Uriah Heep

Uriah Heep stands out as one of the best classic rock bands in history. The band experienced tremendous success between the late 1960’s and early 1970’s. The band has however released 24 albums to date the latest album being; Outsider released in 2014. Uriah Heep has sold over 40 million albums worldwide. Of all the bands hits, there are a few that stand out from the rest. This article will focus on discussing top Uriah Heep songs only. Below are top 5 Uriah Heep songs of all times.

5. Sunrise

This song makes it to this list given the fact that the song is the most popular of all songs in Uriah Heep’s 5th studio album; Magician’s Birthday. After being released, Sunrise became an instant hit and an enduring staple of every single tour as well as live performance by Uriah Heep from 1972 onwards. The song is also considered one of the best Uriah Heep songs because of the song’s ability to balance the directness of hard rock with prog’s dynamic variety.

4. Easy Livin

This is another top Uriah Heep song from the band’s 1972 album entitled; Demons and Wizards. Although the song can easily qualify as the least adventurous composition in this list, the song still stands out for putting up great resistance despite numerous inexorable attacks and blunt force assaults on the songs sense. This is one of the main reasons why many bands have covered Easy Livin over the years more than any other song in Uriah Heep’s discography.

3. Gypsy

This song is proof that 1st impressions go a long way even in music. Gypsy was released in 1970. The song is the opening track of Uriah Heep’s debut album; Very ‘Eavy..Very ‘Umble’. Most diehard Uriah Heep fans have this song as their all-time favourite. Although some critics claim that the song lacks in latter-day subtlety, there is no doubt on the vital role the song has played as a building block for heavy metal music.

2. Bird of Prey

Bird of Prey can easily qualify as the most dramatic song in Uria Heep’s entire discography as well as the entire early heavy metal. The song ”shouts” as opposed to speaking about Byron’s histrionic falsettos not to mention Ken Hensley’s paranoid vertigo-including keys and Mick Box’s extremely churning power chords. The song was first released in UK knocking off the band’s debut and popularity in the UK before spreading to the US. You just need to listen to Bird of Prey to understand why the song distinctively stands out from all other Uriah Heep songs.

1. Look at Yourself

This song is named after Uriah Heep’s 1971 third studio album; Look at Yourself. This song takes the number one spot for managing to capture the band’s first albums’ commercial viability into one track as well as opening the gates to diversity as highlighted in the song’s coda manic percussive climax. The song is also among Uriah Heep’s sharpest social commentary songs given the fact that the song is backed by lyrics and the album cover’s reflective foil mirror effect which produced distorted images of everyone who looked at it. The song clearly deserves the number one spot of all Uriah Heep songs.

Some might argue that listening to Uriah Heep on anything is great. A lot of us probably started listening on crappy AM radios back in the 60s and 70s and we thought that were totally cool and groovy, man! But the days of vinyl and 8 track tapes are over and now that we are grown up, it is time for some high quality equipment.

Not surprisingly we seem to listen to music most often in our cars. Long commutes make our autos the perfect place to enjoy music. That having been said, Uriah Heep is not Hip-Hop. We aren’t looking for thunderous, overpowering thump in our system. Good bass response is a must, but it needs to be balanced properly to get the full range of music. You want it to sound like you are at a live Uriah Heep concert.

Cars are not the only mobile sound systems that count. Boating is a great way to relax and people love to listen to music as they cruise the waves. On a boat you need a waterproof type stereo and marine speakers that are impervious to rain and splashing. But all the same principles apply. You can get a waterproof subwoofer to make sure the low end is there in the music, but don’t forget to get your tweeters up high to preserve the sparkle in the music. You don’t want to miss any of those high operatic, Uriah Heep vocals!

When it comes to home stereo systems, many people are opting for a whole-home type setup. Speakers can be installed in a ceiling pointing down which gives the listener an unobstructed line of sight to the tweeter. That is a great position. Many people will integrate their audio listening along with the surround sound system attached to their TVs for a dual purpose setup.

Uriah Heep can easily qualify as the best English rock band of all times in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s. The band’s story began in the late 1960’s when two upcoming bands in London at the time namely; The Gods and Spice came together. The Gods band was composed of Lee Kerslake, Ken Hensley and Paul Newton at the time. Spice was composed of Mick Box, Alex Napier, David Byron and Paul Newton

Renowned band manager and English record producer Gerry Bron was responsible for merging the two bands together given the fact that he offered Spice studio recording time after seeing the band play live in the late 1969’s in The Blues Loft, High Wycombe. Bron was interested in seeing how the band would sound in a studio environment.

After getting the Spice band to the studio, Bron was impressed by their ability and signed them immediately. He however felt the band needed an added dimension i.e. keyboards. Bron’s friend Colin Wood was the first choice. The band was however in need of a permanent keyboard player. Paul Newton suggested Ken Hensley who he knew from the Gods band.

This marked the birth of Uriah Heep. Bron suggested the name change when the band started recording their first album. A number of line up changes occurred a few months after Uriah Heep was formed. For instance, Alex Napier left the band after recording a few tracks in the band’s debut album. He was replaced by drummer Nigel Olssen who also left after a short time to join Elton John’s Band.

Olssen was replaced by Keith Baker who remained in Uriah Heep until the band finished recording their second album. He left shortly after that. Keith Baker was replaced by Ian Clarke (an ex-Cressida drummer) who stayed with Uriah Heep until the band finished recording their third album; Look At Yourself.

Ian Clarke and Paul Newton left the band in November 1971 making the end of their high profile music careers. At this point Uriah Heep almost spiralled into disarray. The band’s third album was however doing well in the US indicating that all wasn’t lost. The band had to regain stability to transition without its key members.

With Lee Kerslake handling the drums, Uriah Heep needed a good bass player. Ex-colosseum bassist; Mark Clarke joined the band. He was however unsuitable which prompted his quick exit 3 months later. Gary Thain; a New Zealander joined Uriah Heep in February 1972 to replace Clarke. He had a weath of touring and recording experience from his former band; Keef Hartley.

The new line-up survived the next 27 months. The band recorded 5 albums and numerous release tracks. The studio albums included; ”Demons And Wizards”, ”The Magician’s Birthday’’, ”Sweet Freedom”, ”Wonderworld”, and a double album; ”Uriah Heep Live”. February 1975 marked the end of Gary Thain’s career as a Uriah Heep member. He was removed from the band because of his unreliability and drug problems. He died in December 1975 from a drug overdose.

John Wetton replaced Thain. By 1976, Uriah Heep was already showing serious signs of stress that were characteristic of many internationally successful bands before the end of a fruitful era. The band’s next album Fallen Angel didn’t do well marking the beginning of a downwards spiral. Many Uriah Heep fans felt the band was diverting from the original musical direction. When keyboardist Ken Hensley left Uriah Heep, Mick Box contemplated forming his own band despite being extremely resilient over the years. The band never really reclaimed its victory despite releasing many other albums and performing in many shows thereafter.