Echoes in the dark (Uriah Heep) (LP 4756 - 4767)

Uriah Heep  ...Very 'Eavy...Very 'Umble (Vinyl, Bronze and Vertigo Records, 1970) ****  

Uriah Heep  Salisbury (Vinyl, Bronze Records, 1971) ***  

Uriah Heep  Look at Yourself (Vinyl, Bronze Records, 1971) *****

Uriah Heep  Demons and Wizards (Vinyl, Bronze Records, 1972, 2015 reissue) *****  

Uriah Heep  The Magician's Birthday (Vinyl, Mercury Records, 1972) ***   

Uriah Heep  Uriah Heep Live (Vinyl, Mercury Records, 1973) ****  

Uriah Heep  Sweet Freedom (Vinyl, Warner Bros. Records, 1973) *** 

Uriah Heep  Downunda (Vinyl, Bronze Records, 1974) *** 

Uriah Heep  Wonderworld (Vinyl, Bronze Records, 1974) *** 

Uriah Heep  Return to Fantasy (Vinyl, Bronze Records, 1975) ****

Uriah Heep  Live in Europe 1979 (Vinyl, Raw Power Records, 1986) **  

Uriah Heep  Fallen Angel (Vinyl, Chrysalis Records, 1978) ***  

Genre: Hard rock, Heavy Metal, Prog rock 

Places I remember: RCA Record Club, Real Groovy Records, JB Hi Fi, Chaldon Books and Records

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Easy Livin (Demons and Wizards)

Gear costume: July Morning (Live)

They loom large in his legend (The Album Collection playlists): Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4; Part 5; Part 6; Part 7; Part 8

Active compensatory factors: Uriah Heep was one of the bands that sound tracked my teenage years. ...Very 'Eavy ...Very 'Umble was their debut album and one of my earliest possessions in 1970. For a time, it was a permanent fixture on my Garrard SP 25 Mk III turntable. Whenever I hear Gypsy I'm immediately back in my bedroom at 18 Korma Ave., in Auckland, playing music my parents hated. As it should be.

At this point the band used a dual organ/guitar attack strategy thanks to Ken Hensley and Mick Box. David Byron added his distinctive vocals and the heavy/weird sound that they conjured up hooked me big time.

Funnily enough, listening to the whole album again now, what strikes me is how varied in style and polite it is. At the time this felt like the most radical music ever! There are songs that have a blues approach, at least one song with a very jazzy feel, a hard rock guitar song and Gypsy - which is amazing, but not typical of their sound.

Their marriage of hard rock with progressive rock would become a feature of their next albums.

In 1970/1971, I bypassed their second album, Salisbury, and third album Look at Yourself. Money is tight when you are 12/13, and those two years were filled with some amazing music. So, I looked away (until Demons and Wizards) and came to these albums later in life.

Salisbury sees the band heading into prog rock territory with the 16-minute title track. Ken Hensley in his sleeve notes called this 'our first trip into large-scale composing', with brass and woodwind being used alongside the electric band. There's plenty of experimentation elsewhere as well with the folky Lady in Black.

Look at Yourself again has some excellent moments - the epic July Morning is awesome, and the title track should have been the hit single. The sound is a lot bigger and much more in yer face than the three preceding albums. There aren't any weak songs on this, their first five-star effort.

Playing July Morning LOUD is warmly recommended. Those organ/bass/drum riffs are superb and when David Byron's terrific vocals take over it produces a peak Uriah Heep moment. 

The second Uriah Heep album that I bought after ...Very 'Eavy...Very 'Umble was Demons and Wizards in 1972. The impetus was the single Easy Livin which was immense. That and the Roger Dean sleeve made the album a must have at the time. 

The bonus was new bass recruit, Gary Thain, a Kiwi, who had now joined the band along with drummer Lee Kerslake. Gary had a very melodic bass style which added a lot to the band's sound. Tragically he would die from a heroin overdose in 1975 after leaving the band.

The sword and sorcery, prog aspects of the album cover and the title weren't translated onto the songs necessarily beyond The Wizard, and Rainbow Demon which lead off each side. Instead, as Hensley says in his customary sleeve notes, 'it's just a collection of our songs we had a good time recording'.

My attention was again diverted after Demons and Wizards so, bizarrely, I missed The Magician's Birthday, their second album of 1972. These guys worked hard - touring and producing two albums a year for three years in a row. I've always loved the cover so it is weird I didn't buy a copy until many years later. Maybe I'd read some reviews and it didn't have the freshness of Demons and Wizards. It sounds pretty good in 2026, but not up there with the band's best albums.

I did buy Live back in 1973 and loved it! What's not to love? 'Fridee night in Birmingham' - that sounded so exotic to a teenager in suburban Auckland. Listening to the album allowed me to indulge my fantasies.

It's a terrific double live album recorded in January 1973, which like all the best double live albums, puts you in the centre of the audience. David Byron's stage announcements are a hoot, too. From his 'Fridee night in Birmingham', to the mention of the chewing gum on his boot to the Gypsy intro where he says it features 'the Moog simplifier (sic)'!

The only blemish is the padded out Gypsy, but the excellent version of July Morning makes up for it. The extended rock'n'roll medley as an encore is a lot of fun too.

I lost track of Uriah Heep again after Live, so I'm late to the party with the rest of their catalogue, starting with Sweet Freedom. Stealin' was a hit off the album. The rest of the album sounds like the band are at times moving towards new territories while trying to hang on to what makes them Uriah Heep. It feels like a transitional record.

Downunda is a double compilation album to commemorate their Australian tour of 1974. The sound quality varies on this pressing for some reason. Bizarrely, a NZ pressing of it (which this is) seems to be worth around $100 according to Discogs.

The next studio album, Wonderworld, was the last to feature Gary Thain on bass. It continues the transitional phase from Sweet Freedom and has the same experimental approach while retaining Uriah Heep's patented organ/guitar sound. Highlights would be So Tired. and Something or Nothing.

Return to Fantasy is a bit of a misnomer as it doesn't return to Demons and Wizards territory. Although it does employ synths, it does continue the best bits of Wonderworld and Sweet Freedom with new bassist John Wetton. That means it works the same rock moves of those albums but with a bit more conviction and a harder edge overall. As such it's a welcome return to form.

Live in Europe 1979 came out in the mid-eighties. No, I'm not sure why either. Nevertheless, it exists. Given I loved their live in 1973 album I thought it was worth a punt. If you can adjust to the fact a new vocalist (John Lawton) has replaced David Byron, then it's a sprint through the old songs. If not (and I struggle) it sounds slightly off and a bit of a grind.

That does introduce a new problem for the band, any band actually. As they age older members get replaced and the band morphs into a different beast. Ultimately, I guess, they run the risk of becoming their own tribute band.

Fallen Angel is the only studio album I have with the non-Byron version of the band. John Lawton is again the vocalist and this is actually his last album with the band. Box/ Hensley/ Kerslake are still there, and Trevor Bolder is on bass.

I didn't have high hopes but it's not too bad, as it happens. Lawton still suffers a little in comparison to Byron, it must be said, but the music is pretty damn good. When I think about Black Sabbath - I can only think Ozzy; Led Zeppelin - Robert Plant; Yes - Jon Anderson; Deep Purple - Gillan. You get the idea, I'm sure. Those singers are synonymous with the band. Uriah Heep are no different. Those classic early albums have Byron's distinctive howl all over them, for good or for bad, and that's how I like my Uriah Heep.

Where do they all belong? No plans to buy any of the other albums out there. I'll stick with the classic lineup.

Guilty pleasure (Unknown Mortal Orchestra) (LP 4754 - 4755)

Unknown Mortal Orchestra II (Vinyl, JagJaguar Records, 2013) ****  

Unknown Mortal Orchestra V (Vinyl, JagJaguar Records, 2023) **** 

Genre: Indie rock, psychedelic rock, NZ music 

Places I remember: JB Hi Fi

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Meshuggah (V)

Gear costume: Swim and Sleep (like a shark) (II)

They loom large in his legend (The Album Collection playlists): Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4; Part 5; Part 6; Part 7; Part 8

Active compensatory factors: Unknown Mortal Orchestra is the brainchild of multi-instrumentalist Ruban Nielson. Initially from Auckland, he and the band are now based in Portland, Oregon. 

On II he plays with two of his brothers and sundry others. The music is hard to categorise as he likes prog, psychedelic, dream pop and indie rock structures. II is more experimental than V, which feels more commercial (but not by much).

He, and the band, are exciting because they take plenty of risks and they mostly pay off. He's a true talent.

Where do they all belong? I'm keen to track down his/their other albums. I was lucky to pick these two up in a JB Hi Fi clearance sale.

Oh my (UFO) (LP 4746 - 4753)

UFO  Phenomenon (CD, Chrysalis Records, 1974) ***  

UFO  Force It (CD, Chrysalis Records, 1975) *** 

UFO  No Heavy Petting (CD, Chrysalis Records, 1976) *** 

UFO  Lights Out (CD, Chrysalis Records, 1977) *** 

UFO  Obsession (CD, Chrysalis Records, 1978) *** 

UFO  Strangers in the Night (CD, Chrysalis Records, 1979) **** 

UFO  No Place to Run (Vinyl, Chrysalis Records, 1980) *** 

UFO  Mechanix (Vinyl, Chrysalis Records, 1982) ****

Genre: Hard rock

Places I remember: HMV

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Doctor Doctor (Strangers in the Night)

Gear costume: Rock Bottom (Phenomenon); Let it Rain, Somethin' Else (Mechanix)

They loom large in his legend (The Album Collection playlists): Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4; Part 5; Part 6; Part 7; Part 8

Active compensatory factors: UFO are a hard rock band from the seventies who had three big things going for them on Phenomenon - their third album: Phil Mogg's superb vocals; axe hero Michael Schenker (fresh from Scorpions); and producer Leo Lyons from fellow Chrysalis band, Ten Years After. He knows blues rock territory.

While Phenomenon is yet to harness the power of the new UFO completely, the album has some great moments - principally Doctor Doctor and Rock Bottom. Both would become regular additions to the setlist from then on.

Force It, again superbly produced by Leo Lyons, was where the classic UFO started to take full flight. That said, I'm not a huge fan of this and the next couple of albums. Moog sings great and Schenker shreds with aplomb - it's just that the songs aren't as strong as they should, could, would be later on. The highlights on the album are Let It Roll, the lead off song, and Shoot Shoot.

No Heavy Petting was the last album produced by Leo Lyons and it's quite similar to Force It in its approach. The songs aren't even as strong as they were on that album so No Heavy Petting is something of a disappointment, even though the Hipgnosis team contributed an excellent cover.

Lights Out was produced by Ron Nevison and was a slight step forward, while sounding distinctly like the UFO of the previous few albums. 

Love to Love is the last song on the album, and for me it's a clear highlight. The misstep is the cover of Love's Alone Again Or. What's the point of a close cover like this?

Obsession was Michael Schenker's last studio album on lead guitar. No doubt, he is a great guitarist but his tone isn't a particularly warm one so I'm not a huge fan as it happens. His impressive lightning leads are often shrill and harsh to my ears.

Overall, the album hits hard (like Lights Out and indeed all of these albums) but it also takes a lead from Love to Love to experiment a bit, even including strings and piano on the ballad Lookin' Out For No. 1.

The live album, Strangers in the Night, is a great summary of the band's strengths with Michael Schenker. The set captures the band at its peak. The sound is superb and the band are tight as. The highlights are many with definitive versions of songs like Doctor Doctor, Rock Bottom, Shoot Shoot, Let It Roll and Lights Out.

No Place to Run was the first album with new guitar ace - Paul Chapman. My other reason for owning a copy is the producer who happened to be George Martin! Sadly, I have to report that even his genius can't lift the album beyond some generic hard rock moves. Standout track would be their version of Mystery Train.

Mechanix, however, is another story. I love this album, mainly because it was the first UFO album I heard. For some reason their seventies output had passed me by. Secondly, the songs are great. Highlights are The Writer, Somethin' Else, We Belong to the Night, Let it Rain, and Terri - a fantastic power ballad.

Where do they all belong? The hard rock genre is much maligned these days and not my go-to anymore, but listening to UFO still gives me pleasure.

Flip flop and fly (Big Joe Turner) (LP 4745)

Big Joe Turner Roll 'Em Pete (CD, MCPS Records, 2007) ****  

Genre: Pop 

Places I remember: The Warehouse

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Roll 'Em Pete

Gear costume: Flip Flop and Fly

They loom large in his legend (The Album Collection playlists): Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4; Part 5; Part 6; Part 7; Part 8

Active compensatory factors: Roll 'Em Pete is an amazing piece of music. Pete Johnson is an incredibly gifted boogie woogie piano player and when that is joined with Big Joe Turner's blues shouter delivery, it makes for a spine-tingling moment.

According to Paul Oliver, Roll 'Em Pete "features spectacular piano playing by Johnson and a forceful vocal by Turner in the style he made famous - half-shouted and with repetitive phrases building up tension at the close." Bravo!

Roll 'Em Pete is the first of 14 songs on this compilation. There are stacks of budget compilations out there with varying degrees of quality. Given that these songs appeared originally on 78s that's not surprising, I guess. This album is a cut above others I've had over the years.

Where do they all belong? There is only one Big Joe Turner and every home should have one album by him. I'd warmly recommend this one.

Great romantic (Tunde) (LP 4744)

Tunde  Tunde (CD, RCA Records, 2004) ***  

Genre: Soul, pop

Places I remember: The Warehouse

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Passing the Hours (on YouTube)

Gear costume: Great Romantic (on YouTube)

They loom large in his legend (The Album Collection playlists): Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4; Part 5; Part 6; Part 7; Part 8

Active compensatory factors: Tunde Baiyewu's vocals in The Lighthouse Family are superb and he and Paul Tucker make a very successful duo. Unfortunately, when he's without Tucker he struggles a bit to be distinctive.

The songs on his debut album, Tunde, are pleasant and quietly effective but lack that x factor to make them truly memorable. I bought the album on the back of his albums with Tucker, but haven't bothered to look for more of his work away from The Lighthouse Family.

Where do they all belong? The Lighthouse Family are the place to go. My reviews are here.

What it is (B.L.T.) (LP 4741 - 4743)

Bruce, Lordan, Trower   B.L.T. (Vinyl and CD, Chrysalis Records, 1981) *****  

Jack Bruce & Robin Trower Truce (CD, Chrysalis Records, 1982) *****  

Jack Bruce & Robin Trower   Seven Moons (Vinyl, V12 Records, 2007) ****

Jack Bruce & Robin Trower   Seven Moons Live (CD, Ruf Records, 2009) ****

Genre: Blues rock, rock

Places I remember: Sister Ray Records (London), Chaldon Books and Records, FOPP 

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Come To Me (Seven Moons)

Gear costume: Into Money (BLT) 

They loom large in his legend (The Album Collection playlists): Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4; Part 5; Part 6; Part 7; Part 8

Active compensatory factors:  The collaborations with Jack Bruce are really special in the Robin Trower catalogue. Jack brings plenty to the party - not only his patented fluid basslines but his distinctive vocals. That makes for a special combination.

B.L.T. was the first album of four and I was amazed to discover that only one of the songs was written by Jack. Instead, Trower and Keith Reid conjure up songs that suit Jack down to a T.

The variety of styles suitably allows the three to showcase their brilliance. B.L.T. may have been a one off (the last album with Lordan) but it's a classic one off. Jack really suits the power trio situation - Cream, West Bruce & Laing and now this one.

Truce is more of the same with Jack more involved in the songwriting this time - four songs come from the Bruce/Brown team. Reg Isidor returns to the drum stool for this one. It's another classic 5-star effort!

Seven Moons sees these aging rock gods in their element - relaxed, confident, and melodically superb. All but one of the songs are written by Jack and Robin (Just Another Day is by Bruce/Trower/Watts) and that helps create cohesion, although I'm not sure who the lyricist is on these songs.

The lucky drummer who gets to sit in with these legends is the multi-talented Gary Husband.

I've already written about Seven Moons Live while covering it in my Jack Bruce section, so it's not included in the count again. You can read my review here.

Where do they all belong? Robin Trower has a lengthy live catalogue which I'm sure I'll find in my searches.

About to begin (Robin Trower) (LP 4733 - 4740)

Robin Trower  Twice Removed From Yesterday (CD, Chrysalis Records, 1973) ***  

Robin Trower  Bridge of Sighs (Vinyl and CD, Chrysalis Records, 1974) ***** 

Robin Trower  For Earth Below (CD, Chrysalis Records, 1975) *** 

Robin Trower  Long Misty Days (CD, Chrysalis Records, 1976) ****

Robin Trower  In City Dreams (Vinyl and CD, Chrysalis Records, 1977) *** 

Robin Trower  Caravan to Midnight (CD, Chrysalis Records, 1978) ****

Robin Trower  Victims of the Fury (Vinyl and CD, Chrysalis Records, 1980) ***** 

Robin Trower  Back It Up (CD, Chrysalis Records, 1983) *** 

Robin Trower  Live! (Vinyl, Chrysalis Records, 1975) ***** 

Genre: Rock, Blues rock, Hard rock

Places I remember: Sister Ray Records in London for the CDs, Real Groovy Records, Marbecks Records (Victims of the Fury).

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Victims of the Fury

Gear costume: Day of the Eagle (Bridge of Sighs)

They loom large in his legend (The Album Collection playlists): Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4; Part 5; Part 6; Part 7; Part 8

Active compensatory factors: This and the following post answers the musical question: What did Robin Trower do after he left Procol Harum?

The man goes back a long ways, starting with Procol Harum in 1967 (you can read my PH reviews here) and he's still at it! In 1971, driven by a desire to forge a new path, RT took his leave and picked up his Fender Stratocaster to relaunch himself as a guitar god.

Twice Removed From Yesterday was the appropriate album title to launch his new sound - a bluesy Hendrixian style that is still all Robin Trower. This is a very different sound to the prog rock guitar style he used in Procol Harum, which was always going to be keyboard driven thanks to the brilliant Gary Brooker. 

He is joined in this new (for him) power trio format by Jim Dewar on bass and vocals and Reg Isidor on drums. Right from the off, it's a magic combination, particularly the Dewar/Trower one (drummers would come and go). Robin's melodic guitar playing makes him the standout star, but Jim's vocals and muscley bass are a perfect foil. 

Second album, Bridge of Sighs, is where the real deal starts after the debut, but I've already written about it in this blog (here), so I won't include it again in the numerical countdown. Suffice to say it's a superb album that never puts a foot wrong. The album also includes the mighty Too Rolling Stoned, which I also have as a single, reviewed here.

For Earth Below was his third solo album in three years. It continued the high quality of those earlier ones, while also delving deeper into the bluesy edge to Robin's playing. It's good, but without the standout songs that populated Bridge of Sighs.

Next up was Long Misty Days in 1976. American drummer Bill Lordan had replaced Isidor for the previous album and he'd be a mainstay until 1981. The trio crank out an excellent set of melodic rock songs on Long Misty Days. Highlights are the title track, and Caledonia.

There was a slight change in style from In City Dreams in that a more varied pop/rock stance was undertaken. For this purpose Robin brought in a different bass player with a funkier shade to his playing. In the main, this evolution works but the songs overall weren't as strong as on Long Misty Days.

Caravan to Midnight continued in this vein (again with Rustee Allen on bass) and it feels better to me. In fact, this album is one of my favourites. 

The songs have a funkier fluidity thanks to those basslines. It's definitely a departure from those earlier hard rock albums and as it proved, it was relatively short lived as the band returned to that style for 1980's Victims of the Fury. What a mighty return it is too. I can remember listening to it in Marbecks (where I had a holiday job) and being floored by the power and grace in the songs and how they are played.

As it happened it was the last to feature the Trower/ Dewar/ Lordan lineup (the trio format being dropped for the next album). 

It's a fitting farewell to Bill Lordan as the drumming is terrific, the songs are great, the playing is great, and the production great (helped by the presence of Geoff Emerick - Beatles' engineer who was also there for Caravans to Midnight). For me, every song is top notch but that could be because I've played this album an awful lot over the years. So, I have a definite preference for it over other albums (apart from Bridge of Sighs).

It had been an album a year since 1973 until 1980 which is mightily impressive. Robin's next move was to get together with Jack Bruce and Bill Lordan for a couple of albums. I'll address these in a separate post as it's a tangent to the Robin Trower solo albums.

He reconvened with Dewar in 1983 for Back It Up - his last album for Chrysalis. Robin still plays some superb guitar but the album isn't as strong as Victims. As AllMusic said: the songwriting had been reduced to pedestrian hard rock, with only occasional flashes of the old cosmic brilliance.

It's after Victims of the Fury that I lost touch with Robin Trower. I'd gone teaching, met my wife and we started having babies in the eighties. Sadly, I didn't have the time or energy to keep up to date with a lot of music during that decade.

The Live! album comes from a concert in Sweden in 1975. It's a cracker of an album - showing that the boys could deliver the goods in a live setting as well as in the studio. As AllMusic correctly states, the album highlights 'not only Trower's virtuoso Stratocaster licks, but the soulful vocals of bassist James Dewar and the polyrhythmic drumming of Bill Lordan'.

Where do they all belong? Next up - The Robin Trower/ Jack Bruce albums.