#Uriah Heep #Ken Hensley #David Byron #hard rock #heavy metal #progressive rock #British prog #heavy prog #heavy blues rock #1970s
Uriah Heep's first album, "Very 'eavy , very 'umble" was not released in the US under that title. Presumably this was because of the Cockney/Dickensian connections which would not have been so meaningful to those outwith the UK. Instead, it was released with a different sleeve and simply titled "Uriah Heep". The track listing is the same, except that "Lucy Blues" is dropped in favour of "Bird of prey". Since "Lucy blues" was the weakest track on VEVU, being a somewhat out of place blues rendition, the revision does represent an improvement. The version of "Bird of prey" included here is different to the one which appeared on the UK version of "Salisbury". (Despite this, it was in turn replaced on the US version of "Salisbury" by the single B side "Simon the bullet freak"). While the "Salisbury" version sees the track being developed well, the slightly rawer earlier version here is well worth hearing. The opening track, "Gypsy" is indeed "heavy", with a driving Hammond organ, a thumping beat, and an early burst of Mick Box's famous wah wah guitar soloing. There are however several decidedly softer moments. "Come away Melinda" (also recorded by UFO) is one of the very few covers the band has done. Their interpretation is quite stunning, with David Byron adopting various vocal sounds to distinguish between the two characters in the song. It's a beautiful, haunting number, with a peaceful message. "Wake up (set your sights)" also has a lovely soft conclusion which follows an almost jazz like opening section. The remaining numbers generally fall into the " 'eavy" category, with tracks like "I'll keep on trying" and "Dreammare" setting out the band's stall for future albums perfectly. From: https://www.progarchives.com/album.asp?id=5919
Uriah Heep are a British Progressive Rock band whose debut was released in 1970 and are still active today. They are considered one of the first Heavy Metal bands, with their initial albums released neck-to-neck with the foundational metal records of Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple and Black Sabbath. They stand out from their early 70s contemporaries by their deeper progressive stylings, a taste for the psychedelic and fantastical, and the very heavy presence of the Hammond organ (to an even greater extent than Deep Purple). The nucleus of the original group was David Byron, a singer with an operatic voice and multi-octave vocal range and lead guitarist Mick Box, both of whom had played in a psychedelic group called Spice in the sixties. The third member of the core of Uriah Heep was Ken Hensley, who contributed keyboards, some guitar and most of the songwriting. Bassist Gary Thain and drummer Lee Kerslake completed the classic line-up that played on the Demons and Wizards and The Magician's Birthday albums. Presently, Box is the only member who has been in every line-up. Not to be confused with the David Copperfield character for whom they're named. From: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Music/UriahHeep
