Customer Reviews

Different World

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4 star:		(1)
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1 star:		(1)

 

 

I really hate it when people make such a big deal about how awful they think this CD is... I mean, if you want to call a Uriah Heep CD bad (and if you're anything like me, you absolutely HATE to have to do that), think of 1985's "Equator" before you set your sights on "Different World". "Different World" has a few mediocre tracks, it's true... but it also has some highly enjoyable ones, like "Which Way Will the Wind Blow", "Cross that Line", and the title track. In fact, "Different World" makes very frequent visits to my CD player... It's an enjoyable CD, trust me! It's certainly no masterpiece... I mean, if you want to hear what this lineup of Uriah Heep can REALLY do, I'd suggest you give their 1995 masterpiece, "Sea of Light" a try... Trust me, you'll be impressed. But Don't think that "Different World" is a total waste of time... it's not.

For the record, I don't listen to Aerosmith... I was one of those kids who's mother banned MTV from the house while he was growing up, who was friends with kids who's parents were all the same way. I didn't discover Heep until I was 19, when a (post-childhood) friend let me borrow his copy of 1972's "Demons and Wizards"... I was in love with Heep from that point on, and as buying entire albums of a band is the main way I hear their music (I live in a part of the country that knows only country music stations to inhabit its airwaves. Feel free to extend to me your sympathies), getting exposure to other bands is a very slow process for me. So I can't say this CD sounds like Aerosmith because I don't know what Aerosmith sounds like (I only know "Living on the Edge" because of Weird Al Yankovic's take on it with "Living in the Fridge"). I just happen to think "Different World" is a very enjoyable, though hardly perfect, album.

This is Uriah Heep trying to keep up with the times. The music sounds like a dead ringer for Aerosmith's "Love in the Elevator" period. The problem here is, Heep was and is basically a 70's band. Wasting their talent on this sort of early 90's hair metal was not a good move. Heep was at their best when they did what they did best - 70's hard rock, heavy on the organ and bass, with mystical themes in the lyrics. The music here is not bad, for the genre - it's just not what we have come to expect from Uriah Heep over the years. You'll like this one only if you think Aerosmith (and Poison, and Warrant, et al) are the pinnacle of rock.

The second album with the lineup of Bernie Shaw (v), Phil Lanzon (k), Mick Box (g), Trevor Bolder (b) and Lee Kerslake (d) was truly a project from start to finish by the band - Bolder was the producer, with Bolder, Box and Lanzon handling all of the songwriting duties - but it failed to reignite consistency in the material.

The metal/progressive rock elements from past efforts are a very distant memory in this February 1991 release; the 10 tracks - clocking in at 43:48 - finds Uriah Heep again trying to wedge some elbow room between Bryan Adams, Journey and Def Leppard on the AOR playlist that continued to dominate FM radio. All God's Children is a solid standout, with Blood on Stone the best of the four Bolder compositions. Which Way Will the Wind Blow and Cross That Line are mildly interesting, but lack the unique punch that could solidly break them away from the remaining muddling entries.

Uriah Heep remained weighted down by commercial aspirations which made it sound more like a band at the corner bar on a late Saturday night that was uneasily attempting to create new material to mimic the chart toppers, instead of just turning up the amps and letting things fly. The five members were walking under their own musical shadows.

When I came into a store last week, the song playin was just great so I asked "who's that?".The answer was Uriah heep, the song Blood on stone.I was very surprised cause I'm a Heep fan up till High and Mighty (plus conquest and Abominog).I was so glad to hear such a great song from a newer heep, i bought the cd.
Well that's about it...one real good track and 11 or 12 fillers.
Not bad, I mean those guys know how to make music but really uninspired.The one good thing I discovered was the singer's voice...that guy sounds good, I might try some new Live stuff.

I hate to criticise Uriah Heep. For one thing, they're always being piled on; for another thing, they're one of my Top 10 favorite bands. But after just listening to "Different World" for the umpteenth time in a vain effort to find whatever great it was that I'd missed, what can any objective reviewer say? This is a weak album. There are some decently written songs sprinkled throughout the disc, and some typically strong musical performances as well. But the production, the mix, and the general style are not suitable for Heep. I wouldn't have guessed this was a Uriah Heep record if I didn't already know it. It's not a terrible record, but it's not very good, and certainly the weakest release of Uriah Heep's long and satisfying career. Whatever you do, buy this disc last.

As a die-hard Heepster, I truly don't understand the animosity some fans have towards this album; to me, it's a distinct step up from the abysmal "Equator", and the improved,(but still largely disappointing) "Raging Silence". While a bit "poppy" in places, the songwriting is largely first-rate, and both the title track, and the closer, "Cross That Line", are superb. Not in the league of its magnificent follow-ups, "Sea of Light", and "Sonic Origami", but a worthy representation of post-Ken Hensley Uriah Heep.

This is probably the worst record that Uriah Heep ever recorded. If you are not a collector I warn you from buying it. If I could I would give it less than one star. I don't even understand how it succeeded to be recorded at all. Why didn't they discard the songs and start all over again?

Buy Demons and Wizards, Salisbury, Look at yourself, Sweet Freedom or The Magicians Birthday instead. They are all on my top 20 list of the best albums in Rock history.