Wake the Sleeper

Uriah Heep | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 12, 2008)
• Original Release Date: September 12, 2008
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Sanctuary Records
• ASIN: B0016CP21I
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (29 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #115,748 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Japanese only SHM-CD (Super High Material CD - playable on all CD players) pressing. Universal. 2008. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great new album from Uriah Heep!, July 5, 2008

By 

Chris Morgan (Palm Desert, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Wake the Sleeper (Audio CD)

The new Uriah Heep album is a great addition to their catalog and I am glad that I bought it. This album is very heavy rock bursting with energy. The sonic wall of classic heep sounds full of energy and is wrapped around tuneful melodies and tasteful production. The guitar is wailing, the organ is thumping, the bass is booming, the drummer is blasting, the singer is soaring...buy it!

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Return to Glory, July 5, 2008

By 

J. Pearson (Bothell, WA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Wake the Sleeper (Audio CD)

Just so you know, Uriah Heep has been my favorite band for 25 years. I may be a huge fan, but I am also a harsh critic when they release a dud (such as Equator). That said, this is their most solid album since at least Firefly, if not their glory years with Gary Thain.

The only keyboard used is a Hammond B-3, which Phil Lanzon plays far better than ever before, and with the same kind of manic energy that Ken Hensley brought in the early 70s. The new drummer, Russell Gilbrook, brings a similar energy that seems to have re-energized the entire band. All of the Heep trademarks are here, from the Hammond to Mick Box's wah-wah to the Heep choir. There is no weak track as well as some of Heep's best moments ever. Trevor Bolder is still holding down the bass end superbly (although mixed too low for my tastes for most of the album) and Bernie Shaw brings the same sort of emotion that the late great David Byron did during Heep's glory years. No, Bernie is not David, but he has been Heep's lead singer for more than 20 years now and his voice is just as amazing as David's was.

My favorite songs after a couple dozen listens are Angels Walk With You, What Kind of God (the last two minutes are possibly Heep's finest musical moment EVER!!), War Child (especially the opening verse), Overload, and the title track (what a bloody great riff!!!). On the first couple of listens, it seemed to bog down a bit on tracks 4-6, but no longer.

If you are any sort of Uriah Heep, melodic rock, or fan of classic hard rock, I can't recommend this album heartily enough!!

14 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Energy!!!, June 14, 2008

By 

A Teacher "resource dude" (Sabinal, TX USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Wake the Sleeper (Audio CD)

This party gets off to a rousing start. The first cut is the title cut and rocks every tastebud in these ears right down to my cheerful toes! Largely instrumental in power, there is a chorus that come in and reminds those who have slept through the first 60 seconds to wake up! My bet is they don't really have to say that, it's impossible for the energy of this song to not wake us up. Unless, of course, they are speaking of the metaphorical sleepers. I have another idea - that they are speaking of those who are sleeping through the political times and not participating in making the world a better place to exist. I make that judgment based on some of the other songs. The second song tells me that "tonight you're going to overload your mind" and then reminds us that "life moves faster than the speed of sound". The next powerhouse rocks the party with the reminder that "I have the best of everything" as the "tears of the world keep falling." Powerful writing with exciting playing, a great party is promised.

Two confessions. First, Uriah Heep was important to my early adulthood as I dealt with some issues between choosing war or sanity. As I maneuvered my way through the system to get honorably discharged from the war that I was dragged into, the music of Uriah Heep helped bring a peace that wasn't available from other sources. The second album, Look At Yourself, was played over and over as I made my arguments to my "superiors" about the immorality of the war we were engaged with at the time. It took many inner reflections as those around me were claiming I was was a coward, etc, etc. I'm not going to tell the tale here, only explain that Uriah Heep held a powerful place in my life in the early 70's with songs like Look At Yourself, I Wanna Be Free, July Morning, Tears In My Eyes, Shadows Of Grief, and What Should Be Done. Love Machine was icing on the cake. The good news is I was eventually honorably discharged without needing to carry a weapon to kill people I had no reason to see as my enemy.

Second, I followed Uriah Heep's career throughout the 70s. I still own ten of their albums. But somehow we lost touch. I seriously had no concept that they were still a working band. Even though I hang out with musicians and the music business, their output had escaped my detection. Well, I'm glad that this little blog was noticed by someone overseas that decided to mail a copy of the CD. I feel re-united with some powerful musicians and songwriters, but turns out it was all my fault. I did a bit of research and these guys have many cds available. As imports only, which means I am not the only fan who stopped purchasing their music. Let's fix that.

Back to the album. I have to also mention a song that makes me so sad I cry seriously wet tears when I hear it. That's powerful. The song is called What Kind Of God, and it's one of those you must hear to appreciate because the music enhances the lyric and brings a deeper emotional experience. The narrator takes on the view of a person facing "100 white soldiers" from a "far-away place with guns and new order" and contemplating "what kind of god do they see? What kind of God can this be?" The song is powerful because I am able to listen to the words and picture it as a song told from the viewpoint of Native Americans being attacked by Europeans, or Iraqis being attacked by people of European descent. Religion is always the basis, and the god of the killers must be looked upon by those being oppressed as extremely evil, which of course he is because the god, as religious as he is, is in every case money and greed.

More shoutouts for Ghost Of The Ocean and Angels Walk With You ("a new world with a new morning, a new sunrise on a brand-new day). Thanks for keeping up the music guys! I'll do my best not to lose track again.