David Byron Please

Wonderworld continues in the vein of Sweet Freedom, trying to bring Uriah Heep's appeal to a wider level while still retaining the grandiose trademark elements (the organ-guitar attack, David Byron's operatic shriek) that got them noticed. The result is an album that is solid but not as inspired as Look at Yourself or Demons and Wizards. The hard rock quotient is a little stronger on this album than it was on Sweet Freedom: "Something or Nothing" is a galloping stomp-rocker in the vein of past classics like "Love Machine" and "Suicidal Man" is an organ-fortified speed-rocker that is one of the band's finest hard rock tunes.

This album was the debut of Uriah Heep, an English band that would become one of the Titans of the '70s heavy metal sound. Despite their eventual hard-rocking reputation, Very 'Eavy… Very 'Umble finds the band trying on different stylistic hats as they work towards finding their own sound. At this juncture, their music falls halfway between the crunch of heavy metal and the dramatic arrangements of prog rock…

On their second album, Uriah Heep jettisons the experiments that weighed down Very 'Eavy Very 'Umble and works toward perfecting their blend of heavy metal power and prog rock complexity. Salisbury tips the band's style in the prog direction, containing one side of songs and one side dominated by a lengthy and ornate epic-length composition…

Proud Words On A Dusty Shelf (1973). This is the solo debut of Uriah Heep's resident keyboardist and top songwriter, but it isn't the heavy metal epic one might expect. In fact, Proud Words On A Dusty Shelf uses electric guitar sparingly and instead goes for a moody soundscape built on acoustic guitar and piano. Songs like "Black Hearted Lady" and "The Last Time" even evoke a bit of a country and western feel, thanks to their use of mellow-sounding slide guitar. This subtle sonic style puts Hensley's songwriting in the spotlight and that is a good thing because each of the songs is well-crafted and tuneful: a subtle combination of acoustic guitar and synthesizer brings out the haunting, delicately crafted melody of "From Time To Time" and "Black Hearted Lady" effectively evokes its mood of heartbreak with a descending acoustic guitar riff…

After two albums that downplayed their penchant for gothic sounds and mystical lyrics, Uriah Heep brought these elements back to the fore on 1975's Return to Fantasy. The resulting album retains the musical experimentation that marked Sweet Freedom and Wonderworld but has an overall harder-rocking feel that makes it more consistent than either one of those albums. Return to Fantasy throws down the gauntlet with the title track, which builds from a tapestry of spooky synthesizer and organ riffs into a thunderous rock tune where the guitar and organ duel over a galloping backbeat laid down by Lee Kerslake. It's bracing stuff and one of the finest rockers in the Uriah Heep canon.

Son of the blues, boogie woogie and rhythm & blues, rock and roll was first known under the name of ‘jump blues’, a more rhythmic and sped up sub-genre of blues, with the well-marked (and very danceable) snare beat. In 1955, ‘Maybelline’ Chuck Berry’s first single is released, and with it, a new era begins. Admired by everybody from The Beatles and The Rolling Stones to Elton John, Eric Clapton and AC/DC, Chuck Berry's influence on the world of music has been massive. In The Many Faces of Chuck Berry we will explore his explosive live performances and his blues roots; we will dig deep into his catalog of hits performed by other artists and we will review some of his fellow early-rockers that changed the music landscape more than 60 years ago. With fantastic artwork, remastered sound and extensive liner notes, this an essential additional to your 20th century music collection.