Uriah Heep's first two albums, underrated?

Likewise, my friend. I remember liking your taste in music. Hope all is well in your 'hood.

 

Actually, in those days, I was more of a Uriah Heep fan than Deep Purple. The run of Very Evy Very Umble, Salisbury,Look At Yourself, Demons and Wizards, Magician's Birthday and Uriah Heep live were all darn good to me. Especially the last four.

 

First two albums are killer releases !!!

 

Their debut has some good songs.

 

Very ' Eavy,Very 'Umble and Salisbury are superb examples of early '70s prog in my opinion and Uriah Heep developed as they went along.

 

Love, love, love the first album !

 

The cd remaster of "very evy" is one of the albums that made me realise modern cd mastering sucks haha. I really hate the sound of "come away Melinda" on the cd, the mellotron sounds so much better on vinyl.

As a kid I was always slightly scared by the cobweb covered face on the cover and the doom laden sound of the organ on "Gypsy" is one of the reasons I love heavy music. There is nothing else that sounds like that in rock.

My dad is a huge Heap fan, he even saw them live sometime in the 80's. I recently took possession of most of his collection and gave Salisbury a listen for the first time. I was actually surprised how well side two held up. I have only really been a greatest hits type fan of the bands work, but something about this album grabbed me.

 

Great albums and great band.

 

Eek. I'm not a big fan though I do like much of their stuff. It's been a long time since I've listened to all of their albums consecutively, but I am in the crowd that appreciates their "big" albums more than the first two. Specifically, I remember finding the first album to be pretty dire minus "Gypsy". They definitely seemed to improve after that.

 

"There's a line in a rhyme,I was going to send to you"

 

The first five album run from very 'eavy to Magicians Birthday is first class and I have always rated the debut well ahead ahead of Salisbury - which I think is easily the weakest of the five.

Uriah Heep were huge in this part of the world back then. It's interesting that their success was somewhat limited in the U.S. at the same time.

 

I love the diversity of their first record. Lucy Blues is such a laid back and lovely song, and you get every territory from folk to prog rock to proto-metal and straight rock and roll in one package. Salisbury is even more expansive... High Priestess kicks ass, the title track is a long, winding journey with great use of brass. Always liked Uriah Heep. No doubt their two first albums are just as first-rate as their 1971-1973 output. And even before that we have Born in a Trunk which is a nice piece of heavy psych.

 

Well, the debut lacks the signature sound, they set with Salisbury. The debut has a few good tracks, but also a few fillers. The weakest of the five! But I will purchase the 2 CD Deluxe... hoping for better mastering.

 

The Sanctuary set from 2003, or is there another one I don't know about?

 

At the time they were criticized as being too similar to Deep Purple and I think they did/do sound very much like them Jon. I'd even say that they were as good as DP.
First class vocals, guitar, keyboards (various members) and rhythm section. I prefer some of the stuff on "Look At Yourself" to the first two albums. The ultimate UH album that our gang used to play the most was the double Uriah Heep Live.

 

I certainly agree with this - the first album was them finding their way. I like the diversity on it however and Gypsy made an everlasting impression on me

I still spin Salisbury a bit, particularly for the title track....and the Teichiku CD version that I picked up recently is a lot better than the Bronze CD that I had for years.

 

The first UH album is fantastic, perhaps a tad too serious compared to the more loose and magical Demons and Wizards.
Salisbury has a strong side 1 but following the trends of the era and releasing a 16 minute long song is something that did not age well.

 

Hmmm.....I really like the lengthy Salisbury piece. It's one of their career highlights IMO.

 

I dont think they are underrated, are they?

 

I don't have Salisbury anymore and am unable to find the long version on Apple Music. Finally found a 3 minute edited version, on The Best of, Part 1. The edited version still sounds good!

 

Did they ever do that live? And if so, is it on a recording?

 

Eh...the only similarity was the organ really. And Jon Lord's sound and style was quite unique. I hear too many things that Heep did consistently with harmony, synths, twin guitar, slide guitar, acoustic guitar, ballads that just weren't part of Deep Purple mk II.

 

It is really a shame they got rid of Byron in 76, it all went downhill since then although they enjoyed some chart action in the early 80s with some horrible 80s hard rock.

 

They did do it live....no official releases that I'm aware of...