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.