#2 – The Wizard – Demons and Wizards (1972)Īye. And an absolute must-have on this Top 10. All of that is embedded in the somewhat hazy progressive rock of that time. I really got a kick out of the boy in trouble with a gypsy queen. And this on an album that had some trouble getting off the ground, with some sort of an identity crisis right there.
#3 – Gypsy – Very ‘Eavy, Very ‘Umble (1970)īang! First album, first hit right away. It is for sure the riff/solo that got my attention first, with the lyrics a close second. One that never left yours truly over all these years. Sympathy is another staple track of this amazing and very successful band. Ken Hensley wrote it, John Lawton sang it, with Byron safely out the door. There does not seem to be a middle ground. What good would a Top 10 be without the title track of one of the most renowned albums ever written by Uriah Heep? In truth, however, this song has been maligned or loved by many. #5 – Return to Fantasy – Return to Fantasy (1975) But hey, nothing more than that – and to enjoy the music of course. As the lore goes, the track depicts the misgivings of an outlaw about his life and conduct. Appearing on Uriah Heep‘s 6th record, Stealin’ proved a great hit with potential. But this bad boy thing fuels its appeal, in the end, make no mistake. And – of course – some bigots in the purist field decided to ban this song for exactly that precise reason. “I done the rancher’s daughter, and I surely hurt his pride” – already that line got on my good side. For the whole of the 2 minutes and 36 seconds it lasts. On top of that, the fast-paced chugging with the somewhat shrilly intrusive keys really take your breath away. Already the line “This is a thing I’ve never known before / it’s called easy livin’ “ sounds like a killer and worms itself into your brain. And it continues to captivate us to this day. The short blurb Easy Livin’ really took the audience by storm back in its time. #7 – Easy Livin’ – Demons and Wizards (1972) In addition, the change in style from their first record to this one is truly stunning. Just check out the metal scream and the meaty riffing that comes with the song. And some sort of an excursion into early Heavy Metal territory, albeit at a weird scale. The track sports truly Progressive Hard Rock.
But this is still on my lists of favorites and for sure needs to find a place on this Top 10.ĭavid Byron‘s falsetto interludes with the first track on Salisbury came as a real shock to many. However, Western Europe got hit like a friggin’ tsunami back in the late ’70s with this song endlessly roaring out of music boxes and loudspeakers. Admittedly, it was never a great hit in the UK or the US, for the simple reason that it never really released as a single. Ken Hensley got a lot of credit for writing this specific track. But once you get into the thick of things, it will reveal its qualities. A Year or A Day seems to be a somewhat eclectic choice at first. Coming from a renowned album, yet with relatively little acclaim, the band nonetheless managed to produce two pretty strong tracks that stuck to the audience like glue. The amazing progression on this track always gets on my good side. #10 – A Year or A Day – Return to Fantasy (1975) But boy, we had to dig deep into the entrails of our collection to get to the good stuff.įancy going larger and listening to some stellar Uriah Heep whilst you browse this list? Here’s our extended Spotify playlist. The list will – for once – go beyond the albums we already reviewed. And it is now time to have a look at the Top 10 tracks they produced over time. This is one of the reasons why the RMR deck crew already spilt a lot of ink on Heep. True pioneers of their trade with a load of courage and little regard for modern marketing. Only there you had bands like Uriah Heep taking the lead. Well, the same was the case some 40-50 years ago. Of music styles that aren’t available right now, of emerging ideas. Mainly because they’re outside of the proverbial box and exude that odor of new beginnings. They truly were a staple of the ’70s and ’80s and still going strong to this day.Īnd it’s funny, ain’t it? Today’s progressive bands – rock or metal – generate a ton of interest. Uriah Heep surely is one of these bands that shaped the future of rock and – to an extent – the emergence of metal. From time to time we like to reach backward, way into the past. In those days, rock was a hot item and metal slowly appeared on the scene.
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