Firefly

Uriah Heep | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (January 2, 2006)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Castle Us
• ASIN: B00077F8MG
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,438,769 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

UK reissue of the British prog-metal act's 1977 album includes eight bonus tracks, 'Crime Of Passion' (B-Side), 'Do You Know' (Demo Version), 'Far Better Way' (Out-Take), 'Hanging Tree' (Demo Version), 'Who Needs Me' (Live), 'Dance Dance Dance', 'Put Your Music Where Your Mouth Is', & 'Been Away Too Long' (Alternate Version). Sanctuary. 2004. --This text refers to an alternate Audio CD edition.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The most underrated album of the bands career., September 21, 2004

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A reader from NY (Roseboom, NY USA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Firefly (Audio CD)

Firefly is the first album of the short lived (unforunately) John Lawton era. This album is right up there with their classics of the early 70's. John Lawton is just below David Bryon as far as vocal talent and much better than any of his successors. He's more blusier than Byron,but doesn't have the range.

If you are looking for the heavy side of the band, this album is not it. The material on this album is closer to the laid back tracks that dominate "The Magician Birthday". This album features more keyvboard dominated songs than guitar oriented songs.

Breakdown review of the tracks.

1. The Hanging Tree - UH returns to the fantasy theme on their earlier albums with this one. Nice guitar echo effects at the songs introduction.

2. Been Gone Too Long - Start out slow and then speeds up, though not too loud. Fits Lawton perfectly.

3. Who Needs Me. - A Southern rock boogie style song. Songwritter Ken Hensley would leave Heep for Southern rockers a few year later. His interest in Southern fried rock seems to show early here.

4. Wise Man - The Wizard, part II. Nice piano ballad that continues the theme of the Wizard on Demon and Wizards.

5. Do You Know - The weakest track on the album. A throw away.

6. Rollin On - Could easily be mistaken for a Paul Rogers' Bad Company ballad. Good song though.

7. Sympathy - Nice mid temple rocker.

8. Firefly - One of the best epic UH has ever done. Song by organist/guitarist Ken Hensley. Nice soft keyboards and accoustic guitars. Has a Crosby, Still, & Nash feel to it.

9. Crimes of Passion - Another song with a Bad Company feel to it.

10 A Far Better Way - This is a bonus track that should have made it on the original album. A soft ballad that sounds like it's was song by Ken Hensley (Doesn't sound like Lawton's gritty voice). Could have been an Elton John song. This song is a little different than the 1997 remaster version. There are a little more guitars featured in the 2004 deluxe remaster.

Also featured in the 2004 remaster are two previously unleased songs. Unlike any of the above songs, these are not album ready and are rough around the edges. You can still here scratches on these.

They are.

I Always Knew - Heep tries to do a Stevie Wonder type song on this. Very soulful. Wouldn't have sounded bad once it was cleaned up.

Dance Dance Dance - Heep attempting to do Disco Disco Disco. Could have fit on the Fallen Angel album along side What you say.

There is also a live version of Who Needs Me that is much different than the album version.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Time for a Change, April 15, 2011

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Thirty-Ought Six "music fiend" (West Virginia, USA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Firefly (Audio CD)

With the sacking of David Byron in the summer of '76 and John Wetton jumping ship soon thereafter, Hensley, Box and Kerslake needed to regroup and begin anew with Uriah Heep. Trevor Bolder(ex-David Bowie) was recruited first and then upon the recommendation of Roger Glover to Ken Hensley, Former Lucifer's Friend vocalist John Lawton was hired. The music within Firefly is fresh, yet, a bit more commercially driven in parts; but nonetheless, a very worthy and lasting release within the group's repetoire. Hanging Tree is an outlaw's tale driven by Lawton's soulful vocal, the steady beat and rhythm of Bolder/Kerslake anchoring and Box and Hensley's guitar and keys riding the melody along respectively. Been Away Too Long reminds me a little of Foreigner at times, and is a bit strange. But the time period of the mid to late seventies rock bands was that of a smooth and glossy type of sound. Bands like the Eagles and Fleetwood Mac would hone this radio-friendly style to amazingly successful heights, albeit, in terms of stadium concerts and millions of records sold.

Firefly has these qualities no doubt, for wanting to be included in these areas, and other tracks like Do You Know, Who Needs Me(by Kerslake) and Sympathy fit the bill, for sure. However, The title track is a greatly arranged number that sustains this record. Rollin' On is ponderous and moody, Wise Man actually was a big hit in Europe and is another Ballad-type of song. Once again, the Sanctuary remaster is full of outtake material here. Crime of Passion, A Far Better Way and I Always Knew should've perhaps, been included on the original release, but, at least they're here. Firefly is a solid release and a worthy successor to Return to Fantasy, excluding High and Mighty that, like Wonderworld failed to be a fully realized and satisfying record. Heep were at a commercial crossroads and each proceeding release would see them become further and further diluted into mainstream and losing a bit of earthy-ness to that which they had become known for and met the greatest success with. But, hell, Firefly sure is good music when you're in the mood for it. 3 and a half stars.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Their best after their early days, April 5, 2008

By 

Matthew Schwarz (Bridgewater, nj United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Firefly (Audio CD)

Firefly introduces John Lawton, Heep's second singer, who has a great voice. Overall this album (and the others with Lawton) has more of a bluesy/soul kind of feel - it reminds me of the early Whitesnake and David Coverdale stuff of the same period. I'd like to point out here that, after the first 3 albums, Uriah Heep never really put out a constantly "heavy" album, (in fact, almost all the remasters I have have Mick Box saying "not one of our heavier efforts . . .!"), but this one is a little more hard-rocking than the others with Lawton. Overall, it's a great late-70's hard rock disc.