Customer Reviews

Sweet Freedom

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Formed in 1969 Uriah Heep rode the wave of Hard/Progressive Rock that swept over the music world in the beginning of the Seventies, changing the face of popular music for ever. Uriah Heep never managed to make the final leap to the premier league of rock music during this era, unlike their peers Deep Purple; Black Sabbath; Led Zeppelin; the Rolling Stones; Genesis; Pink Floyd; etc., but every year they would make the play off's in Division One. No matter how much the lineup changed, they always kept a large, ever loyal, following.

With their harmony vocals, swirling Hammond organ, and wah-wah guitar, they soon became known as the Beach Boys of hard rock. When this English Quintet's debut album was released, one journalist with a name American Magazine started the review with the condemning words "If this band makes it, I'll have to commit suicide". Well, I do not know what happened to the journalist, probably condemned to writing bylines for the Jersey Knitting monthly on dog shows, but over thirty years later Mick Box is still leading Uriah Heep to sold-out concert halls around the world; although it must be admitted to diminishing record sales.

Over the years Uriah Heep's lineup has changed dramatically. Five lead singers for a kick off, and the loss of founding member, keyboard, and slide guitar player Ken Hensley in 1980, who also co-wrote six of the eight songs on display here, was nearly a mortal blow. However, there was always the most cheerful man in rock, and lead guitarist extraordinaire, Mick Box to pick up the pieces and start again with a new assemble.

Uriah Heep's first real taste of stardom was between 1972 and 1975, when the new rhythm section of Gary (The Thin Man) Thain and Hard Hittin' Drummer Lee Kerslake (ex-Tonto's Expanding Head Band, ex-Ozzy Osbourne's Blizzard of Oz, before re-joining Uriah Heep, who he still plays with to this day) joined the existing nucleus of vocalist David Byron (probably has the largest range of vocal chords in rock), and one of its leading frontmen Ken Hensley, and the man still looking like he stepped right off the set of an American professional wrestling set, Mick Box, the man who put the whomp in wah-wah solos. For the three years before this lineup imploded into a back biting paradox of egos, they released four classy studio albums.

'Demons and Wizards' (1972)
'The Magicians Birthday' (only six months later, also in 1972)
'Sweet Freedom' (this album, 1973) and
'Wonderworld' (1974 - with the worst cover ever released in the history of rock)

This line-up also recorded and released their seminal double live album 'Uriah Heep Live' (1973). So, if nothing else they were extremely productive.

Although 'Sweet Freedom' is not really a classic Uriah Heep album, it certainly contains some classic songs such as Ken Hensley's rocker "Stealin'", which is a must play in the Uriah Heep live set to this day, some thirty years later. With its opening driving bass rhythms and subdued organ entrance you are immediately seduced by its hypnotic beat. Then the gas is turned on and the whole band come rockin' in. David Byron's vocals are amongst the best he ever laid down, and although all the singers, who have taken up the Heep's microphone since, have had a go at bending their tonsils around "Stealin'", none of them has ever managed to capture the devil may care delivery of Heep's original singer. Although this is credited as a Ken Hensley song, you feel that David Byron should of been given a credit for his ad-libbed vocals at the end. Add to that the rock solid drumming of Lee Kerslake, and a devastating guitar solo from Mr. Box, you have an all time rock 'n' roll classic.

Sadly, the rest of the album does not necessarily live up to the standards set by the second song. The title track and closing epic 'Pilgrim' (clocking in at over seven minutes) are still included in the present day's Uriah Heep lineup repertoire, and would make any Greatest Hits Collection. `Seven Stars' is a fine Heep rocker that takes a great twist at the end as David Byron chants the alphabet backwards and forwards at his audience. So all in all perhaps not an essential Uriah Heep album, but certainly not one that disappoints.

Although Uriah Heep are still going today, enjoying a new burst of commercial success, sadly David Byron and Gary Thain are no longer with us. However, they left behind a fine legacy in their music.

Scrawled by Mott The Dog
Given a Dickensian touch by Ella Crew

I have been listening to this band since the summer of 1980 when my brother's group used to perform both "The Wizard" and "Stealin'" in their stage sets. It was the same year I discovered UFO, another truly fine British metal band, and the wondrous Moodies, so I would say it was a very useful and productive year for rock discoveries as a teenager.

This was my first Heep album, definitely not my last, and I'm very pleased to say that, after all these years, this album still stands up as solid and consistent a Heep classic lineup opus as any of the others often bantered about verbally. Now, a lot of people dismiss this as the album with "the hit" on it, but it's my second favorite in the Heep catalog, and I still feel the magic each time I play it from that great summer so long ago. okay, I confess, this album is a treasure to me for the most unapologetically sentimental reasons. I hope someone else out there feels the same, regardless of what Ken Hensley and others have said about it.

"Dreamer:" A good, funky blues rock opener that's not a favorite track, but it definitely far from sucks. Check David Byron's great, spirited vocal performance, the best thing about it.

"Stealin':" The hit, and what a hit. Still played in heavy rotation here in the States after all these years, one cannot deny every classic moment of this fun cowboy song. I just think it's very funny that they tried to ban this song because of the line, "I done the rancher's daughter." Please, it seems so polite compared to...well, I can't say that here, so how about nailed? That's borderline rude, at least. Mick Box's guitar solo and Ken Hensley's organ are what really make this one of the greatest Heep songs ever recorded, and without the distinctive vocal stylings of Mr. Byron, it just wouldn't be the same.

"One Day:" It's hard to believe the band was going through all kinds of personal mayhem while recording this album with such uplifting, emotional songs as this in the mix. Considering that fact, maybe lines like "And though I've traveled across the desert of despair, I knew I'd get there one day" need to be read into more.

"Sweet Freedom:" Among the strongest songs on SF, the song is as powerful as it is touching and sweet in its forgiving breakup stance. It is a classic heep ballad with all the hallmarks of those from other albums during that era, and is still a favorite of fans today.

"If I Had the Time:" Beautiful melody and always a personal favorite of mine. Play this a few times when you're in a bad mood, really channel into it, and see if its message doesn't work on you:

"If I had the time to relive my life
I don't think I'd care to change a thing
As long as I find just a little peace of mind
I can dream and laugh and I can sing."

"Seven Stars:" This song is just great, and I love Ken's organ on it. Lee Kerslake's drum fills are really brought to the foreground here more than other tracks, and you imagine he was pretty much winded after the final take. Check out Byron singing the alphabet backward and foreward nearing the song's end!

"Circus:" Always my favorite track, a lowkey acoustic ballad with a latin jazz influence copenned by Box, Kerslake, and Gary Thain who also happens to be one of the best bassists from the 70's rock era. The song sounds just a bit like ELP's "From the Beginning," and describes the weariness and fatigue I often feel at the phoniness of some of the people I know.

"Pilgrim:" What a great wah-wah guitar, grinding organ driven epic about the disasters that befall someone who is all wrapped up in a power trip after starting out with good enough intentions. The pilgrim tells his tale of how he compromised his values of love and freedom for the egotistical headtrip of being a ruler through his wartime victories. "Those of us who don't know war," he states, "We shouldn't try to make it." He tells of how the cheers of the crowds made him swell and he lost the woman he loved over it. The last lines are the most revealing:

"I only knew I had to win and build a world where I was king
But leaders come and leaders go and that's the truth I came to know.
Love or war I couldn't choose, and so both I had to lose."

One can take that on an symbolic personal level as well: Be wary of what you're after, or you will lose the things that you discover all too late really matter. Well done!

As far as the bonus tracks go, I can live without "Sunshine," a throwaway B-side from the "Stealin'" single, and definitely one of the band's most unfocused cuts from that time. Extended versions of both "Seven Stars" and "Pilgrim" are welcom treasures, and the piano driven demo of "If I Had the Time" is interesting if a bit raw and awkward. The live recording of "Sweet Freedom" sounds so close to the studio recording, you really get an idea how good a live band this lineup was, and the live version of "Stealin'" is also very well done and more fun than the studio recording.

I would like to add that this version includes great liner notes, photos, and the lyrics,so you're really getting a great buy here. I would also like to express my regret that I wasn't old enough to appreciate this lineup because I was a little kid, and regret that, due to Gary Thain and David Byron's passing, we will never get to experience a reunion. Heep have gone through several vocalists over the years and, though they were all capable, there was nobody like David Byron. He was one of a kind, and I have never heard anyone who sounds quite like him. Buy Sweet Freedom, even if you don't feel the same passion for it that I do. It's a quality album in any decade.

As Uriah Heep has been my favorite band for about 30 years and Sweet Freedom is in my opinion one of their best albums. This album has everything. It opens with a very good rocker "Dreamer" with good guitar riffs. "Stealin" is in my opinion the best "heavy-rock-pop" song ever written. "One Day" has always been one of my favorites. "Sweet Freedom" is an epic song with gorgeously arrangements and how the late Mr. David Byron sings this song I think is one of his best performances. "If I Had The Time" is a big song with wonderful arrangements. "Seven Stars" is a powerful song specially the lyrics. "Circus" is a wonderful song with lovely acoustic guitars brillantly played and very vell sung. "Pilgrim" is an epic rock-theatre song with a mind-blowing guitar solo from Mick Box and the lyrics are one of Heep best and Byron's vocals are one of his best. "Sunshine" is a powerful guitar-hammond song witch I enjoy a lot. This album is a must for everyone who likes melodic-heavy-rock music.

Sweet Freedom is yet another offering by the band's classic lineup full of magical music. This album is best known for "Stealin'" the band's second all-time best-known song next to "Easy Livin'" from Demons and Wizards. That one is a classic rocker. However, there are other great musical monents on this disc: The raveup guitar of "Dreamer", the gorgeously beautiful arrangements of the title track and "If I Had the Time", the physchadellic spaciness of "Seven Stars", the gentle acoustic guitar of "Circus" and the rock-theatre epic "Pilgrim". A standy in the Uriah Heep catalog and of seveties music.

1973's "Sweet Freedom" is truly one of Uriah Heep's greatest contributions to the world of music. One of the first Heep albums I had the pleasure of listening to, it's remained a favorite of mine for going on four years, and will hopefully continue to be for many, many more. Things get off to a great start with the blasting and roaring of Mr. Mick Box's guitar on "Dreamer", a song that will hopefully become an instant favorite. It's a real heavy, yet very upbeat rocker, with a fantastic melody and excellent vocals by the ever-flamboyant, always interesting late David Byron. After the chorus ("dream-ER dream-ER, hangin' around..."), my favorite bit occurs on the fade out, where Byron repeats, over and over until overcome by the silence of that little void between the tracks, the word "dreamer", backed up by the guitars, keyboards, bass, and whatever else. But as he does, as anyone who's heard it will remember (who could forget, I ask!), Byron brings up the pitch of his voice while singing the second syllable of the word but dropping it back down again for the first, bringing it low and then higher and then low and still higher and low and yet still higher... Love it! I've honestly never heard anything like it before. Byron was a real part of what made the classic Heep so great... as I really think about it, as much as I liked the singers that they replaced him with (especially the great John Lawton, who I honestly do consider a worthy successor), Byron really remains the most unforgettable of all the Heep singers. Going on twenty years following his death and even more time since he was ejected from the band, Byron remains the definitive voice of Uriah Heep.

The second track is the most famous of all the songs on this particular album, as it gained the most radio-play, but I'm afraid to say that I hold a different position regarding it than most. While "Stealin'" is indeed a great song with a wonderful chorus (love the "ooh-oohs", a definite Ken Hensley touch), I don't like it as much as "Dreamer". Part of this reason has to do with the guitar bit we hear backing up the vocals once the song really starts to rock... it's great, no doubt about it, but it just reminds me too much of the similar guitar track we heard on Heep's most famous song of all time (though in my opinion not their best), "Easy Livin'" from 1972's "Demons and Wizards" album. "Dreamer", the song we heard right before this one, was purely original, and in my opinion (I could very well be proven wrong) I think a lot of "Stealin'"'s appeal comes from the coolness of that recycled guitar track from two years earlier. That said, "Stealin'" is by no means a bad song or a "skipper", I just feel that "Dreamer" or a number of other songs on this album deserve more recognition than they were given.

When it comes to anthems of optimism, you can't do better than "One Day". More of a ballad than the first two songs on "Sweet Freedom", "One Day" is a sort of pre-"We Are the Champions" "We are the Champions", and as much as I like Queen, Uriah Heep's "One Day" is far far far better (and a lot less cheesy). A song about overcoming struggle and emerging from the trials a victor, the subject matter will be familiar to anyone who's heard Queen's 1977 classic, but the music and tone of Heep's take on the idea outshines Queen's in just about every way. It's a lot more personal, for one thing ("didn't I tell you, everything was gonna be all right... I never doubted, it was just a matter of time..."), more reassuring... sweeter, and for all of that more happier. My favorite moment occurs at the interlude halfway through, making reference to the past... ("I still remember the hole in the wall, Where we all sat though you said we'd fall..."). "One Day" is probably my most favorite track of all the songs on the album. It conveys the mood it's meant to express perfectly, and you just can't help but feel good while listening to it. "One Day" will make you feel as though you overcame all the difficulties the singer endured yourself, and lived to sing about it.

The title track is next, "Sweet Freedom" itself, which starts with a grand opening sequence that makes me think of sonically entering into a great cathedral or palace... the steady, almost military drum-beat, the rising of the guitars and the gradual swelling of the richness of the sound as one by one the instruments join in into almost a kind of fanfare. The song itself, though is very sweet, very sad... all about a breakup, based on the idea that (just as Sting told us in his "Dream of the Blue Turtles", 'If you love someone, set them free.' "Sweet" is very sentimental... maybe a little too sentimental, given the clichéd element of the subject matter, but it's still a great song, though not as good as the first and third tracks.

The next song, "If I had the Time" is nice, with some rather interesting guitar bits, but the next favorites for me would be the two after it, the psychedelic "Seven Stars" ("a b c d e f g h i j k l m...") and, even better, the acoustic "Circus". "Circus" is just gorgeous... gentle, laid-back vocals from Byron, excellent guitar-work, and really just nothing to complain about at all. Ever since I first heard this, I always felt as though this was Uriah Heep attempting to channel another favorite band of mine, America. Particularly, "Circus" reminds me of America's very first two albums, which were released both about two years before this. I have no idea if America had any influence on Heep, but I can't deny the similiarity between the two styles, at least as far as this one song is concerned. Next is "Pilgrim", the final song on the album, will likely remind Queen fans of "The Prophet's Song" from "A Night at the Opera". But I honestly think that "Pilgrim" has more going for it than the Queen classic... perhaps I'm trying to compare songs that weren't meant to be looked at together? Both come across as pseudo-religious testimonies, but what I like most about "Pilgrim" is the way it's put together. While "Prophet's Song" was one long (very long) narrative from one character, Heep's song is divided into three distinct parts. The first verse seems to be a prophesy of the coming of "The Pilgrim", a sort of Messiah or prophet. The second verse is a record of a few of the Pilgrim's actual words of wisdom, and the final verse is the testimony of a man who failed to listen to the Pilgrim and now regrets it. Sort of like a miniature mythical Bible, all condensed into five minutes... very interesting.

My version of "Sweet Freedom" is a rerelease, boasting a few bonus tracks... three, to be precise. Two are definitely worth it... the song "Sunshine", which I enjoyed, and a longer cut of "Seven Stars" (basically the intro is longer, with some studio conversation included before hand). Both are great. Unfortunately, also included is a special SHORTER version of "Steelin'", which drastically cuts shorter one of the best parts of the song, Box's excellent guitar solo! Why on earth did they do this, I ask?! Fortunately, as it's but a bonus track, it won't affect this album's five star rating, which the original material most certainly deserves.

And that's what I think of "Sweet Freedom". Let me conclude this review by saying that "Sweet Freedom" is a great record filled to the brim with great songs. You'll enjoy every minute you hear, and by the time it's done you'll be screaming for more. After "Demons and Wizards", I can't think of a better way to introduce anyone to the wonderful music of Uriah Heep, and if you're already initiated into the fold, "Sweet" is an essential album to have in your collection. So what are you waiting for? Buy it today.

Carry on Carry on,

MN

I have been a Uriah Heep fan (Ken Hensley period) for years, and find their style and abiltities as musicians the best in the business and sadly one that is still underrated,(as one reviewer rightly put it, it is the band that you will not admit listening to).
I believe the departure of Hensley from the band did affect it greatly, for although the Heep are still producing decent rock albums, the songs that he contributed and (in some records like Firefly, he did almost all the writing) have an added edge that put Uriah Heep apart from the many dozens of rock bands that rose and fell during rock's golden age (late60s-late 70s).
What gave Uriah Heep a certain power to support and complement Hensley's compositions was David Byron's voice! His sad early death was in my opinion a blow not only to the band but to the rock industry as a whole.
Now Sweet Freedom is another classic from the golden period of Uriah Heep, similar in tone, atmosphere and style to Return To Fantasy with a mix of epic songs, traditional 70s rock and ballads. But for me personally, what distinguishes this record is one song that is one of the best I ever heard, Circus.
I can never tire listening to this gorgeous, brilliantly written song,just over two minutes long, acoustically drenched with Byron in absoluetly top form.
I would buy Sweet Freedom just for this song alone and it will be worth every single penny!
Ken Hensley's solo career has not been that successful, but maybe the knowledge that he was responsible for writing songs that remain to this day classics of rock (Circus, July Morning, Lady in Black),will surely make him one of the greatest musicians in any genre.

First released in 1973, this was their follow-up to 'Magicians Birthday', as well as Uriah's seventh effort. I'm just now discovering something, but I've never previously known about this album for some reason(s). Thought I had every one of their '70's releases on cassette at one time. I've ALWAYS wondered where "Stealin'" had originally come from. Couldn't find it on their other lp's, so I assumed it was a single-only available track when it first came out. Anyway, this is a pretty decent reissue CD, with the lp's original eight cuts + six worthy bonus tunes tagged on for your listening pleasure. Best songs are, of course "Stealin'", title track "Sweet Freedom", "If I Had The Time" and the rocking "Seven Stars". Good heavy British rock & roll.

After recording the landmark "Demons and Wizards" and "The Magician's Birthday" albums in the space of a year, mostly during a grueling tour schedule, Heep's definitive lineup (Mick Box, David Byron, Ken Hensley, Lee Kerslake, Gary Thain) withdrew to a chateau in France in 1973 to take a breather while recording the band's sixth studio album, and delivered another winner. Retreating for the moment from the Zeppelinesque mystical allusions of the previous two, Heep came out with an album that sounds like it was as much fun to record as it is to listen to. Humorous touches abound in the lyrics and music; the opening track "Dreamer" begins with an almost bizarrely woozy guitar flourish that becomes more understandable with the entrance of the tongue-in-cheek lyric: "I've got a dollar deal hidden down in my shoe", similarly, "Stealin'", the FM-radio standard from the album, features a sardonic David Byron telling the listener (with a nudge and a wink) "I done the rancher's daughter, and I sure did hurt his pride... (hah!)", while "Seven Stars" features an outtro of Byron repeatedly singing the alphabet forwards and backwards (trust me, it works!).

On the more serious and musically substantial side, the title track is another of primary songwriter Ken Hensley's seemingly limitless supply of gorgeous epic ballads, with one of Byron's best vocal performances; "If I Had The Time" is a dreamy, atmospheric tune, with some excellent and innovative keyboard sounds, and "Circus" is an absolutely stunning acoustic piece with intricate guitar work from composers Mick Box and Gary Thain, and a beautifully subtle vocal from Byron. The album originally concluded with "Pilgrim", an epic, multi-sectional heavy rocker, with an incredible guitar solo from Box, and quite possibly the best vocal David Byron ever recorded; the CD follows "Pilgrim" with the bonus track "Sunshine", which was inexplicably left off the original LP release, most likely for time constraints, as it easily holds its own amidst the rest of the excellent material featured here.

All in all, a classic album, and an absolute must-have for Heepsters.

After the success of their first live album, the group wasted little time and immediately began preparing and recording new material at the Château d'Herouville in France. The resulting album "Sweet Freedom" came out in late 1973 and it's the fourth release to feature what now is regarded as the classic line-up of this group with David Byron on vocals, Mick Box on guitar, Ken Hensley on keyboards, Gary Thain on bass, and Lee Kerslake on drums. Throughout the recording, there's a fine mix of hard rock, progressive rock, and an acoustic song. I really liked Mick Box's thick fuzz distorted tone that he uses!

The song that gets to start the album is the Box/Thain penned "Dreamer". Great scratchy rhythm guitar, prominent bass lines, a thick hammond organ sound, and the distinctive vocals of Byron makes this track instantly memorable. Note the cool lead guitar bits that Box throws in between the verses. After it's fade out, we go into "Stealin'" that happens to be the most popular song on the album and only one to get radio airplay. It's a rather southern rock sounding song with repentant lyrics written by keyboard player Hensley who dominates here with his organ playing. Still you get a short solo by Box as well.

For a nice change of style comes the Hensley/Thain written "One Day". I like the anthemic feel of the melodies featured in the verses along with short, catchy, melodic lead guitar bits while in the middle, Byron uses vocal overdubs to great effect and finally it comes to an explosive ending...boom! Excellent!
Next is the Hensley written title track "Sweet Freedom" and is one of the best songs on the album! It goes in a prog-rock direction. The guitars, keyboards and vocals harmonize perfectly plus you get very cool bass lines from Thain. Afterwards comes the other progressive rock song included and that is "If I Had The Time" where Hensley uses a moog synth instead of the usual hammond sound resulting in a moody and atmospheric piece. The most memorable part is in the middle when it changes to a haunting section. Towards the end, Box plays a repeating theme on slide guitar.
Now it's on to the poppy sounding "Seven Stars". Box plays his usual thick fuzz distorted electric guitar and an acoustic overdub as well. I really like that part at the end where Byron sings the alphabet forward and then backwards too! But now it's time to go into "Circus". This is an awesome haunting acoustic pop masterpice! It was written by the Box/Thain partnership with help from Kerslake too. Great catchy melodies are showcased and this is one of Byron's best vocal performences here. I also liked the percussion too. It's the shortest song on the album lasting about two minutes and forty seconds. I wish it was longer!
The album closes with the prog rock multi-part epic "Pilgrim" where the songwriting credit is shared by Byron and Hensley. Stunning operatic voclas in the intro and even better sections follow. Then Box comes along to play an incredible, agressive solo drenched in wah wah before the final section, where Byron steals the show with his singing over a melody that's repeated until the fade out that sadly puts an end to the album!

However there's still the bonus tracks to come and the first is the excellent b-side "Sunshine". This is truly a hard rock gem. Stellar voclas by Byron are included in this Box/Thain composition and as the liner notes say, this song could be useful for one of the more modern metal bands to cover. The demo version of "If I Had The Time" is also interesting because it features a different band. Hensley plays piano and acoustic guitar but on the lead guitar is Paul Kossoff and playing drums is Simon Kirke both from the group Free! They add a nice touch to this demo.
Admittedly the two live tracks are not that great, but mostly because of poor sound and the extended version of "Pilgrim" is disappointing too becase it's just a copy and paste job done to the recording featured on the album. In order to have a longer running time, certain parts of the song were repeated! The extended "Seven Stars" is a little better, it runs until the band stops playing instead of the fade out even though is the same recording featured on the original album. These are only minor complains though!

So if you like hard rock and prog rock, then serve yourself. Add this underrated album to your collection! Make sure you get the 2004 remastered version as it includes a thick booklet and bonus tracks! Uriah Heep: A poor man's Deep Purple? No Way!
Thanks for taking the time to read!
Later...

No matter what the people said about Uriah Heep. In fact, Uriah Heep sold out their albums from 1969 until 1996 circa 120 million copies worldwide. The same case like Zeppelin and Deep Purple, Black Sabbath did.
The songs are excellent, stealing, pilgrim and circus are masterpiece! need I say more??