nightmare, get it?!) setting out the band’s stall for future albums perfectly.

There is better to come from the band, but this is a high quality first offering, with some excellent tracks.

Line-up:
- David Byron / lead vocals
- Ken Hensley / organ, slide guitar, Mellotron, piano and vocals
- Mick Box / lead guitar, acoustic guitar, vocals
- Paul Newton / bass guitar, vocals
- Ollie Olsson / drums, percussion

Track List:
01. Gypsy (6:37)
02. Walking In Your Shadow (4:31)
03. Come Away Melinda (3:46)
04. Lucy Blues (5:09)
05. Dreammare (4:39)
06. Real Turned On (3:37)
07. I’ll Keep On trying (5:24)
08. Wake Up (Set Your Sights) (6:22)

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David Byron, Ken Hensley, Uriah Heep

Uriah Heep – Look at Yourself (1971) (@256)

23 Feb 2007

(Review from progarchives.com)

Uriah Heep is probably one of the most underrated bands in history and “Look at Yourself” is their most underrated album, it’s true that the force of nature called Lee Kerslake and one of the best bass players in history (Gary Thain) hadn’t still joined the band, but Uriah Heep was doing progressive rock with the pioneers of the genre, and incredibly they could be catalogued as progressive metal 18 years before Dream Theater was even formed. But still some progressive people refuse to take them seriously, that’s something I will never understand.

The third album from Uriah Heep sees them taking further giant steps forward. The rhythm section is still in a state of turmoil, but the nucleus of Box/Byron/Hensley have found a solid direction, and are approaching the pinnacle of their combined creativity.

The title track has become one of the band’s most enduring pieces, a solid five minute chunk of loud, infectious rock, with a wall of sound, and a breathtaking pace. The instrumental breaks are quite stunning, with Box in particular in fine form. Towards the end of the track, Bronze label-mates Osibisa add additional percussion as it increases pace before reaching a climactic conclusion. I only discovered recently, that the lead vocals on the track are performed by Ken Hensley, not David Byron, although the latter always took the lead when the song was performed live. Quite why this happened is puzzling, as the overall sound is very much as if Byron himself was singing as usual.

The album includes the epic “July Morning”, with its majestic prog sound, and superb structure. The track alternates between soft and loud passages, and includes a wonderful Hammond solo followed by Byron reaching ever higher with his piercing screams. The main instrumental theme which closes the track is basically simple, but transformed by a guest appearance from Manfred Mann on synthesiser. While Hensley would later master this instrument himself, they were still somewhat rare at the time, giving the track a very progressive feel in the early 70’s. A truly magnificent piece of music.

The rest of the tracks are all very strong, including the melodic ballad “What should be done”, and the twin guitar lead on “Tears in my eyes”. With this album, the Uriah Heep “sound” was firmly established. The tracks have great power, while strong melodies are still very much the priority.

Line-up:
- Ken Hensley / organ, piano, guitar, acoustic guitar & vocal
- Mick Box / lead guitar & acoustic guitar
- David Byron / lead vocal
- Paul Newton / bass guitar
- Ian Clarke / drums

Track List:
01. Look At Yourself (5:07)
02. I Wanna Be Free (3:59)
03. July Morning (10:36)
04. Tears In My Eyes (5:02)
05. Shadows Of Grief (8:40)
06. What Should Be Done (4:13)
07. Love Machine (3:37)

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