URIAH HEEP - FUTURE ECHOES OF THE PAST

Mick Box - Guitar & Vocals
Lee Kerslake - Drums & Vocals
Trevor Bolder - Bass Guitar & Vocals
Phil Lanzon - Keyboards & Vocals
Bernie Shaw - Lead Singer
Uriah Heep...anyone remembers that band? They're that band who had a world hit with 'Easy Livin'' in the early seventies. That band exists for 30 years now. I might be 15, but I have loved this band ever since I first heard my father's 'Look At Yourself'-LP (the one with the mirror on the cover). I think they released this CD (the front cover says "The Very Best Of Uriah Heep Live") to celebrate their 30 year anniversary (even though that was in 1999). This is a live double CD recorded during two live shows in Germany (Aschaffenburg and Munich) at the end of November 1999. For those who don't know what Uriah Heep stands for; they're a great seventies Rock band who might even have been more important for Heavy Metal than the divine Deep Purple. The music is mainly in the same vein as Deep Purple, accept for there are a lot of choirs in Uriah Heep and the band created an important place for the "wah-wah" guitar. Guitarist Mick Box is the only original member left in the band, but drummer Lee Kerslake has also been in the band for a long time, almost from the beginning. I also think it's their stamina that kept the band alive. Well enough about the band's history, let's talk about this CD. The quality of the CD is exceptionally high. Although most the band members are near fifty (maybe even past fifty?), their live shows still are very "alive". This CD at least shows a lot more energy than the last Deep Purple live shows I've seen. The new and old material is devided perfectly (10 songs from the last two albums, 'Sea Of Light' and 'Sonic Origami', and 11 songs from the classic period). CD 1 mainly has some newer songs, while CD 2 has more classics. There's also a bonus track called 'Come Away Melinda', which was recorded during a sound check in Munich, on my version. The band is very good on the album. Bernie Shaw (of course a better singer than David Byron (RIP), even though it was Byron with whom the band had their biggest hits) sings wonderfully and the band shows itself perfectly. The choirs sound great (perfect maybe?) and there's a lot of energy on the CD. Near the end of the shows, one is able to hear that Bernie is a little tired, but we'll forgive him, he's about fifty years old and he's been singing with a great band for about two hours. Fans of seventies Rock and maybe even fans of other kinds of music should surely take a listen to this great album, which shows a band which is worth still being on top. I don't have to warn Uriah Heep-fans, because I guess they already have it. They probably also have the official bootlegs which the band released hardly two moths after this release ('Acoustically Driven' and 'Electrically Driven'). I haven't gotten those yet (hey, I don't have that much money), but I'll enjoy myself with this great album for a while. Still I have one question...where is 'Return To Fantasy'?
8.6
SONG-BY-SONG

Disc One:
  1. Between Two Worlds: The great, energetic opener of 1998's 'Sonic Origami' also became the opener of disc one. Well, what's left to say about this song? It's a steady rocker which is a great opener and the live version isn't even that much different from the original studio version, but it definitely sounds good.
  2. I Hear Voices: Also from the latest studio album 'Sonic Origami'. And also a good, steady rocker, which makes it a good live song. This song definitely sounds like the old Deep Purple (I say "old" since Ritchie Blackmore isn't a hardrocker anymore).
  3. Stealin': The first classic on the double CD. I have always liked the live versions of this song more than the original version, but this one is for some reason (maybe because of Bernie Shaw's voice) one of the best versions I've ever heard of this song. It's a great mellow rock song.
  4. Universal Wheels: A great powerful rock song from the 'Sea Of Light'-album. Bernie already says the next couple of songs will be from the 'Sea Of Light'. This is also a great live song, a pretty fast rocker which bursts of energy.
  5. Time Of Revelation: Also a great rocker from the 'Sea Of Light'-album. This song actually is pretty much in the vein of the older material (from the seventies).
  6. Only The Young: The third consecutive song from 'Sea Of Light', but this one is a slower, more mellow, Rock song written by bassist Trevor Bolder. The choirs in the chorus definitely sound great and the song has pretty much emotion.
  7. Sweet Freedom: Another classic. According to Bernie Shaw, they haven't played this one for a really long time (since 1973, he says it in German). This song is the title track from 1972's release, which also featured the classic 'Stealin''. Also this one is a pretty mellow rocker, and it does pretty good live.
  8. Rain: I actually didn't know this song before hearing this album, but it's written by former keyboard player Ken Hensley, so I guess it's a song from the classic period. It's a beautiful piano ballad which is sung very good by Bernie Shaw. Meanwhile, I'm going to look for the original version.
  9. Feels Like: Again a song from the latest 'Sonic Origami' album. And it's again a steady rocker Deep Purple would be jaleous of, especially the keyboard work is pretty equal to the good old days of Deep Purple.
  10. Sunrise: Another Uriah Heep-classic written by Ken Hensley. And it definitely is nearly as good as the old stuff like 'Look At Yourself' and 'Easy Livin''. The choirs sound good on this one. Lot of goosebumps on this one!
  11. Heartless Land: A great Rock song with acoustic guitar from the 'Sonic Origami' album. Of course the typical Uriah Heep choirs are present on this song and a thing that I positively noticed is Trevor Bolder's bass work. The tambourine-like sounds (I think it are such "percussion-eggs") sound great!
  12. Shelter From The Rain: A pretty mellow song, but it's still pretty typical Uriah Heep. Especially the Hammond Organ sound is very "Uriah Heep". The chorus (with the choirs and Bernie Shaw solo through it) sounds vey good.
  13. Love In Silence: Another semi-acoustic song. Of course Mick Box' acoustic guitar sounds great, but the pianos of Phil Lanzon also sound good and I must not forget Trevor Bolder's bass work.
Disc Two:
  1. July Morning: Uriah Heep's 'Child In Time' (Deep Purple, for the tastless young people). Finally a song from the 'Look At Yourself'-album. I never really thought this song as a good live song, but it definitely is. This is one of the best songs ever and the live version is good too. Just listen to Mick Box' great guitar solos! The choirs are performed very good and though Bernie sounds a little tired, he does it very good on this one.
  2. Bird Of Prey: Another classic, I thought this one is from 1970's 'Salisbury'-album. This is again a great song which shows Heavy Metal in it's earliest form; great guitar riffs and solos and some great hammond organ/synth work. Bernie handles the high vocals greatly and that especially sounds good in the intro.
  3. Gypsy: Even though the band has made many, many great songs afterwards, this song from 1969's debut 'Very 'Eavy Very 'Umble' is my favorite Uriah Heep-song ever. Too bad the short version is played here (I'd rather hear the entire version of 7 minutes), but that doesn't make the song any less, it still sounds great and the magical guitar riffs and the pretty psychedelic hammond solo still enchant me.
  4. Everything In Life: Pretty much of an anti-climax, a 'Sea Of Light'-song between all those classics. No just kidding, it is a great live song, only minus is that Bernie is a little tired and doesn't reach some notes for that reason.
  5. Easy Livin': The band's biggest hit is the only song from the legendary 'Demons & Wizards'-record which appears on this live album. The song is still alive as it used to be and the guitars, keyboards and choirs sound like they're supposed to sound. Thumbs up!!!
  6. Question: Another semi-acoustic Rock song. I don't have to doubt Mick Box' great acoustic guitar parts and of course the rest of the band sounds great too. Especially the synth parts sound great, Phil Lanzon makes the end of the song sound very much like Irish folk music and that always does good with me.
  7. Look At Yourself: The classic Uriah Heep song from the LP with the same title. This was actually the first Uriah Heep song I've ever heard and this version proofs it to be a really good live song. Mick Box gets a lot of space to play some solos and he used that space really good. It shows that Mick Box is one of the not so many guitarists that come close to Ritchie Blackmore's divinity. Of course Mick uses his famous "wah-wah"-effect in this solos.
  8. Lady In Black: You might have noticed that Uriah Heep made a lot of semi-acoustic Rock songs, but I guess this was the first one. This song of the 'Salisbury'-album and I like it a lot. I have a live version on .mp3 I like more, but this one is definitely great. Always great to hear the audience sing along ("Aah ah aah...").
  9. Come Away Melinda: This song was recorded during the soundcheck in Munich. If I didn't know that, I would have said it was a studio song. That explains how good it sounds I guess. This song isn't written by Uriah Heep, but it still sounds very good to me. I don't know who's the original artist, but what the hell...
Return to the main page