Uriah Heep: Very ‘Eavy… Very ‘Umble (1970)

Sure it was heavy, but was Heep’s debut heavy enough to displace Black Sabbath and Deep Purple from their metal thrones?

Kronomyth 1.0: Heep purple.

A poor man’s Purple, Uriah Heep was destined to become the Barclay James Harvest of the British heavy metal scene. Deep Purple and Black Sabbath got the lion’s share of the attention, Heep got the leftovers. I’m not suggesting that Very ‘Eavy Very ‘Umble is more worthy of enshrinement in the heavy metal hall of heroes than Black Sabbath or Deep Purple in Rock. It is not. But it is a better metal album than Purple’s first three records (I have a soft spot for The Book of Taliesyn since, as we’ve already established, I’m a bit of a prog weenie). The opening Gypsy is a heavy metal monster. (In the US, the equally amazing Bird of Prey replaced the lame blues exercise, Lucy’s Blues.) The dual guitar-organ attack from Mick Box and Ken Hensley invites favorable comparison to Ritchie Blackmore and Jon Lord; add heavyweight belter Byron and you’ve got a three-pronged metal manalishi. Like Deep Purple, Heep moves between heavy metal, heavy psychedelic rock (Walking in Your Shadow, I’ll Keep Trying, Dreammare) and even prog on Wake Up (Set Your Sights), which sounds a lot like Flash. Heep would continue to straddle the worlds of prog and metal (or at least fantasy and metal) throughout the decade. The knock on the band is that, as good as they are, their music rarely leaves the earth. Black Sabbath could summon the underworld with its crushing riffs, Deep Purple scaled fantastic heights with their superlative musicianship, while Heep never quite breaks free from mortal tendrils. Just when you think they’re about to break gravity’s grasp, a weak lyric or misplaced “ooh-aah” brings them crashing down. Also featured on their first album is a cover of Come Away Melinda that actually sounds a lot like Barclay James Harvest, which brings us full circle.

Original elpee version

A1. Gypsy (Mick Box/David Byron) (6:37)
A2. Walking in Your Shadow (Paul Newton/David Byron) (4:31)
A3. Come Away Melinda (Hellerman/Minkoff) (3:46)
A4*. Lucy Blues (Mick Box/David Byron)
B1. Dreammare (Paul Newton) (4:39)
B2. Real Turned On (Mick Box/David Byron/Paul Newton) (3:37)
B3. I’ll Keep on Trying (Mick Box/David Byron) (5:24)
B4. Wake Up (Set Your Sights) (Mick Box/David Byron) (6:22)

*US version replaces “Lucy Blues” with “Bird of Prey (David Byron) (4:05).”

Expanded CD reissue bonus tracks
9. Gypsy (single edit)
10. Come Away Melinda (alternate version)
11. Born in a Trunk (alternative version

The Players

Mick Box (lead guitar, acoustic guitar, vocals), David Byron (lead vocals), Ken Hensley (organ, slide guitar, mellotron, piano & vocals), Alex Napier (drums), Paul Newton (bass guitar, vocals), Ollie Olsson (drums, percussion) with Colon Wood (keyboard on A3/B4). Produced by Gerry Bron; recording engineered by Peter Gallen; mix engineered by Peter Gallen and Peter Ollaf.

The Pictures

Photographs by Pete Smith. Sleeve design  by Robin Nicol.

The Plastic

Released on elpee in June 1970 in the UK (Vertigo, 6360 006) and the Netherlands (Island, 85 690 IT). Released as Uriah Heep in 1971 in the US (Mercury, SR-61294) with different gatefold cover. Reached #186 on the US charts.

1. Re-issued on elpee in 1972 in the UK (Bronze, BRNA-142), Germany and Spain (Bronze, 28 763), and Japan (Bronze, WBS-40147) with gatefold cover.
2. Re-issued on elpee in the UK (Bronze, ILPS-9142).
3. Re-issued on elpee in the US (Mercury, ML-8004) with gatefold cover.
4. Re-issued on elpee in 1982 in Japan (Bronze, VIP-4161).
5. Re-issued on elpee in 1986 in the UK (Castle, CLALP 105).
6. Re-issued on cassette in Germany (MC 56 761 YT).
7. Re-issued on compact disc in 1992 (Castle, CLA-105).
8. Re-issued on compact disc in 1995 in the UK (Essential, ESM-316).
9. Re-issued on compact disc and cassette in the US (Mercury, 834 769-2/4).
10. Re-issued on compact disc in 1995 in the US (Griffin, 109).
11. Re-issued on expanded compact disc on February 26, 1996 in the UK (Castle) with 3 bonus tracks.
12. Re-issued on expanded compact disc on December 11, 2001 in the UK (Castle, 209) with 3 bonus tracks.
13. Re-issued on expanded compact disc on June 21, 2006 in Japan (BMG Japan, BVCM-37713) with 7 bonus tracks.
14. Re-issued on picture disc elpee in 2021 (BMG).