Here's an example of how a small, enterprising UK label can mine an artist's back catalogue, inventively and fruitfully.
The most successful period in the enduring Uriah Heep's career may well have been over 30 years ago, but the three albums released in the 90s,
'Sea Of Light', '
Spellbinder Live' and
'Sonic Origami' proved that the current lineup - 20 years and counting - is still well capable of producing relevant, high calibre, progressive melodic rock.
You could argue a good case that 3 albums is an impossibly slim body of work from which to create a decent compilation, but the tracks are chosen well.
No pretension, hidden agendas or musical wrinkles to Uriah Heep's recordings nowadays. The fantasy themes are long gone. What you see is what you get. Just classy, progressive melodic rock, written by experienced craftsmen, delivered with punch and panache.
This collection just barrels along on good tunes, a welter of heavy riffs, dramatic keyboards, a lot of big choruses and backing vocals filled to bursting with soaring harmonies.
The brilliantly grandiose
'I Hear Voices'. The rifftastic hard rock of
'Universal Wheels'; the surging '
Spirit Of Freedom' and the compact, declamatory
'Change' all contribute greatly to the Heep cannon, all reaching for that awesome melodic moment and not falling far short.
Uriah Heep are not a band often quoted by others as an influence, but listen to
'Dream On' and tell me that Saigon Kick haven't felt the heat.
Survivor's 'Across The Miles' is a personal favourite. Like the source album, 'Too Hot Too Sleep', it's often overlooked. Heep's marvellous cover is here, not quite as atmospheric or as lingeringly romantic as the original, but perhaps more powerful and harder hitting.
Unsurprisingly, 'Spellbinder Live' proves to be a rich source of classic back catalogue 'Heep, giving us satisfyingly heavy, highly energetic versions of crowd favourites
, 'Gypsy',
'Stealin', '
Wizard' and '
Easy Livin'.
An outstanding compilation then. Not representative of the band's career overall perhaps, but a neat, hi-def snapshot of the band's nineties resurgence.
Written by
Brian Wednesday, January 5, 2011
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