| Very 'eavy... Very 'umble | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Studio album by Uriah Heep | ||||
| Released | June 1970 | |||
| Recorded | July 1969 - April 1970 at Lansdowne Studios, London | |||
| Genre | Hard rock, psychedelic rock, blues rock, heavy metal, progressive rock | |||
| Length | 40:07 | |||
| Label | Vertigo (UK) (original release) Bronze (UK) (1971 reissue) Mercury (USA) |
|||
| Producer | Gerry Bron | |||
| Uriah Heep chronology | ||||
|
||||
| Alternative covers | ||||
|
Uriah Heep US issue cover
|
||||
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic | [1] |
Very 'eavy... Very 'umble is the debut album of British hard rock band Uriah Heep.
It was released in the United States as Uriah Heep with alternate sleeve artwork, and with "Bird of Prey" in place of "Lucy Blues." The album is notable for being rooted more in raunchy blues rock than the band's subsequent albums, a sound which would evolve into straighter hard rock on later releases.
The album was generally panned by the mainstream critical press upon its release, although it has since been acknowledged as an early classic of the heavy metal genre. The harshest critic was Rolling Stone magazine reviewer, Melissa Mills, who began her review, "If this group makes it I'll have to commit suicide. From the first note you know you don't want to hear any more."[2]
The original vinyl release was a gatefold-sleeve, featuring David Byron on the front sleeve, almost unrecognisable beneath the cobwebs.
The album was first released on the Vertigo label in the UK, as was the follow-up Salisbury, but both were quickly reissued by Bronze when the band signed to that label.
Contents |
Seething proto-metallics blended with organ-whipped psych and blues, Very 'Eavy Very 'Umble finds the infant Uriah Heep still attempting to escape from the all-pervading influence of Vanilla Fudge and early Deep Purple. But David Byron's vocals are already among the most distinctive around, and Mick Box's guitar is already shredding eardrums. In other words, it was certainly very ‘eavy, but ‘umble was never a term that one would associate with Uriah Heep, not even in early 1970, fresh out of the youth center where they used to rehearse alongside the young Purple. Three songs opening side one of the band's debut album tell you everything you need to know about Uriah Heep's ambition -- the still-staggering "Gypsy," the mighty "Walking in Your Shadow," and, changing the mood without altering the intensity, the balladic "Come Away Melinda" -- add in "Lucy Blues," included on U.K. pressings of the album (it was replaced by "Bird of Prey" in the U.S.), and Heep stepped fully formed into being with this disc, and needed only to refine their vision to emerge triumphant. Unless, of course, you believed what you read in Rolling Stone. "If this group makes it," wrote Melissa Mills, "I'll have to commit suicide. From the first note you know you don't want to hear any more."
This remastered CD added three bonus tracks and extensive liner notes:
The bonus track "Gypsy" was released for the "Best Of Uriah Heep" (1991 CD) and then remastered for "Rarities From The Bronze Age" (1995 CD). The two other bonus tracks were originally recorded in 1969 by SPICE just prior to Ken Hensley's entry to the band.
This expanded deluxe CD added eight bonus tracks and extensive liner notes:
|
||||||||||||||||||||