•
Rating: Upon the release of "Very Eavy, Very Umble", the first work by Uriah Heep, a critic said that if the band were to succeed, he would commit suicide. The anecdote is well-known, but it clearly highlights the superficiality and sarcasm with which Heep has been treated by certain music critics.
The album begins with "Gypsy", a historic track for the band, characterized by an initial part where all instruments play the same riff gradually coming into play, followed by a second part where David Byron's splendid voice emerges, and a central part where Ken Hensley's Hammond launches into a splendid solo supported by Mick Box's granite and repetitive riff: also splendid is how the piece seems to end only to resume up to the final sound apotheosis. The second track, "Walkin’ in Your Shadow," is a piece with more considered sounds, built around a clearly blues-derived riff and well-arranged with the intervention of all instruments: notably elegant are the choruses, with Byron towering above all. The third song, "Come Away Melinda", with its somewhat sickly-sweet lyrics (a girl discovers a photo of her mother, unaware she is dead, asking her father who the woman is who resembles her so), is a ballad with a particularly melancholic melody, essential in its acoustic accompaniment. Side A of the old vinyl closes with the excellent jam "Lucy Blues," where Heep, led by Hensley's Hammond, launch into improvisations that project the listener into the smoky clubs of the southern United States (à la "In Through the Outdoor" by Zeppelin…).
The relaxed tones of the last track are interrupted by the splendid "Dreammare," written by bassist Paul Newton, a particularly impactful piece where choirs, explosive guitar riffs, and Byron's warbles merge marvelously: a worthy counterpart to the "Gypsy" recorded on Side A. It is followed by the excellent "Real Turned My On," a hard rock piece with killer riffs and a syncopated stride. The last two tracks, "I'll Keep on Trying and Wake Up," show clear influences of the nascent prog rock, with a more decorative use of keyboards, more articulated and complex themes, though without losing the melody, an essential characteristic of the band, which emerged clearly in subsequent albums.
It is therefore a thoroughly enjoyable album for all lovers of hard rock, unfairly defined as unoriginal and uninspired by the aforementioned critic, aspiring to suicide: let it not be sacrilegious to say that it does not pale at all next to the masterpieces released in the same year, such as "In Rock" by Deep Purple, "Paranoid" by Black Sabbath, or "III" by Zeppelin, indeed characterized by a cleaner sound than the aforementioned works, and more appealing even to an audience not particularly attentive to the genre.
The rating is a necessary consequence of the previous evaluations.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
01 Gypsy (06:39)
I was only seventeen,
I fell in love with a gypsy queen.
She told me - hold on!
Her father was the leading man,
said "You're not welcome on our land."
and then as a foe, he told me to go.
He took me to a little shack
and put a whip across my back
then told her - leave me.
I was out for quite a time,
came back with her on my mind.
Sweet little girl - she means all the world.
Though I want my gypsy queen,
will she still be torn between
her father and mother?
One day I will go to him
strong enough to fight and win.
The kind of a man that he'll understand
03 Come Away Melinda (03:51)
Daddy, daddy, come and look, see what I have found
A little ways away from here, while digging in the ground
Come away Melinda, come in and close the door
It's nothing, just a picture book, they had before the war
Daddy, daddy come and see, daddy, come and look
Where there's four orfive little Melinda girls
Inside my picture book
Come away Melinda, come in and close the door
There were lots of little girls like you
Before they had the war
Oh daddy, daddy come and see, daddy hurry do!
While there's someone in a pretty dress
She's all grown up like you, won't you tell me why
Come away Melinda, come in and close the door
That someone is your mummy, you had before the war
Daddy, daddy tell me if you can
Why can't things be the way they were, before the war began
Come away Melinda, come in and close the door
The answer lies in yesterday, before they had the war
04 Lucy Blues (05:12)
Well, the very first time
I saw you darling
Not one single word
Would come to my lips
Yes, the very first time
I saw you darling
Not one single word
Would come to my lips
You see, I was so afraid
You wouldn't love me
I wanna tell you right now
I was frightened right down
To my fingertips
So baby, when you went away
That unlucky day last september
I was like a little lost boy
In the wilderness
Baby baby baby ...
When you went away
I was like a little lost boy
In the wilderness
And I've just been sitting here
Thinking of everybody
I've ever known
Well, you know
I still love you the best
Yeah, the best
05 Dreammare (04:42)
Grinning demons, smiling sideways
Laughing in my face
Here within my troubled sleep
There's such a lonely place
Running fast but never moving
I can't get away
Strange but realistic objects
Making me that way
Then it's gone as fast as it came
Evil dream
Changing like the sun turn to rain
It would seem
La la la la la …
Dining with the gods of beauty
On a distant shore
Tasting fruits of untold sweetness
Never seen before
Dancing stars with crystal voices
Beckon with their eyes
Unicorn of many colours
Rides to paradise
Then it's gone as fast as it came
Peaceful scene
Changing like the sun turns to rain
It would seem
La la la la la …
Sleepless nights that last a lifetime
Crucify my head
Dreams of peace and then disaster
Wish that I were dead
Looking for the end of darkness
Seeking out the day
For escape with speed of thunder
Bearing me away
Then it's gone as fast as it came
Peaceful scene
Changing like the sun turns to rain
It would seem
La la la la la …
Come into my dream
07 I'll Keep on Trying (05:29)
You came to me with all of your lies
and I was taken in so well.
Took me quite a time to see the disguise,
you made it very hard to tell.
Now here you are again but you're beggin' in vain
cause I really don't want to know.
You came to me with a little bit of charm,
you had me down on my knees.
I didn't really think there was any harm,
but all you ever did was tease.
You took all the love that I ever had to give
and there was nothing left to show.
Well I remember everything,
everything around me.
The long dark winter till the breath of spring
came close enough to drown me.
So I'm gonna keep on trying - till I feel like dying
and I lay down and pass away.
But that wont happen till tomorrow - and by then I can borrow
another day. So I'm gonna keep on trying.
You came to me with a little bit of charm
and you had me down on my knees.
I didn't really think there was any harm,
but all you ever did was tease.
You took all the love that I ever had to give
and there was nothing left to show.
08 Wake Up (set your sights) (06:30)
Wake up! Set your sights! For never shall we fail.
Stand up for your rights and justice will prevail.
You're listening through endless nights
and decision is your goal.
So wake up! Set your sights! For the time is right for your role.
Yeah - for your role.
Wake up! Wake up! Wake up! Set your sights!
Never, never, never shall we fail.
Stand up, stand up, stand up for your rights.
Justice, justice, justice will prevail.
There in the morning, flying over the hills.
While men are yawning they are crushed by our wheels.
Never have I witnessed people in fear.
Not like today, not in many a year.
Go kill another, there are more close behind.
No screams of mother, are you out of your mind?
Though they are shattered they just don't seem to yield.
Bodies are scattered in all parts of the field.
Oh No! Did I tell you what would happen if you tried?
"Oh God, stop this killing!" said a young man before he died.
Wake up! Set your sights! For never shall we fail.
Stand up for your rights and justice will prevail.
Loading comments slowly
Other reviews
By BugMeNot
"If this band makes it, I’ll commit suicide" – a critic’s harsh debut review, later defied by Uriah Heep’s success.
David Byron’s fantastic vocal performance and Mick Box’s teaspoon mixing sugar became part of the recording.
By Angelowar6
This album has its charm, that raw, imperfect 70s sound, but damn rock.
An intense and very melodious voice... David Byron’s voice, at times operatic and anyway a great performer.
