Uriah Heep - Crystal Ball (1972)

The origins of Uriah Heep go back to 1967, when 19-year-old guitarist Mick Box formed a band in Brentwood called Hogwash, and began playing in local clubs and pubs. When the band's singer left, drummer Roger Penlington suggested his cousin David Garrick as a replacement, and Box and Garrick instantly formed a songwriting partnership. They both decided to give up their day jobs and turn professional, and formed a new band called Spice, and it was at this time David Garrick changed his surname to Byron. Drummer Alex Napier and bassist Paul Newton of the Gods completed the line-up, and from the very beginning, Spice avoided playing covers and always strove to do something original. They were soon signed by Gerry Bron, who became their manager, and he got them signed to the new Vertigo label. While booked into the Lansdowne Studios in London, they decided on a name change to that of the well-known character from Charles Dickens' 'David Copperfield', Uriah Heep, although they continued to play as Spice until keyboardist Ken Hensley joined in 1969. Their 1970 debut album, '…Very 'Eavy …Very 'Umble', introduced the heavy organ and guitar-driven sound, with David Byron's theatrical, dynamic vocals soaring above thunderous sonic background, but it wasn't popular with rock critics, although in retrospect the attitude towards it has changed. The band's second album 'Salisbury' was more squarely in the progressive rock genre, with its 16-minute title track featuring a 24-piece orchestra, and went a long way to perfecting Uriah Heep's blend of heavy metal power and prog rock complexity. 
Following a change of drummer to Iain Clark, they also moved labels after the Vertigo deal ended, and Gerry Bron set up his own label, Bronze Records. Their third album 'Look At Yourself' was recorded in the summer of 1971, following which Iain Clark was replaced by Lee Kerslake, and New Zealander Gary Thain joined on bass. This line-up then set about recording the classic 1972 album 'Demons and Wizards', which sported a stunning Roger Dean sleeve, and a more straightforward, hard-rocking approach. This album introduced Uriah Heep to a much wider audience, and even broke the Top 20 album chart in the UK, and this post collects some of the out-takes and rare b-sides from this three year period of the band's history, and shows the quality of the songs which didn't make the cut for the albums. They continued to record more material than was needed for their next few records, and so this is the first of a few posts which will include out-takes and b-sides from their later work.

Track listing

01 Born In A Trunk (previously unreleased 1970)
02 Simon The Bullet Freak (b-side of 'Lady In Black' 1971)
03 Here Am I (previously unreleased 1971)
04 Crystal Ball (previously unreleased 1972)
05 Silver White Man (previously unreleased 1972)
06 Why (b-side of 'The Wizard' 1972)
07 Proud Words On A Dusty Shelf (previously unreleased 1972)
08 Home Again To You (previously unreleased 1972)
09 Green Eye (previously unreleased 1972)