It's not 'Abominog', but it is definitely a Uriah Heep album.
Having been a fan of Uriah Heep since the seventies, I appreciate that the days of 'July Morning', 'Easy Livin'' and 'Stealin'' are well behind us and that it becomes more difficult to match that material as time goes on. Having said that, you are usually guaranteed that there will be at least a couple of classics on an album. Of course, things have sadly changed since the release of the previous album three years ago with the death of bassist Trevor Bolder and a new member can change the sound of what we are used to ('Abominog' has always been one of my favourite albums and that was the first without Ken Hensley). So, I really wasn't sure what to expect from this, but secretly prepared myself to possibly be disappointed. Then things got slightly complicated.
Putting this on for the first time 'Speed Of Sound' thundered out of the speakers and I thought "ah, 'Abominog 2'". Second track in, 'One Minute', was even better, having one of those choruses that you just have to end up singing along to. This is going to be brilliant, I thought. Then 'The Law' came on and my enthusiasm waned a little... initially. 'Can't Take That Away' restored my faith a bit before 'Rock The Foundation' (which made me think of Monica Lewinski for some reason – she has been back in the news recently) lost my attention a little. And this was how the album played out to me all the way through, a bit of an aural helter skelter. That happened on the second listen too, but then something strange started to happen.
Those songs that I thought hadn't impressed me kept popping into my head. '...Law' and '...Foundation' in particular kept bouncing around and the more I listened to them, the more the other tracks started to do the same. The UH sound is still intact with Phil Lanzon's signature Hammond featuring strongly and the customary harmony backing vocals in 'Looking At You' in particular. There is another thunderer with 'Can't Take That Away,' demonstrating that new bassist, Dave Rimmer, won't have a lot of trouble in the band. 'Jessie' is possibly the least appealing to me as it is very straightforward and I didn't remember this much after hearing it. Again, the harmony "aaahs" feature in 'Kiss The Rainbow' and the chorus of 'Say Goodbye,' although quite simple, is another one that popped up in my head when I didn't expect it to.
On the whole then, something which was a hit and miss thing to me initially, comes out as much more of a hit. It's not 'Abominog', but it is definitely a Uriah Heep album.
Andy Brailsford
(*review taken from the upcoming issue 64 of Fireworks Magazine)
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