These two are one. You can tell it just
by looking at the magnificent cover artworks painted by Roger Dean
(also famous for his Yes and Asia covers). Then you check the release
dates - only six months between two greatest albums Uriah Heep have
ever put together. They were pushed hard, but they managed with honor
- the newly formed lineup of unearthly gifted musicians which will
forever stay the golden one, and which was not going to last long. In
few years Thain would join the 27 club; the bottle would take over
Garrick; star sickness over Hensley; even Kerslake would try his luck
with Ozzy; and Box would be desperately searching for powers to save
the ship, of which only the flag remains above the waterline. But all
that was only going to happen later, right now they are in 1972, in
the very middle of progressive rock blossoming over the United
Kingdom and the rest of the Known Universe.
And then you hear them... One after
another, one as the continuation of another. Albums. And musicians.
Opening with a delicate acoustic fingerstyle of The Wizard it
immediately starts building up melodies in layers, twisting and
overlapping within each song, still never obscuring the melody itself
- clear and fluent. Faster and heavier with Traveller In Time and its
a little bit surrealistic bridge in the end to the eternal action hit
Easy Livin'. Poet's Justice takes off the tension a bit, leading us
to the ending of the original side A - Circle Of Hands, which
actually took me a while to appreciate. Nevertheless this ballad is
exactly when Byron's voice makes me shiver and Thain reminds that
bass guitar is an instrument indeed.
Moving on to side B, Rainbow Demon
probably did more for my artistic career than quarter of art
instruction books I've ever read. I still ultimately adore the
character, the image painted so thick, vividly and subtle at the same
time with Ken's pen and David's voice. Measured and powerful - just
stepped out of Warhammer universe – he...
Guess that was enough bullshit for you
to realize Uriah Heep are my favorite band. Thus it would be fair to
deprive you of suffering further lines and discover the rest on your
free will.
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