Uriah Heap Albums Ranked
Uriah Heep is an English rock band formed in London in 1969. Their current lineup includes lead and rhythm guitarist Mick Box, keyboardist Phil Lanzon, lead vocalist Bernie Shaw, drummer Russell Gilbrook, and bassist Davey Rimmer. They have experienced numerous lineup changes throughout its 51-year career, leaving Box as the only remaining original member left in Uriah Heep. Notable former members of the band include vocalists David Byron, John Lawton, John Sloman, Peter Goalby and Steff Fontaine, bassists Gary Thain, Trevor Bolder, John Wetton, Bob Daisley, and John Jowitt, drummers Nigel Olsson, Lee Kerslake and Chris Slade, and keyboardists Ken Hensley and John Sinclair. Uriah Heep has released twenty-four studio albums (of original material), twenty-live albums, and forty-one compilation albums (including two greatest hits albums composed of re-recorded material: Celebration – Forty Years of Rock and Totally Driven). Twelve of the band’s studio albums have made it to the UK Albums Chart (Return to Fantasy reached No. 7 in 1975) while of the fifteen Billboard 200 Uriah Heep albums Demons and Wizards was the most successful (#23, 1972). In the late 1970s, the band had massive success in Germany, where the “Lady in Black” single was a big hit. The band maintains a significant following and performs at arena-sized venues in the Balkans, Germany, Japan, the Netherlands, Russia, and Scandinavia. They have sold over 45 million albums worldwide with over 4 million sales in the U.S, where its best-known songs include “Easy Livin'”, “The Wizard”, “Sweet Lorraine”, and “Stealin'”. Here are all of Uriah Heap albums ranked.
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10. Firefly (1977)
“The songs are all very solid and though the organ and guitars have been tempered a bit in the mix, the overall sound is very cohesive. I honestly bought the album for Sympathy which is as catchy a rock song as you are ever going to find. The quality of the rest of the album is the pleasant surprise since I was sort of expecting a lot of filler! The Hanging Tree, Been Away Too Long and Firefly are the strongest songs other than Sympathy but, again, none of the songs are bad.”
9. Wonderworld (1974)
“I think this album is pretty good, I like every song on it, but my favorites are “Suicidal Man” and “Something or Nothing” I know this album has a reputation of being a bad album, but if you give it a chance I think it would be a good addition to your Uriah Heep collection, also I think its as good as “Return to Fantasy”.”
8. Live (1973)
:For one thing, it’s raw and truthful. Unlike other classic Seventies double-live albums, “Uriah Heep Live” was recorded one sole January night in Birmingham, England, and unlike similar albums by the Allmans, Derek and the Dominos, Led Zeppelin, and Thin Lizzy, it doesn’t reveal significant overdubs or splicings. The Seventies were an age when studios and producers became name brands, and even “live” albums were stamped with their mark. :
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7. High And Mighty (1976)
“My favorite Heep album. High and Mighty contains some of the greatest rock songs ever performed. The extended version of Weep in Silence is one of my favorite all time songs. Each of the first 9-10 songs is complex and beautiful. I will never understand why people trash this great album!”
6. Sweet Freedom (1973)
“This is the band’s sixth album. Many fans consider that it is the end of the sequence of the best albums of the band. In this album there is a more notable presence of the guitar and a vocal stronger than ballads. However, the title song is perhaps the best of the album and it’s a ballad. “Circus” is also quite interesting with the calm sound of the guitar. I believe that all tracks are usable, none should be disregarded (original album). “
5. Salisbury (1971)
“My opinion, this is UH’s best album. As well as the hard -rocking tunes, you also have the beautiful jazz fusion cut, The Park, and a foray into progressive rock, Salisbury, complete with a twenty-four piece orchestra. Those have always been my favorite two tracks from this album – since the very first listen. This has held up well over time, and is as good today as it was then, in ’71.”
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4. The Magician’s Birthday (1972)
“This album is part of what is known as the “classic” Uriah Heep lineup: Mick Box: guitar, David Byron: vocals, Ken Hensley: keyboards, guitar, vocals, Gary Thain: bass, and Lee Kerslake: drums, vocals. Of the five albums from this period of Uriah Heep, “The Magician’s Birthday” shines like a beacon over the rest, with only “Demons and Wizards” and “Wonderworld” coming even close to its shadow. This album is magical. There are certain records that completely command your undivided attention the moment the needle is dropped, and this is one of them. Just so we’re on the same page, I’ll name a few others. Pink Floyd’s “Dark side of the Moon”, Yes’ “Close to the Edge”, The Rolling Stones’ “Their Satanic Magesties Request”, and The Beatles’ “Sgt. Pepper…”
3. Look At Yourself (1971)
“I love Uriah Heep’s early albums, my best is the first one. It is pure hard rock with gitars and drums, what I prefer them to organ. The organ dominated and more popular style doesn’t fits so to my vertu, though there are a lot of nice songs, for example Pilgrim, what is so lovely and couldn’t to listen enough time.”
2. Very ‘Eavy… Very ‘Umble (1970)
“I like Very ‘eavy, Very ‘umble. It is a good hard rock album with decent melodies, good singing and playing, and lots of energy. But the album lacks the spice that would have earned it 5 stars. In contrast, I think the debut albums from Wishbone Ash and Captain Beyond are outstanding and exciting albums. (I view “In the Court of the Crimson King” by King Crimson as well-played and innovative, but kind of dull.)”
1. Demons & Wizards (1972)
“The music is a combination of rockers and more introspective pieces and, as others have pointed out, are kind of part of the whole prog-rock scene from the 70’s. That being the case, if listening to it for the first time, each track is a surprise – it doesn’t follow one style or format like so many bands. I like the organ with vibrato in “Circle of Hands” – you don’t hear much (any?) organ in popular music today. I also really like the vocal style of “Poet’s Justice” and the kind of spacy style of “Paradise/The Spell”.”
