Long-serving Uriah Heep keys man Phil Lanzon has his first solo album offering – If You Think I’m Crazy.
I first remember Phil from way back in the New Wave of British Heavy Metal days from his time with Grand Prix. What a band! A sort of NWOBHM/Pomp mixture. And in a musical coincidence, Grand Prix at the time boasted the vocal skills of Bernie Shaw who went on to join Heep at roughly the same time as Phil – where both have remained since.
Anyhoo – back to Phil’s solo album. He describes it as: “A collection of mixed genre tunes with a few surprises thrown in”. A fair summary in a single sentence I’d say.
If you are expecting a quasi-Heep album, you won’t get it here. What Phil does give is ten songs which are composed, arranged and performed expertly to illustrate the depth and variety of the man’s talents. Those “mixed genres” range from nice pastoral ballads to rock to full-on prog.
All very enjoyable with the album revealing more with each listen. A proper “grower”.
Some highlights…….
Mind over Matter is a gentle introduction. Kelly Gang tells a tale in the style of a sweeping, sprawling yet held together ballad-style with a memorable hook.
I Saw Two Englands gives me something of a southern/country rock vibe to further demonstrate the depth and variety in Phil’s song writing ability.
Step Overture is short, sharp keyboard slap in the face not unlike the intro to Heep’s Wake the Sleeper. That’s followed a couple of cuts later by The Bells. Now we have a cut which is very much in the style of something Phil may have written for the “day job”. Has Uriah Heep all over it.
Why not listen to it now:
After The Bells, we have an epic final cut – Forest. Eight minutes or so of full-on prog. A haunting, beautiful track which goes from the sweet, gentle stuff to rock to symphonic-style passages and back again.
Phil has a fine album here. I bought it primarily as a Heep fan of some forty years’ standing and, I’ll admit, out of some curiosity. I’m so pleased I did. If You Think I’m Crazy is much, much more than your typical “solo” album. One gets the feeling Phil’s put a lot in to it and is rightly proud of the result.
It’s not just for curious old Heep fans like myself. If you enjoy eclectic, rangy rock with some prog thrown in put together stylishly then you should enjoy this one. It certainly stands on its own merits.
>> DOWNLOAD PHIL’S ALBUM FROM AMAZON HERE <<
Or of you prefer the CD version, check out Phil’s web site:
https://www.phillanzonwordsandmusic.com/
That’s where I bagged my copy from.
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