Here’s an excellent box set of four of the legendary Uriah Heep albums from the mid-1970s together with all sorts of bonus tracks thrown in.
The four albums in this set are Return to Fantasy (1975), High and Mighty (1976), Firefly (1977) and Innocent Victim (1977). This period saw the band in some state of transition and line-up changes.
Return to Fantasy was a return to form after the uneven Wonderworld. In came John Wetton on bass and musically this album went back to the “classic” Heep trademarks of Ken Hensley’s swirling Hammond organs and synths, Mick Box’s riffs and scorching solos and David Byron’s tremendous vocals.
The title track is up there with anything Heep had done up to that point. Other points of note being the thumping Shady Lady and Devil’s Daughter and the edgy Year and a Day. The album being much more solid and consistent that the preceding Wonderworld.
High and Mighty had signs of a band starting to fall apart. Byron’s behaviour was becoming problematic and the tensions show in the music. It’s not a bad album – for example One Way or Another, Weep in Silence and Can’t Keep a Good Band Down stand up well. However not so much some of the others having a “going through the motions” feel about them and pretty much generic stuff.
Byron was given the boot and Wetton left meaning more line-up changes and a bit of a reinvention for Firefly.
In came John Lawton on vocals for the first of his three albums with Heep and also joining was the great Trevor Bolder on bass.
Firefly is a most fine album. Indeed – it’s the album which got me in to Heep as a teenager at the time on release. The Hanging Tree had me hooked immediately. A banging rocker.
Been Away Too Long is another scorcher. The brooding Wise Man showed Lawton’s more bluesy range as did the slow burning Rollin’ On and the title track winding in the symphonics and that riff.
Fifty years later and Firefly remains in my personal top five Heep albums. Here’s The Hanging Tree:
Never a band to slack off back then (or since), a few months later in 1977 they released Innocent Victim. This album has generally an easier edge to it with some “funky” elements such as Keep on Ridin’, Free Me and The Dance.
Though is also has highlights in the form of the brooding Roller and Choices, the catchy Cheat ‘n’ Lie and the speedy, punchy irresistible Free ‘n’ Easy which as been a Heep staple in the live set forever.
For an old Heep fan such as myself (and may be yourself) – this box set a fine opportunity to bag those bonus tracks. Or if you’re not familiar with one of the finest and most influential classic heavy/prog bands ever, a good starting point for you to discover them.
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