« Back to Top Level | Uriah Heep

Uriah Heep - Very 'Eavy...Very 'Umble (1970)

Track listing:
  1. Gypsy 6:37
  2. Walking in Your Shadow 4:30
  3. Come Away Melinda 3:49
  4. Lucy Blues 5:10
  5. Dreammare 4:40
  6. Real Turned On 3:39
  7. I'll Keep on Trying 5:27
  8. Wake Up (Set Your Sights) 6:27
  9. Bird of Prey [Bonus] 4:07
  10. Born in a Trunk [Bonus] 4:31
  11. Come Away Melinda [Bonus] 4:16
  12. Gypsy [Bonus] 7:08
  13. Wake Up (Set Your Sights) [Bonus] 6:32
  14. Born in a Trunk [Bonus] 4:36
  15. Dreammare [Bonus] 3:08
  16. Gypsy [Bonus] 5:15

Notes

Size: 155 Mb
Bitrate: 256
mp3
Ripped by: ChrisGoesRock
Artwork Included
Japan 24-Bit Remaster

Very 'eavy... Very 'umble is the debut album of British hard rock band Uriah Heep. It was released in the United States as Uriah Heep with alternate sleeve artwork, and with "Bird of Prey" in place of "Lucy Blues."

The album was generally panned by the mainstream critical press upon its release, although it has since been acknowledged as an early classic of the heavy metal genre. The most famous criticism came from Rolling Stone magazine reviewer Melissa Mills, who began her review, "If this group makes it I'll have to commit suicide. From the first note you know you don't want to hear any more."

The original vinyl release was a gatefold-sleeve, featuring David Byron on the front sleeve, almost unrecognisable beneath the cobwebs.

The album was first released on the Vertigo label in the UK, as was the follow-up Salisbury (album), but both were quickly reissued by Bronze when the band signed to that label. [wikipedia]

Right off the bat, when the needle digs into the first track ever by Uriah Heep, you know you're in for a wild ride. Suddenly, "Gypsy" stops dead in the middle, then continues its swirling cacophony of organ and guitar fisticuffs while lead singer David Byron belts out verbose bombast about a vagabond queen whose dad needs to be taken down a notch. (Rick Nielsen shoplifted the main riff for Cheap Trick's "Ballad of TV Violence.") And even that mega-opus opening can't topple the taloned "Bird of Prey," by far one of the zaniest pomp/metal/choral chemical explosions in history.

The inclusion of "Birds" on this American pressing makes the slab superior to the homeland edition, Very 'Eavy Very 'Umble, which substitutes the comparatively lucid ballad "Lucy Blues." If you need more, "Real Turned On" and "Walking in Your Shadow" set prescient standards in the undefined genre that transmogrified into metal, while "Dreammare" serves up a steaming broth of psycho goth and roll.

Brooding psychedelic breaks and progressive runs are snapped back into place through sheer sonic thrust, and the recording range has even kept these medieval shenanigans up to snuff, lo, these many years since the somber Uriah Heep first descended from its deadly castle. Somewhere between the powerhouse operatics of Deep Purple and the sonorous sorcery of Black Sabbath lurks this vital component in the alchemy of heavy metal. Incidentally, the band name is derived from a character in David Copperfield. [AMG]

01. Gypsy
02. Walking In Your Shadow
03. Come Away Melinda
04. Lucy Blues
05. Dreammare
06. Real Turned On
07. I'll Keep On Try
08. Wake Up (Set Your Sights)
09. Bird Of Prey (Us Album Version) (Bonus Track)
10. Born In A Trunk (Previously Unreleased Vocal Version) (Bonus Track)
11. Come Away Melinda (Previously Unreleased Version) (Bonus Track
12. Gypsy (Previously Unreleased Extended Version) (Bonus Track)
13. Wake Up (Set Your Sights) (Previously Unreleased Version) (Bonus Track)
14. Born In A Trunk (Previously Unreleased Instrumental Version)
15. Dreammare (BBC Session) (Bonus Track
16. Gypsy (BBC Session) (Bonus Track)