Uriah Heep - Fives Miles (1979)

In 1979 Uriah Heep were riding high following the release of three successful albums with vocalist John Lawton, and 'Firefly', 'Innocent Victim' and 'Fallen Angel' were all fine examples of the more 'pop' orientated, stylish sound that Ken Hensley was striving for in the latter part of the 70's. A fourth album was recorded in 1979, provisionally titled 'Five Miles', but for reasons which remain unclear it was shelved, although that decision could well be to do with the major line-up changes which occurred in 1980, when Lawton was replaced as vocalist by John Sloman, and both Lee Kerslake and Ken Hensley quit the band, with the subsequent release 'Conquest' being generally perceived as the band's worst album. Had this one appeared it could have completed a quartet of great records from the group, with things kicking off if fine fashion with 'Let It Ride', which sounds a bit like Lawton's prior band Lucifer's Friend in it's use of group back up vocals. 'Life Is A Dream' has what sounds like a nice duel between Mick Box and Ken Hensley on guitars threading through a very upbeat and infectious melody, and 'That's How I Am' features Hammond organ in the background, an incredibly beautiful and well constructed acoustic Mick Box solo, and a powerful vocal performance from Lawton, at the top of his game. The following 'You And I' is another lovely song, with orchestration in the background, and Box and Hensley adding some nice countryish duelling on guitar. 'Your Love' is a nice driving piece, with another good Lawton performance, and 'I'll Never Forget' is one of those Heep tunes where the back up vocal hamonizing takes it to another level. 'Fools' and 'Feelings' were both later re-worked for the 'Conquest' album, and so you can compare both vocalists to see who delivers the better versions. 'I Won't Change' closes the album with a lead vocal from Hensley, and features a confessional lyric, with him admitting "I'm just an honest guy trying to stay true to who I am". The album has been bootlegged over the years, often under the name of 'Ten Miles High', and with 'Fallen Angel' out-takes tagged onto the end, but in 2005 another 'Five Miles' recording was included on the 'Chapter And Verse' box-set, so this version also includes 'LA Woman', which is missing from all the other boots, and I've also restored the original title. It might be leveled at the band that they'd produced a more lightweight affair, but that was the direction they were going for at the time, and it certainly didn't deserve to be locked away as there is plenty on here for fans to enjoy. 

Track listing

01 Let It Ride 
02 Life Is A Dream 
03 Feelings 
04 You And I 

05 LA Woman
06 That's How I Am  
07 I'll Never Forget  
08 Your Love  
09 Tonight 
10 Fools  
11 Been Hurt  
12 I Won't Change 

Uriah Heep - Crime Of Passion (1980)

At the end of the last post, Uriah Heep had just released the poorly-received 'High And Mighty', and the tour promoting it didn't fare much better, with concerts becoming increasingly chaotic due to David Byron's inconsistency. Always the consummate professional on stage, he'd started to drink heavily before a show, as well as after it, and this caused the distance between Byron and the rest to grow to unworkable proportions. In July 1976, after the final show of a Spanish tour, Byron was sacked, followed quickly by John Wetton announcing that he was also quitting. Bassist Trevor Bolder was recruited to replace Wetton, and after auditioning David Coverdale ,Ian Hunter and Gary Holton, they finally settled on John Lawton, formerly of Lucifer's Friend and the Les Humphries Singers, as the new vocalist. They have admitted that image-wise he wasn't quite what we were looking for, but his pipes were perfect and so they went for the music end of it. 
The change of personnel was a catalyst for the band to rethink their sound, dropping the fantasy lyrics and getting back to the hard rock sound of their earlier albums. 'Firefly' was released in February 1977, and its renewed energy was considered a new beginning for the band, with Lawton being highly praised for his impressive and emotionally rich hard rock voice, that instantly jelled with the Uriah Heep sound. 'Innocent Victim' came out the same year, and had a slight edge on 'Firefly', but some fans felt that its blend of sharp, short rockers and pop-friendly ballads was an attempt to court the American AOR market. 'Free Me' was released as a single, and became an international hit, making it to No. 1 in New Zealand, and in Germany the album sold over a million copies, making it their most successful album. 'Fallen Angel' was issued a year later, and completed a hat-trick of studio albums which featured a consistent lineup (only the second time in their career that they had done so). Mick Box thought that it was too poppy, and the fans seemed to agree, as although it was generally well received, it failed to chart. 
Meanwhile, tensions were growing behind the scenes, with the other band members resenting the fact that Ken Hensley was earning much more than his colleagues, as he was the main writer, and also insisted on everything he wrote being used, meaning that substandard songs could easily appear on their albums. There were also clashes between Hensley and Lawton, mainly over the constant presence of Lawton's wife on the road, and this finally led to the vocalist getting the sack in 1979. Ex-Lone Star singer/guitarist John Sloman was brought in to replace him, but almost immediately, Lee Kerslake departed following a row with manager Gerry Bron. Chris Slade was quickly recruited to fill the drum slot, and several tracks already taped for the next album then had to be re-recorded with the new drummer.
'Conquest' was released in February 1980 and received a 5 star review from Record Mirror, although the band considered it a difficult album to record, and weren't really happy with it. Hensley also wasn't keen on Sloman as the new singer, as he was offered the job against Hensley's wishes, and he didn't think that Sloman was interpreting the songs as he'd written them. A meeting at the manager's office concerning the songwriting dissent was the last straw and, in September 1980, Hensley quit. Gregg Dechert, a Canadian who had worked with Sloman in Pulsar, came in and the band went on a 23-date tour of the UK, after which Sloman left. Hensley's acrimonious departure left the group in a state of collapse, with Box and Bolder visiting David Byron with what they thought was an attractive proposition to return to the group, only to be told that he didn't want to know. This, together with disagreements with Bron's management style, was the last straw for Bolder, who quit to join Wishbone Ash, and after Dechert followed him, Uriah Heep were down to just Mick Box,the name and a contract. So with the band effectively no more, let's listen to some rare singles, b-sides and out-takes from this turbulent period of their career, which, considering the disharmony and rancour with which they were recorded, don't actually sound too bad.  

Track listing

01 Crime Of Passion (b-side of 'Sympathy' 1977)
02 A Far Better Way (previously unreleased 1977) 
03 I Always Knew (previously unreleased 1977)
04 Dance Dance Dance (previously unreleased 1977)
05 Masquerade (b-side of 'Free Me' 1977)
06 The River (previously unreleased 1977)
07 Put Your Music Where Your Mouth Is (previously unreleased 1977)
08 A Right To Live (previously unreleased promo b-side 1978)
09 Cheater (b-side of 'Come Back To Me' 1978)
10 Gimme Love (b-side of 'Love Or Nothing' 1978)
11 Love Stealer (single 1980)
12 Been Hurt (b-side of 'Carry On' and 'Feelings' 1980)
13 Think It Over (single 1980)
14 Lying (previously unreleased 1980) 

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)

Uriah Heep - The Time Will Come (1976)

Following the success of the 'Demons And Wizards' album, Uriah Heep released 'The Magician's Birthday just six month later, in November 1972, once again housed in a superb Roger Dean sleeve. Further touring helped to gain them an increasingly large fanbase, as well as honing the band's stage-craft, with David Byron becoming the focal point of the whole group's stage presentation, and Ken Hensley developing into a sophisticated instrumentalist and stage persona, whose writing and keyboard flair ignited the rest of the band. Not surprisingly, a live album followed in 1973, lavishly packaged with an eight-page booklet, and while that held the attention of the fans the band decamping to Chateau d'Herouville in France to record the rather mainstream-sounding 'Sweet Freedom'. This was also released in 1973, and the band had ditched the sword and sorcery lyrics in favour of more contemporary themes. When 'Wonderworld' appeared in 1974 it disappointed fans and band members alike, having been recorded in a disruptive and volatile atmosphere, with Byron's drinking and Thain's drug intake, combined with the emotional time that Hensley was going through. making for a less than productive environment. 
Matters came to a head while on tour during September when Thain received a serious electric shock on stage, resulting in the rest of the US tour being canceled, and their UK dates rescheduled to October. Soon after getting out of hospital, Thain was fired after accusing manager Gerry Bron of turning the band into a mere 'financial thing', and a year later, on 8 December 1975, he was found dead in his Norwood Green home, having overdosed on heroin. John Wetton joined the band in March 1975, and with him on board they recorded the 'Return To Fantasy' album, representing a revitalised Uriah Heep. It reached No. 7 in the UK album charts, and the band were on a high, although bad luck continued to dog them, with Mick Box falling off stage in Kentucky and breaking the radial bone in his right arm, and John Wetton receiving an electric shock on stage the following year. 'High and Mighty' was released in June 1976, but was generally considered lightweight after the return to form '...Fantasy', with the blame being laid squarely at the band's door, and their decision to produce the album themselves. So that takes us to the end of 1976, and with major changes in the offing, we can take a break and listen to the non-album b-sides and unreleased songs that they recorded between 1972 and 1976. 

Track listing

01 Sunshine (b-side of 'Stealin'' 1973)

02 Gary's Song (previously unreleased 1972)

03 What Can I Do (b-side of 'Something Or Nothing' 1974)

04 Love, Hate And Fear (previously unreleased 1974)

05 Stones Throw (previously unreleased 1974)

06 Shout It Out (b-side of 'Return To Fantasy' and 'Ptima Donna' 1975)

07 The Time Will Come (b-side of 'Return To Fantasy' 1975)

08 I Close My Eyes (previously unreleased 1976)

09 Name Of The Game (previously unreleased 1976) 

10 Does Anything Matter (previously unreleased 1976)

11 Take Care (previously unreleased 1976)

12 Sundown (previously unreleased 1976)