Customer Reviews

Live

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From all the early seventies live double hard rock albums, most people would reckon that Deep Purple's 'Made in Japan' comes out top of the heap. But to this old dog Uriah Heep's live album just pips it at the post. Both were released by their record companies within six months of each other; Deep Purple's effort coming in December of 1972, while Uriah Heep's came in May of the following year. Both came with the same mass marketing including the special price tag of two LPs for the equivalent of one. Both albums pushed their respective bands into the superstar division. And, remarkably in similar fashion, both bands would fire their lead vocalist and bassist within a couple of years.

Deep Purple's `Made in Japan' consisted of a complete concert, only seven songs, drawing heavily on their last album, at the time `Machine Head', but missed out on the encores (until they were later added on when the album was re-mastered for CD, and a very worthy addition they are, too). `Made in Japan' also included `The Mule', which is basically a 10-minute drum solo. No matter how good Mr. Paice is, how many times do you want to listen to a drum solo? Final track on `Made in Japan' is `Space Truckin', which, at twenty odd minutes, took up the whole of side four in the days of vinyl. Although it starts out in fine rockin' style, the final fifteen minutes of everybody soloing against everybody else was very exciting if you were actually at the concert, but gets just a bit tedious with the sound but no visual.

Whereas the Uriah Heep Live came in with a total of twelve songs, including three encore numbers. Sadly though, to make space for these encore numbers, four concert numbers played on that night in Birmingham, England, had to be cut and have since been lost. We shall never hear the whole concert with `Lady In Black', `Bird Of Prey', `The Wizard', and `Come Away Melinda' in their rightful place in the set. The selection that we did get had songs from four of Uriah Heep's five albums to date. Nothing from second album, `Salisbury', made it to the live album.

Opening with a brace from latest album, `the Magician's Birthday', `Sunrise' and `Sweet Lorraine', where the rhythm section of Kerslake and Thain show that after a year together in the band they have really jelled, propelling Heep into another realm. Thain, originally from New Zealand, was one of the new breed of bass guitarists who, as well as putting in plenty of bottom end, also used his axe as a lead instrument, never happy to be submerged in the mix. Lee Kerslake, one of the nicest men to have stepped onto a rock 'n' roll stage, did not so much use his arms and wrists to beat the skins, but seemed to use his whole body and every inch of energy in it to put the power into Heep.

The band then continued with two songs from `The Demons and Wizards', `Traveler In Time', and `Easy Livin'. It seems strange now to hear `Easy Livin' so early in the set, as today it is usually kept back for a final blast to bring the Heep's concert to a dramatic rockin' climax.

`July Morning' from Heep's third album `Look At Yourself' is the first epic hauled out by the band, showing off all the band's assets, epecially the talents of David Byron, who in 1973 was at the peak of his powers, both as an entertainer and a vocalist with a quite extraordinary range. Add this to the five-part harmonies the rest of the band was able to put in, and `July Morning' gets the stamp of a rock classic.

For a change of style, but certainly not pace, Ken Hensley comes from behind his bank of keyboards to play a slide guitar duel with lead guitarist Mick Box on `Look at Yourself' and `Tears in My Eyes', and quite a battle it is, too. Then it's back behind the keyboards for Ken Hensley for his keyboard solo number `Gypsy', which comes from Uriah Heep's first album 'Ever So 'Eavy Ever So 'Umble'. Clocking in at 14 minutes, there is plenty of space for Ken Hensley to go through his antics using all the organs and Moog's at his disposal.

`The Phantom of the Rock 'n' Roll Opera'.

Then there is time for one more epic in the `Demons and Wizards' song, `Circle of Hands'. It starts off with some lovely interplay between Hensley's piano and Byron's vocals before the band gradually builds the song to a rousing conclusion. Then `Look at Yourself' charges out as Mick Box brings the house down with a crushing guitar solo.

That leaves only encore time, a snippet of `The Magician's Birthday' before the volume is cranked to 11 for a run through of `Love Machine', which just rocks. Then, as was tradition in those days, something for band and audience to really let their hair down to - the Rock 'n' Roll Medley. By this time it is difficult to tell who is having a better time, the band or the audience.

So, for best heavy rock live album of the early seventies, Mott gives it to Uriah Heep by the shortest of noses. Deep Purple definitely came an honorable second though.

Rocked By Mott the Dog
`n'
Rolled By Ella Crew

What was fun about listening to this power-pact live recording is actually re-living the band's Magician's Birthday Tour I experienced in Seattle. A packed house, rockin' stuff, real trippy songs, guitar jams galore by Mr. Party himself, Mick Box, and outrageous keyboards and moog synthesisers by Ken Hensley. This show was so memorable, everyone sang along to the Rock & Roll Medley, making me feel we were all wearing Blue Suede Shoes. Someone in the Heepster's entourage should've arranged for the filming of this crazy night in Birmingham, England.

This is by far one of the best live albums of its day, alongside Made In Japan. This concert displays the original band at its height, with the gorgeous vocals of the late David Byron, who is masterful on July Morning. The band opens up with Sunrise (recently added to their set list after thirty years!), a telling song that builds with power. We sail into Sweet Lorraine, a wonderful 'Rock and Roller that you can stand up and Boogie to', as Byron tells the crowd. Traveller in Time is next, a hard-rocker that segues into the band's most popular tune, Easy Livin. These four songs are performed much as they are on the album, as Uriah Heep keeps to the faith of the songs (and proabably didn't really know how to improvise on stage, as is evident as to the tightness of the songs played in this set). Gypsy is played in its entirety, including the now left out instrumental intro, and a keyboard and drum solo is added. Tears in my Eyes displays Ken Hensley with a nice slide guitar solo. This is a classic rock album by one of the longest lasting bands in rock and roll history. Heep must've been a glory to see live at this time in their carrer...long live the memories of David Byron and Gary Thain. Long Live Heep!!

I was 10 when I had a chance to listen to this album, I was lucky to be trained by fantastic musicians as they are. Uriah music is not complicated at all and that is all about. They're easy on the ear. You can hear every note, it's clear, loud and proud. Favorites: Circle Of Hands, Sweet Loraine, Sunrise. Buy this CD, even it lacked for this fantastic Medley but it must be present in every even serious collection. Master peace, stand alone with Made In Japan by Deep Purple.

I am partial to this live recording as my wife and I were in the Birmingham audience when it was recorded.

Just like the Scorpions, Black Widow, Fingerprintz, Curved Air, Middle Of The Road, etc. I find Uriah Heep's live versions to be superior to their studio recordings.

This CD is a must for any UH fan!

Hot on the heels of their genre forerunners Deep Purple, Uriah Heep hastened to capitalize on the success of Made in Japan with a double live album of their own within the very same year. Notwithstanding the obvious press comparisons with Purple, Heep's only live outing during their artistic zenith (the '74 '75 and '79 concerts would be released some time later, the first two only a few years ago) is altogether different and should not be analogized with Made in Japan. Unlike the latter, Heep's songs in Live 1973 are much closer representations of their studio recordings than Purple's renditions which typically deviated from the studio versions to a substantial degree through their legendary jams. That Heep largely adheres to the original recordings is wise, for they cannot improvise like Purple; while all capable musicians in their own right (especially in this classic lineup with the incomparable Gary Thain), their jams come across as loose, disorganized solos, not as a cohesive organic unit like Purple. Thus, Live 1973's one foray into extended improvisation- "Gypsy"- is largely a failure which makes one yearn for the resumption of the song's third verse halfway into Lee Kerslake's meandering drum solo; Heep simply cannot attain the splendid guitar/keyboard interplay of Purple's "Wring that Neck." Nevertheless, this is not a vice for the band, for Heep's greatest asset is songwriting, and their chief distinction from their more technically gifted metal peers like Purple in the 1970's is in their unique and unrivaled ability to blend heavy metal with mystical art rock. That being said, Heep are quite talented at improvising insofar as it pertains to an already existing song structure; with a solid foundation already established, they can enhance a song provided that they largely adhere to its original tone and atmosphere. Thus, the extended versions of "July Morning" and "Circle of Hands" not only showcase the best elements of these regulated jams but elevate the songs above their studio recordings, particularly on Hensley's lyrical outro keyboard solo in the latter. (Whereas Hensley performed the mournful slide guitar solo on the studio, Mick Box assumed this role in Live 1973 to enable Hensley to undertake the keyboard solo.) "July Morning" likewise receives an excellent extended interpretation in which Box, in constrast to his rather subdued performance in the studio version, embellishes the song with tasty (and remarkably fast for the time) guitar solo fills towards the climax. Fittingly, at the conclusion of "July Morning," Heep affix a recapitulation of the arpeggiated keyboard intro which provides stronger closure and finality to the song than the gradual fading in the studio version. Virtually all the songs are given stellar live performances, the standout being "Tears in My Eyes," whereby with Hensley switching to guitar the band skillfully reproduces the psychedelic ambience of the studio recording's innumerable accoustic/electric guitar overdubs in the song's interlude which in the strict sense could not be duplicated live with two guitars.
Nevertheless, Live 1973's most disappointing element is not the plodding "Gypsy" but the presence of a pointless Rock N' Roll medley. While Heep's renditions of these 50's classics are decent and make fluid transitions from one song fragment to the next, it is its inclusion, not the quality of the actual performance, which warrants criticism. For a band having just released its first album, the retention of such covers in the live set would be understandable, yet it is less justified for one which already had several recordings to its name at the time of its first live album. For Heep, which had accomplished an unparalleled feat of unleashing five spectacular albums in three years, it is even more mystifying that they should waste time on this medley when they already had a fantastic trove of their own songs to perform. One could endlessly speculate on other tunes they easily could have covered instead- "Walking in your Shadow," "Rainbow Demon," "Shadows of Grief," "I'll Keep on Trying," "Poet's Justice," "Time to Live," etc. Although covers do supply a change of mood, this was completely unnecessary in Heep's case when they have a tome of fantastic Hensley ballads- "Blind Eye," "Echoes in the Dark," "Rain," and "The Park," among a few- a tragic neglect as Heep, in their prime, evinced incredible musical diversity matched by few bands to this day. To Heep's credit, much of the meatiest music from Look at Yourself and Demons and Wizards (with the crucial exceptions of "I Wanna be Free" and "The Spell" respectively) is performed, but most of The Magician's Birthday and the eponymous debut is sadly sidelined and Salibsury- arguably the most ethereal album ever produced by a hard rock band- criminally neglected in its totality. Conspicuously, both "The Wizard" and "Lady in Black" are likewise omitted, only to be oddly resurrected by the '79 tour, a time whereby Heep had undergone a departure leagues away- both musically and lyrically- from their early 70's apogee. Strikingly, Heep does a fragment of "The Magician's Birthday" live, yet considering that they are performing the trickiest section of the song- "Happy Birthday to Magician" which featured numerous studio vocal overdubs- with brilliant accuracy, it is surprising that they do not present it in its entirety.
Still, we should feel grateful that Heep performed as many of these gems as they did, for with the release of each subsequent album they continued the unfortunate tradition of gradually eschewing their old classics for new, less ambitious, and increasingly commercial opuses. As if subconsciously highlighting their musical decline after The Magician's Birthday, during the Sweet Freedom Tour Heep already scrapped "Tears in My Eyes," "Circle of Hands," and "Traveller in Time" from their set list. Nevertheless, these above-mentioned criticisms do not detract from the overall excellence of the album; they are simply at hand to probe why Heep, a band with such a fantastic catalogue, inveterately continued to neglect many of its finest songs live, a misfortune which sadly lingers to the present.

This is the one! Weather you are a casual Heep fan or a hardcore heepster, Once you have heard the studio albums that came before, the power and polish that only touring experience will give a band is all evident here. I have loved this record since I purchased my vinyl copy in 1974 and I enjoy it as much today as then. In my opinion the only other Heep release that is as strong an effort is Sweet Freedom, being a studio release its kind of a different animal but is a great piece of work.Both of these also feature what I feel was the best Heep line up of ALL ! Byron,Box,Hensley,Kerslake and Thain!!!

This one of the best live recordings ever, but to get the whole show you have to buy the import version, it has "Rock & Roll Medley included!!! Lucky to see them once 'Return to Fantasy' tour a rising band opened...KISS. Indy summer of 76. Awesome Show.Import is a 5 star!!!

I DON'T THINK SO! URIAH HEEP WAS EVERY BIT AS GOOD!
THIS IS ONE OF THE BEST LIVE ALBUMS AND I MEAN REALLY
LIVE! FROM SUNRISE TO LOVE MACHINE IT ROCKS! DAVID BYRON
WAS A GREAT SINGER. KEN HENSLEY WAS A AWESOME SONGWRITER.
THE ENTIRE BAND WAS GREAT MUSICIANS. THE ONLY FLAW IS
THE SONGS LEFT OFF FROM THE ALBUM VERSION? ANYWAY IT
STILL ROCKS AND SOME OF THE BEST MUSIC OF IT'S TIME!

A historically underrated band, Uriah Heep has been well served with remastered versions of their albums, showing that popular acts (like Dickens) sometimes prove the critics wrong in terms of quality and longevity. This album especially.

For one thing, it's raw and truthful. Unlike other classic Seventies double-live albums, "Uriah Heep Live" was recorded one sole January night in Birmingham, England, and unlike similar albums by the Allmans, Derek and the Dominos, Led Zeppelin, and Thin Lizzy, it doesn't reveal significant overdubs or splicings. The Seventies were an age when studios and producers became name brands, and even "live" albums were stamped with their mark. "Uriah Heep Live" isn't, yet almost every track is superior to its studio incarnation.

The original 1989 CD release does not include the 'Rock 'N' Roll Medley' from the vinyl album. The 1996 Castle remaster corrected this due-to-CD-time-limitations problem with the additional track, better sound, and superb packaging. The 2003 Sanctuary remaster sounds even better (thicker, more detailed) and includes not just the complete album but an additional disc of live material mostly postdating the 1973 album. The first four tracks were originally heard as a U.S. radio show compiled from live recordings made in 1973 ("Uriah Heep Live") and 1974 (Shepperton Studios sessions). The other eight tracks come from the Shepperton Studios sessions BUT, like the two (duplicate) tracks that were included in the radio show, with tremendously improved sound quality. That is, the formerly hard-to-hear guitar parts are now as loud as they should be, and the "Wonderworld" tracks come across as they always should have--as classic Uriah Heep. The mushy echo is gone.

Uriah Heep fans should feel blessed. Young goth listeners could do far worse than trying out a band that, in its early years, could drive reviewers to contemplate suicide. Any other fan of 70s hard rock would do well to pick up this exemplary reissue. Unless you're a (very) casual listener, you may want avoid the original CD issue if at all possible.