ALBUM REVIEWS
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ALBUM REVIEWS |
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Uriah Heep
CELEBRATION earMUSIC 26.10.09 @www.vanguard-online.co.uk
There is a rumbling in some music circles about a revival of rock music happening at the moment, I say this is complete tosh and Uriah Heep are a prime example of this. They never went away, even in the musically barren decades of the eighties and nineties (a very extreme generalisation I know but hey, I spouting rubbish here) they were still doing their thing, maybe in smaller less salubrious venues and to an established following of fans and the album ‘Celebration’ is exactly that, a celebration of their dedication to the music they have been producing for 40 years. I must admit that I’d not really paid Uriah Heep much attention in my youth, they were on some compilations I had but they seemed to be from an earlier age of rock that didn’t fit with my Metal Thrashing Mad ideology. The real revelation came purely by chance as this album follows Deep Purple Live at the Yokohama on my MP3 player and the two bands style couldn’t be split, both delivering heady lyrics and Hammond organ infused riffs. Uriah Heep deserves the comparison with Deep Purple and to stake their place as one of the forefathers of British rock music. The album is a collection of new songs ‘Only Human’, ‘Corridors of Madness’ that are placed alongside earlier offerings including ‘Easy Living’ and ‘Gypsy’ but I’m listening with an almost virgin ear as most of the old stuff isn’t that familiar to me. The opening track ‘Only Human’ is my favourite but the rest of the album doesn’t disappoint. The idea behind the release is that the band in its current guise (they’ve had over 20 personnel changes) has been performing their extensive back catalogue for a number years on the live circuit and it was about time they recorded the originals giving them a fresh lease of life, defining the subtle differences that come with different musicians playing the same material. As an album, it's more refreshing that your usual run of the mill ‘Best Of’ and will appeal to existing fans rather than gaining a new audience but I get the impression the Uriah Heep have long since dismissed the rather fickle music scene to concentrate on what they do best and this album exemplifies that. www.uriah-heep.com |
