Customer Reviews

Look at Yourself

5 star:		(25)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

No doubt Uriah Heep's best effort. Why? Ken Hensley had yet to emasculate Mick Box's full frontal electric guitar assault and take control of the band.
While Box is no Blackmore or Iommi, his tone and in your face playing was as good as any hard rock guitarist of the era. Of all the David Byron era albums, "Look At Yourself" showcases Box's talents both wonderfully & wickedly. Plus this album contains two of Uriah Heep's best songs "July Morning" & the title track "Look At Yourself".
While the overall songwriting is not as consistent as the "Demons And Wizards" album, "Look At Yourself" is Heep's "killer metal" album as is Deep Purple's "Machine Head".
If you can afford to add both to cart, purchase this along with "Demons & Wizards". Then follow with "Live 1973" which could also be titled "Greatest Hits Live".

This was the first Uriah Heep album I bought. I knew nothing about Heep and when listening to the album in the shop, I didn't find it very attracting. But I knew that if I want to seriously deepen my interest into the heavy music of the 70's, I have to have something by Uriah Heep in my collection. So I bought it and hoped that it'll grow on me. And, boy, was I right about that! 2 months after buying it, I couldn't get enough of it. It is so hugely butt-kicking powerful music that it's just all over you. It's amazing how this album still gets me stunned every time I listen to it! Every time I find myself thinking that I haven't really realized how good this album is. No compromise, it starts with a storm right away- "Look At Yourself"- and by the time "Shadows Of Grief" is over, you feel small as an atom. And it's actually good how the jazzy "What Should Be Done" gives you time to pull yourself together, before you finally get chrushed by the "Love Machine". It's a musical knock-out and a definite 5-star to me! If you want to get familiar with the best of Uriah Heep and you don't know where to start - buy this album!

LOOK AT YOURSELF should be mentioned among all the great classic rock albums.Song for song,this is possibly the best and most powerful album i've ever heard.The title track and TEARS IN MY EYES are 2 of the greatest hard rockin' songs ever.SHADOWS OF GRIEF is so dark,frantic,and heavy it's downright scary.JULY MORNING features awesome vocals from the late-great David Byron(who was also very sadly underrated!).WHAT SHOULD BE DONE is a great heep ballad.LOOK AT YOURSELF also features a terrific cover.Any fan of classic hard rock NEEDS this album!!

Look At Yourself (1971.), Uriah Heep's third studio album

Uriah Heep, in the early 1970's were very much the band which everyone but the fans of the band themselves, loved to hate. They got loads of stick from critics often calling the heavy rock band the 'Poor Man's Deep Purple'. However, in my opinion, these are particularly unfair criticisms on a band who have produced some excellent music during their career and 'Look at Yourself', Uriah Heep's third studio album, released in 1971 stands as one of their finest and most accomplished efforts.

Its particularly sad that this band is so underrated, because, if this album made sales based on the quality of the music, it would have sold quite a few million copies. The tag which Uriah Heep gained of being very similar to Deep Purple is a little unfair. I will not deny that they are in a very similar mold to the great Deep Purple, employing a thick hammond organ and heavy guitar style but nevertheless, Uriah Heep have their own trademark sound and I would not waste a second in dispelling any claim that they were Deep Purple rip offs. Instead, what you have with Uriah Heep is a group of excellent musicians who, certainly with this album made some amazingly powerful music. Dave Byron, the lead singer with Uriah Heep at the time is an excellent and much underrated vocalist, as is the guitar playing of Mick Box and the diverse instrumental abilities of Ken Hensley, who also proves himself to be a great songwriter on this album. 'Look at Yourself' is a masterpiece from start to finish, with loads of explosive moments of power.

Thankfully also, the 'Look at Yourself' album has undergone an excellent remaster by Sanctuary Records. I would definitely recommend the deluxe issue over the standard 7 album track issue. The deluxe edition is one of the best remaster efforts I've seen. The original tracks are of excellent quality but what you also get are 7 bonus tracks, giving you double the music from this fruitful time for Uriah Heep. The bonus tracks include BBC session versions of the 'Look at Yourself' title track and 'What Should Be Done'. Theres alternate versions too of these two tracks and an extended version of 'Tears in my Eyes'. However, perhaps the best additions are the two session outtakes which have only been discovered in the last 15 years. 'Whats Within My Heart' is one, an excellent acoustic track and 'Why' is a remarkable 12 minute jam. The liner notes within the CD sleeve are also excellent with pictures, interviews and lyrics all included. So, the deluxe version is definitely the way to go if its available readily and is of a reasonable price.

The seven tracks on the album are masterpieces in their own right. The album opens with the title track, 'Look At Yourself', a blasting, guitar and keyboard heavy rock song with a great chorus build up. 'I Wanna Be Free' is a bit more like a ballad but is just as heavy as the first track. 'July Morning', the 10 minute epic, is worth the price of the album alone, often acclaimed as Uriah Heeps best song, its a killer from start to finish. The band themselves recorded it on the first take - some great lyrics sung with heart by Byron builds into a long keyboard and guitar interlude which is brilliant. 'Tears In My Eyes' is another great rock song and 'Shadows of Grief' is a more unusual, 8 minute epic, with a heavy vocal sections and an interesting harmonising finish over lots of keyboard. 'What Should Be Done' is a piano based, lighter track - written in quick time, this is no filler, its one of the best tracks on the album. 'Love Machine' is a 4 minute hard rocking finish to the album in typical Heep style.

'Look at Yourself' deserves much more recognition than it deserves. I often say Deep Purple are criminally underrated but this band are even more so. It always amazes me how this album stayed in the charts for just 1 week and reached only #39 - its a classic with plenty of great songs within. Any fan of heavy rock should not overlook Uriah Heep's music and especially not this masterpiece album.

I don't care what the anyone says Uriah Heep (named after a character in a book I beleive by Charles Dickens) is the BEST. I saw them in 1971 when Deep Purple were still finding their legs and they were GREAT. Don't get me wrong I love Deep Purple but HEEP is Great in their own respect. The way Ken Hensley writes his songs has always gotten to me even with his last album which is religious based. I've always found that their songs have a very deep personal meaning that go with the heavy sounds of Mick Box, Lee Kerslake and Ken Hensley.Check Out Ken's solo efforts. URIAH HEEP ROCKS. see their 2000 tour dates, wish they were comng to the states.

Heep's third release, and probably their hardest and heaviest effort. The rockers predominate here, from the runaway train-like thunder of the title track (featuring three guest percussionists, and an almost frantic vocal from keyboardist Ken Hensley) to the slower heaviness of "I Wanna Be Free", to the slide guitar madness (more Ken!) of "Tears In My Eyes", and the heavy organ experimental weirdness of "Shadows of Grief".

Of course, the disc also contains the epic "July Morning", overwhelmingly considered their finest work. Ranging in dynamics from a whisper to a roar, the band takes a simple song about searching for love, and turns it into an emotional masterpiece, highlighting David Byron's incredibly expressive voice, and featuring a mind-blowing Moog synthesizer solo on the extended outtro by guest Manfred Mann. An absolute must-have for this track alone!

Look at Yourself was the band's third album and the one where they really began forming their own style. All the songs here are full of complexity and texture. Hard rockers like "Look at Yourself", "Tears in my Eyes" and "Love Machine" will add life to any party selection. "I Wanna Be Free" is a power anthem full of drive and catchy yet meaningful lyrics. "What Should Be Done" is a striking change of pace, a stark piano ballad. And, oh yeah, there's also the quintessintial Uriah Heep song "July Morning", a full ten and a half minutes of subdued yet wildly spacey audio drama. A truly classic album which will become a standby in any progressive hard rock fan's collection. Like "Demons and Wizards" a mgnificent listening experience from start to finish.

This is the disc where Uriah Heep hit stride. It is pure hard rock from start to finish and a must for any Deep Purple fans. This is a disc you put on, sit down between your speakers, and put the volume of 6-7, the disc flows from start to finish and your mind will be cleared. A must for all hammond organ fans where Ken Hensley demonstrates his prowess and there is some guest moog from Manfred Mann. I first bought the album in the early 70's, then the CD, and still listen to it on a regular basis-it never gets old! Top 10 in my collection.

This a great album, and in my opinion a must own. Of course, "July Morning" is a epic classic but I really enjoy every song on this album. I own every David Byron era Uriah Heep album, and if I was forced to pick, I'd say Look At Yourself and The Magician's Birthday are my favorites.

My opinion : Without David Byron on vocals, the original lead singer, Uriah Heep just isn't the same....and I'm not a fan of any Urian Heep albums without him.

Not as consistent and cohesive in my opinion as "Demons and Wizards" but definitively one of the two must own Uriah Heep albums, unless you don't like their heavy rock sound and the unique voice of David Byron (after he left, Uriah Heep became a rather pedestrian heavy metal band). Their craft reaches its height on "July Morning" which brings together a greater subtlety in rhythm and timing, tremendous riffs and that voice.