Uriah Heep

By 1976, Uriah Heep was on shaky ground. Although they had scored a big success with Return to Fantasy, the group was suffering from personality conflicts (vocalist David Byron left after this album) and division over their musical direction…

Although Uriah Heep is known for its extensive personnel changes, its lineup has been stable since the mid-'80s; unfortunately, that stability coincided with the band's commercial decline (its last album to chart in the U.S. came in 1983, its last in its native U.K., 1985). So, no one outside the group's fan base noticed that the quintet of founding member and guitarist Mick Box, drummer Lee Kerslake (1971-1978, 1982-2007), bassist Trevor Bolder (who joined in 1977, left during the band's hiatus in the early '80s, and returned a couple of years after its re-formation), singer Bernie Shaw, and keyboard player Phil Lanzon (both of whom joined in the mid-'80s) remained in place through numerous world tours and the studio albums Raging Silence (1989), Different World (1991), Sea of Light (1995), and Sonic Origami (1998).

This album was recorded their gig at San Diego Sports Arena in San Diego, California, February 8, 1974. The line-up featured Mick Box, David Byron, Ken Hensley, Lee Kerslake, Gary Thain, were so called "classic" Heep line up and it's easy to hear why. This night was a powerful night.

After rising from the ashes with 1982's impressive Abominog, Uriah Heep continued to pursue a similar combination of heavy metal firepower and AOR sleekness on Head First. This album lacks the consistently strong tunes and unified feel of its predecessor, but it still offers enough highlights to make it worth a listen…

Tucked mischievously away at the back end of Uriah Heep’s 25th studio album, Falling Under Your Spell could well be the best song the British legends have written since the early 70s. Admittedly, it’s a dead spit for the immortal Easy Livin’, and that may be why the band opted to keep it as a belated treat, rather than placing it front and centre. But what a song it is, all propelled along by that unmistakable turbocharged shuffle, as Phil Lanzon’s rampaging, fiery keys fill up the foreground and the increasingly irresistible Bernie Shaw bellows his veteran head off…