Customer Reviews

Classic Heep: Anthology

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I think that when reviewing any anthology of an artist's work -- especially an artist that's been around a while -- one should focus on what the producers decided to include, or not include, the production values, mixes and packaging, but not necessarily the music itself. After all, it stands to reason that if one is considering purchasing an anthology (particularly if it's a pricey multi-disc collection), one is already a fan of the band in question. You already know what the music sounds like.

Such is the case with Uriah Heep and me. The Heep was probably the first rock 'n' roll band I became obsessed with as a kid. One listen to "Look At Yourself" and I was hooked. The one-two punch of "Demons & Wizards" and "The Magician's Birthday" followed and I was officially a total convert (a Heep Head?). I even went back and purchased the first two LPs. Eventually, I had every Heep record on vinyl from 1970-1982.

However, times and tastes change. Lead vocalist David Byron was fired in 1976 and replaced by John Lawton. A couple years prior to that, Gary Thain -- one of the GREATEST bass players in the history of rock -- passed away. He was replaced by John Wetton (King Crimson), who was later replaced by Trevor Boulder (Spiders From Mars). With Byron and Thain gone, and soon there after Ken Hensley, the group's primary songwriter and keyboardist, leaving too, Uriah Heep no longer held its charm for me. The band lives on today with a couple of original members, and though I wish them all the luck in the world, it's not the same.

This anthology summarizes Uriah Heep's first nine albums -- the David Byron years. It is these records that made Heep's reputation -- for good or ill -- and truly defined their sound. As a longtime fan of this era of the band's career, this anthology was the perfect solution for me to have some classic David Byron Uriah Heep in my collection without having to go out and re-buy the first nine albums in CD form. That would be costly.

The collection is somewhat lopsided toward the band's first few albums and, for my taste, maybe there's a little too much here from "Very 'Eavy, Very 'Umble" and "Salisbury." While songs like "Gypsy" and "Lady In Black" are requisite inclusions, I could have lived without "I'll Keep On Trying," "Bird of Prey," or "The Park." Not these are bad songs... no, no, no. It's simply that these songs are included at the expense of others later in the band's career.

For example, "Stealin'" and "Sweet Freedom" are included from "Sweet Freedom," but it would have been nice to also have the epic "Pilgrim" from that release. The album "Wonderworld" -- a personal favorite -- is somewhat under-represented here. Thank goodness, the title track is included. Unfortunately, the only other "Wonderworld" track here is "The Easy Road," a somewhat overly maudlin piano ballad that pales dramatically when compared to "Rain" from "The Magician's Birthday." The best tracks from the "Wonderworld" LP are missing: "So Tired," "I Won't Mind," and "Suicidal Man." (I'm going to have to buy "Wonderworld" now!)

One the positive side, only the title track from "Return To Fantasy" is included here. It's just an okay song, but definitely the best from that album. Even Hensley admits as much in the liner notes. The band hadn't quite recovered from the death of Gary Thain while recording this. Consequently, "Return to Fantasy" is a cloying hodgepodge of experiments gone terribly wrong.

Also on the positive side is the inclusion of two tunes from the vastly underrated "High and Mighty" -- Byron's last album as a Heepster. Representing this lost gem are the elegant "Footprints in the Snow," with Byron never sounding better, and "Weep In Silence," which spotlights some of the finest guitar work Mick Box has ever put on tape. He shreds on this track, folks. Check it.

Of course, just about everything from "Demons" and "Magician's" is included here -- as it should be. Those albums defined the band and brought them their American audience. I also almost consider those two to be one big record -- they were similar in theme (good using love to triumph over evil) and released very close to one another. Both share very cool Roger Dean artwork on their covers.

One thing about the critics -- both professional and amateur: They've never liked Uriah Heep. No wait. That's an understatement. They HATED Uriah Heep. I've read reviews over the years that said things like "Makes a good Frisbee," or "I want to poke out my eyes and stick my fingers into my brain so I don't have to listen to any more Uriah Heep." One review of "Wonderworld" (in Circus magazine) simply said, "The more you listen, the more you wonder."

Well, to each his own and if you don't "get it" then you don't "get it." Fine with me. But I never understood the vitriol with which this band is smeared. Even a couple of the reviews here are just downright mean and nasty. You know darn well these particular reviewers never bought this anthology. (Again, why would one buy a greatest hits package from a band you a) never heard of or b) already hated?) Nope, they just wanted an opportunity to take another cheap shot at the Heep. Kind of sad, really.

Anyway... if you were a fan of the classic days of Uriah Heep, this is a great, great anthology. Like me, you should have a ball spending hours listening to these great, thundering ol' tunes and leafing through Ken Hensley's interesting, insightful liner notes. Buy it and "let the party carry on!"

They are the greatest under rated band around. They had so many great songs, yet two only made it to the radio in the 70's which were Easy Livin and Sunrise. Ken Hensly is an awesome keyboard player and great vocals. My favorite songs in order are: 1)Easy Livin 2)Lady in Black 3)The Park 4)all the rest! A must buy album for rock n roll!

The title of this cd could be the David Byron Years Anthology 1969-76. The late David Byron was the lead singer of Uriah Heep until 1977 when he was replaced by John Lawton of Lucifer's Friend. This band has been knocked by critics throughout their career but the music on this anthology is good. It is progressive rock somewhat similar to Deep Purple. The lynch pins of the band during this period aside from Byron were keyboardist/guitarist Kenny Hensley who later joined Blackfoot and guitarist Mick Box. This 2 cd anthology contains all the tracks which were on the old lp "The Best of Uriah Heep" However this remastered 2 cd anthology contains many other album favorites from this period such as "Traveller In Time", "Circle Of Hands", "Rainbow Demon", "Blind Eye" and "The Magicians Birthday". Among the interesting cuts included is the non-lp single b-side "Why". This anthology contains their two biggest hits to this point "Easy Livin'" and "Stealin'". Concentrating on their "classic" period when the band also contained the late Gary Thain on bass and Lee Kerslake later of the Ozzy Osbourne Band on drums is a plus. This line-up produced their best albums. Fans of great organ and keyboard playing will especially enjoy this set. Kenny Hensley is an underrated keyboardist and songwriter. Just listen to "July Morning" or "Sunrise" among others to hear him at his peak. The last part of the second disc features the band after John Wetton was added on bass. The sound is excellent and the song selection is lot better than the skimpy "Best Of" album. However I might have chosen a few tracks such as "Seven Stars", "Something Or Nothing" , "So Tired" or "I Won't Mind" which were featured in their live sets instead of some of cuts from their earliest period or the later albums with John Wetton. All in all though this is a great introduction for the budget minded to a classic progressive hard rock band.

I GREW UP IN THE 60'S AND 70'S. FIRST IT WAS THE BEATLES,AND THEN THE GUESS WHO. I THOUGHT I HAD A CLUE ON WHAT WAS ROCK AND ROLL. EVERYONE WAS LISTENING TO BANDS LIKE 3 DOG NIGHT, LED ZEPPLIN, AND ALICE COOPER. I THOUGHT THESE BANDS WERE GREAT!! BUT I DIDN'T FEEL THEM TO BE A PART OF MY SOUL... THEN ONE DAY MY SISTERS BOY FRIEND TURNED ME ON TO URIAH HEEP. IT WAS THE WONDER WORLD LP I FELL IN LOVE WITH THEM RIGHT AWAY. I WENT OUT THE NEXT DAY AND PICKED UP EVERY LP THEY HAD. THAT WAS BACK IN 1974. I HAVE REMAINED LOYAL TO THIS DAY. IF YOU HAVE NEVER SAT BACK WITH HEAD PHONES AND LISTEN TO KEN HENSLEY JAM ON HIS HAMMOND, OR LISTEN TO DAVID BYRON SING HIS HAERT OUT ON JULY MORNING...THEN DO SO NOW!! YOU WILL THANK YOUR SELF FOR IT. URIAH HEEP SHOULD BE INDUCTED TO THE ROCK & ROLL HALL OF FAME!!! THEY WILL LIVE IN MY HEART FOREVER.

A few weeks ago, Saturday night, my wife went to bed and I told her that I wanted to have a look at some of the old LP's in my collection. I took out the Heep album's I hadn't listened to for a long time. Have 7 of them. 5 o'clock next morning my wife came down to check on my. I got totally lost in the music and the lyrics. In my youth, when everyone was playing Deep Purple and Zepplin, I went for Uriah Heep and have they lost the charm ? No, No NO. Their music still sounds as sweet as it did back then and even my wife still has a few favourates among them. This is a compilation is a must for those interested in a mixture of good solid rock, usually good lirics and exxellent ballads inbetween. This can not be classified as a metal-rock, it simply isn't. The combination of Ken Hensley and David Baron's voice is gripping and this Anthology collection is an exellent choose from their work. So buy it, highly recommended.

Make no mistake...this was a rock-solid rock quintet, with heart, soul and talent. Thier music touched many facets of human emotion...love, hope, mysticysm, power, humor, and togetherness. All supported by mind blowing musical talent. If you haven't heard Mick Box on Guitar, Ken Hensley on the Moog, David Byron on vocals, Gary Thain on base, and Lee Kerslake on drums, then you have missed some of hard rock's true pioneers. Their incredible run included albums in which EVERY SONG is great, no one or two hit wonder albums. If you can't afford to purchase their classic albums separately ('Demons and Wizards', 'Wonderworld', 'Sweet Freedom', 'Look at Yourself', 'The Magician's Birthday'), then this box set is a great way to experience their majic for yourself. I have been listening to these guys since my first concert over 20 years ago, and enjoy listening to them as much as ever.They will always hold a place in my collection where very few bands reach. Chris Clements - Fan

I love progressive rock, in fact I love guitar driven rock in general. This cd encompasses all of those quality's and more.

Uriah Heep is a band that is both worshiped by some and much maligned by others. They were indeed a unique band with a interesting style back then. Their sound is very 70's for obvious reasons, yet they seem to have been able to expand that sound somewhat with their vision as far as song writing goes. The tunes are all very good and even refreshing some 40 (give or take a few) years later. I just love the sound of those old Hammond organs, nothing sounds like that even with all the new technology today. The texture and good quality tracks that make great Prog rock are all here. It's classic stuff that deserves better treatment by the vast majority of critics.

For the casual Heep fan like myself, it's all the Heep you'll need. Diehard Heep fans probably have most if not all of what this set has to offer, although the liner notes are very cool. I guess in some ways, that alone might be worth picking it up for those who already own their entire cd catalog. It's just an interesting read.

So for those of you looking for a trip back in time by one of musics most misunderstood bands, here you go!

Uriah Heep was one of my absolute favorite bands when I was growing up (the 70's). I first heard them in my next door neighbors 'cool' car stereo (8 track, of course!), and was totally blown away (It was their 'Look at Yourself' album). They had a whole sound of their own - not a derivative sound so many bands in this genre have. The unique, at-times-choral voice of David Byron, the 'eavy keyboard of Hensley, and the wild sounds that Mick Box contributed - way beyond the average rock guitarist...

UH had a neat 'mystery' to their music - and all their songs told a unique little story. Upon re-energizing my interest in UH with this CD, I found a whole new respect for these guys. The music aged very well! I have nearly all the albums this Anthology is made up of, and whoever put it together did a bangup job. As always, there is the odd song I wish were on it - and they could have easily done a 3 or 4 disc box set with all that material - however they chose all the 'prime cuts', and carefully selected the rest without digressing into 'rare tracks' or 'demos'. This is just the perfect amount of UH, and I know I will be listening to it a LOT over the years (unlike some of my box sets that are collecting dust...) This set goes that perfect step further than the 'Best of UH' that came out some years ago to appeal to the more-than-casual fan, however this is the perfect intro for someone who has never heard this great band.

The music? Well, it has a heavy, driving sound (similar to early Deep Purple), while at other times the ballads reflect the 'next generation' of British folk-rock (e.g. Strawbs). And then again, some of it is just traditional, classic hard rock - but NOT metal. Think of a sprinkle of early genesis, a dose of 70's Deep Purple, a touch of Wishbone Ash and an occaisional Sabbath-ish riff here and there - and top it off with a vocalist that breathes life into every song he does...

A great, often overlooked band that deserves a place in the rock hall of fame!

This is the first band to turn the amps to "11".A must have collection for the serious metal head!!!! All the classics are here.

Uriah Heep is one of the greatest bands in rock history. They easily belong in a class with The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, etc. even though most American listeners may not have heard of them before. This particular compilation is an excellent overview of their first nine albums (featuring the "classic" lineup of the band). The sound is built around the guitar of Mick Box and the keyboards of Ken Hensley, which are both employed in many different ways. The songs themselves also display an amazing versatility ranging from beautifully mellow to all-out rocking. A must have for collectors interested in compiling the best CD anthologies of classic rock.