You can hear it on the song “Look at Yourself” for one of the clearest examples. And yes, they had a distinct Deep Purple influence too. Lucky for fans and their own sake, it worked out well for everyone.īesides Deep Purple, Uriah Heep was one of the first to fuse heavy metal with progressive rock. The band says in new liner notes by rock writer Joel McIver that it had a lot of creative energy to use for this, their third LP in less than 18 months. record, which was their second of 1971, following up the February release of sophomore effort, Salisbury. In those days, record companies and management pressed bands hard to keep momentum going and cash coming to the point where they had to release a new record every year – sometimes more than one, as was the case with Heep and their L.A.Y. UH had big expectations of itself for their third release. Reviewed here is the new two-disc digipack reissue of Look at Yourself, which (still) comes with a pretty cool foil “mirror” on the front cover that displays a blurred/distorted image of the person seeing it, as well as a bonus CD with 11 tracks of previously unreleased material. And though 1970 debut album …Very ‘Eavy …Very ‘Umble is seen as an early heavy metal classic, their most widely praised LPs among both fans and critics are Look at Yourself and D&W, the latter of which contains fantasy-based themes that future bands such as Iron Maiden would later champion in their own admired works. “Lady in Black,” “The Wizard,” “Easy Livin’,” “July Morning,” and “Gypsy” are some of the most popular Heep songs in their catalog. While fellow British brethren Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, and Deep Purple got the global glory and long-lasting fame they deserved for their innovations in the heavy rock realm, the Heep, even with 40 million records sold worldwide to date, never got as much name recognition but still earned the admiration of musicians all around the world. All in all, Look at Yourself is both one of Uriah Heep's finest, most cohesive albums and a high point of 1970s heavy metal.On March 31, BMG/Sanctuary Records began a reissue campaign for Look at Yourself, Demons and Wizards, and The Magician’s Birthday, which are the third, fourth, and fifth albums, respectively, from one of the pioneers of hard rock and heavy metal, Uriah Heep. Special note should also be taken of David Byron's vocal performance his multi-octave, operatic style was no doubt an influence on later metal vocalists like Rob Halford. However, the best track on the album is one of the more prog-oriented ones: "July Morning" starts with a pastoral organ riff, then builds into a heavy yet symphonic rock tune that divides its time between gentle acoustic verses and emotional, organ-fueled choruses before climaxing in a monstrous jam dominated by a swirling Moog synthesizer lead. In the rock arena, the gems are "Tears in My Eyes," a powerful rocker driven by an almost rockabilly-style riff that stops midway for a surprising vocal harmony break supported by smooth wah-wah guitar, and "Love Machine," a short, punchy slice of hard rock built on an infectious, stomping rhythm. The remainder of Look at Yourself presents an effective blend of gutsy guitar rock and organ-fueled prog excursions. The gauntlet is thrown down on the title track, a powerful rocker that layers its relentless hard rock attack with ornate vocal harmonies and quicksilver organ runs before climaxing with a tribal-sounding drum jam. The third time proved to be the charm for Uriah Heep: on Look at Yourself, the group perfects its fusion of heavy metal power and prog rock majesty, and the result is one of the best albums in the Heep catalog.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |