This started out as really a review of my favorite Badfinger album and tracks, but an extended hospital stay left me plenty of time to listen to the albums plenty and dig in to the band’s ’70s run with original members Peter Ham, Tom Evans, Mike Gibbons and Joey Molland. A great band – who could’ve been one of the decades biggest acts, if not for some very sad circumstances.

Badfinger is remembered largely for their connections to The Beatles, a couple of big hits, and the tragedies that ended the band. But get more in to the band’s catalogue and one can see there was a lot more to Badfinger.  All 4 members could write, sing, and play multiple instruments. They were signed to the Beatles’ Apple Records and left a wealth of classic British pop-rock – hit singles, classic albums, and a few songs that would be covered by many.

The band debuted with “Magic Christian Music” – from which 3 songs appeared in the Peter Seller’s film The Magic Christian [which also featured Ringo Starr]. Most notably was Paul McCartney’s “Come And Get It” – which became the band’s first hit. Although it was a great start, it is not a Badfinger favorite of mine, as it sounds very much like a song intended for a Beatles album [nothing wrong with that]. as opposed to a new band breaking out in the 70s. This album would feature a number of other classics, as the band transitioned from British ’60s pop act The Iveys in to one of the greatest 70s recording acts. Classics include the ballad “Carry On Til Tomorrow”, guitar heavy “Rock Of All Ages” – both produced by McCartney. Other favorites include “Midnight Sun” – another cool guitar rock track, and the acoustic “Walk Out In The Rain” – both showcasing the writing and playing of Pete Ham.

“No Dice” is the band’s first real classic album. It featured 4th member Joey Molland on guitar and boasted a few hits, classics, and most notably the band’s most successfully written song [by Ham & Evans] . It also came in an iconic gatefold LP cover [many of this band’s LP covers seemed to have been bad afterthoughts]. “Without You” is an absolute classic! And although it would become a #1 for Harry Nilsson, and would be covered by dozens of others [including Mariah Carey, Air Supply, Shirley Bassey, Heart..], I really prefer the band’s original. Oddly, it was not issued as a single by Apple Records [tho it was a B-side later on in Japan]

Harry Nilsson – “I was at a party one night in Laurel Canyon, and somebody played this song, and I thought it was Lennon. and the next day I called my friend – ‘what was that song? -[sings ‘you-uu’ ] – it’s a Beatles song, a Lennon thing, and he was ‘I know which one you mean, but I can’t think of it’ . And everyone remembered that but no one remembered the song . And we were all going through all the Beatles collection, and then I said oh I know – it’s not the The Beatles – it’s Grapefruit, it’s not them. Then finally somebody said Badfinger. So, we found Without You, and I took it to Richard Perry, my producer, and said ‘hey Richard I think I found one.'” [from interview with DJ Pete Fornatale, 1992]

https://www.ft.com/content/bbe97a08-f3da-11e4-99de-00144feab7de

The album’s only single would be “No Matter What”; another Pete Ham tune, with a classic riff, and probably the band’s 2nd most covered song – most notably by Def Leppard. “We all had a copy of that song growing up. It’s one of the kinds of songs that influenced how we write our own material. Badfinger was like the heavy version of the Beatles. Anything that was Beatlesque would influence us. It didn’t have jangly stuff like a Beatles’ song, but it had clever chords and great melodies. It made you want to tap your foot and shake your head.” [Joe Elliot, http://www.deflepparduk.com ]

No Dice was quite a mixed bag and featured a number of gems, particularly the Pete Ham penned tracks “I Can’t Take It” , his 2 ballads “Midnight Caller” and the slightly country-ish “Blodwyn”, and acoustic gem “We’re For The Dark”. Ham also shares vocals on another ballad – “It Had To Be You” [penned by drummer Mike Gibbons]. This album’s a bit heavy on the ballads, but it has a few more upbeat moments with “Love Me Do” [penned by Joey Molland],”Better Days” [penned and sang by Molland and Tom Evans], and love the guitar blend on the solo to “Believe Me” [written by Evans]. Heck, I think I like this album even more now!

American musician Don Mancuso [ex Black Sheep, Lou Gramm Band] would also record his version of “No Matter What” on his solo album ‘Now You See It’  – “They reminded me of a different version of the Beatles. Great hooks, sounds and vibe. Vocals were amazing. And they had a character and energy that inspired me to push that in my original ideas.” 

“Straight Up” was the band’s 3rd album, one which saw 3 producers changing hands throughout the making of it. Not crazy about the LP cover – a band photo, reminiscent of The Beatles For Sale album. The drama and delays and lack didn’t hamper this album, nor did a few bad reviews,  I think Straight Up is just as good as No Dice, perhaps even a bit more rounded in solid songs. “Day After Day” was the first single, which I really like, a bit of a mid-tempo ballad, great melody, but it would be the band’s 3rd [and last] Top 10 hit. It would feature George Harrison lead guitar playing. https://www.udiscovermusic.com/stories/when-george-harrison-played-for-badfinger/

The 2nd single [US] “Baby Blue” was more upbeat, lose, heavier guitar. It would be the last Badfinger song from Pete Ham and the original line-up to chart….that is until it was revived in 2013 on the TV show “Breaking Bad” – which stirred new interest in the song and the band. Robin Zander [Cheap Trick] and Rick Springfield have both covered this song in recent years.

John Sloman [ex Lone Star, Uriah Heep]  grew up in Wales, and loved the band in his early years – “I’d grown up listening to The Beatles. One of my abiding memories is first day at Secondary school. All the new kids lined up in the assembly hall waiting nervously to be addressed for the first time by our headmaster. A kid just over there had a transistor radio pressed to his ear…I could just make out McCartney singing ‘Hey Jude’. Move on two years…The Beatles, as a unit, were fading from the public eye. But wait a minute…who is this on the radio? They sound like The Beatles…but also completely original…’Come and Get it’ was sassy and loaded with pop-innuendo. But it’s not The Beatles…it’s a band called Badfinger. No internet…just good ole fashioned radio, out of which came pumping ‘No Matter What ‘. I loved the vocal delivery…that guitar sound. Then i discovered that Badfinger were signed to Apple…and Paul McCartney had written ‘Come and Get it’. Then came the beautiful ballad ‘Day after Day’…poignant opening line: ‘I remember finding out about you…’ produced by another Beatle, George Harrison. I can’t recall who told me they were Welsh…from Swansea…just along the coast from my home town of Cardiff. This was so inspiring to me that a local band could be actually working with the Fab Four…or at least, two of them. Another great song ‘Baby Blue’, I would later discover was produced by someone called Todd Rundgren. Interesting how the threads of one’s life become entangled, often in the most delightful way. Badfinger never disappointed. There was always a depth of feeling in the vocal which suggested a greater pain than a mere 3 minute pop song could convey. Sometimes I’ll be working on a song and I’ll stop and think ‘that sounds a bit like The Beatles’. But then sometimes, I’ll think ‘that sounds a bit like Badfinger’.”

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/10346887/Badfinger-and-Breaking-Bads-tragic-ends.html
Beyond the singles, Straight Up features Pete Ham at his peak with classics “Take It All”, “Perfection”, and epic piece “Name Of The Game”. Any 3 of Ham’s ballads would’ve made excellent 3rd singles, but by then the band’s time at Apple Records was winding down.

Joey Molland would contribute as many songs as Ham, best being the acoustic ballad “Sweet Tuesday Morning” , the acoustic pop of “I’d Die Babe”, and the rocking “Sometimes”. “Money” [Evans] is another gem, quite a different feel. Straight Up would be the last Badfinger album to make the Top 100 in the US.
The band’s last album for Apple Records [and last Apple release by a non-Beatle act] was released 2 years since their previous album, a huge gap in those days where many bands would push out 2 albums a year! It featured another LP cover I think is sub-standard – a drawing of a human hand dangling a carrot from the sky to a donkey. I get it – but I don’t. Neither the album or the lone single – “Apple Of My Eye” [an ode to the band’s soon-to-be former label] would even break the Top 100.

Pete Ham, who had written the glut of the band’s hits and material, would only pen 2 songs for Ass – one being the single / ballad “Apple Of My Eye”; a shame, presumably this got little push as a single]. He also contributed one of my favorite Badfinger songs in “Timeless”, an epic guitar heavy track that starts out light and moody, mixing vocals, and builds up in to a lengthy guitar solo til the end.

This album lacks the amount of solid material the previous 2  albums had, but it does have some great moments with “Constitution” [Molland] – a heavy blues rock track, with a great riff, heavy guitar and a cool vocal throughout. Too bad there wasn’t a few more with this type of energy on Ass! There’s also 2 decent ballads – “When I Say” [Evans] and a “I Can Say I Love You” [Molland] – a very unique track here, a bit of synths and a more modern feel.
http://www.beachwoodreporter.com/music/badfinger_ass.php

Years prior the band signed with manager Stan Polley, an unforseen ill-fated move. Polley obtained a deal with Warner Brothers for 6 albums [2 per year]. Their next album was simply issued as “Badfinger” and released just a few months after Ass in the US; while it came out around the same time as Ass in the UK [due to legal issues with Apple]. Again, another dud cover [in my opinion] didn’t help, nor did the choice of 2 singles – “Love Is Easy” [Molland] and then “I Miss You” [Ham] – not up to par with the band’s earlier favorites. This album sounds a bit rushed and underproduced, lacking in many catchy tunes and memorable choruses.
Not all is forgettable on this album tho – Ham’s “Lonely You” is the standout song here, a classic Badfinger ballad [Nicely covered by Canadian Carl Dixon on his album ‘Into The Future’ in 2001]. It would’ve made a far better choice for single, as would Molland’s punchy rocker “Island”. “Song For A Lost Friend” [Ham] is a good song, and I like “Give It Up” [Molland] – which offers up something different and plenty of heavy guitar work. As a whole though, this album was a low point in the band’s recordings.

Carl Dixon [Coney Hatch, ex The Guess Who] – “Badfinger was a group that I loved when I was a kid, beginning with The Magic Christian album. Aside from Come and Get It almost all the best songs were written by Peter. The band’s Achilles heel was in trying to function as a democracy and make space on the albums for inferior songs by the other members. That, along with their cursed business dealings at every stage made undeserved hardship for Badfinger. Pete Ham though, shone through as a beautiful soul with a heartbreaking melancholy in his singing voice. The sincerity and vulnerability in Pete’s lyrics certainly influenced my own writing. That’s why I chose to record another of his songs, the little known ‘Hand in Hand’ from a CD of unreleased rarities and demos by Pete, on my Lucky Dog album. A tribute to this sweet artist who meant a great deal to me.” 

The band’s last album that would be released by Warners and from the original line up came out in late 1974, and due to Warner Bros lawsuit against Badfinger’s management [over missing funds] the label soon pulled it and discontinued the album less than 2 months later. Another shame, because after the largely forgettable previous album – “Wish You Were Here” was a complete turnaround. The cover wasn’t as daft as the previous few, though the sailor outfits remind me of Alice Cooper’s “Muscle of Love” [from late ’73] and the album title would pre-date the Pink Floyd classic album of the same name by a year. But – on to it …. This is my favorite Badfinger album – great songs, more energetic, great production…

Wish You Were Here starts out upbeat with a cool guitar hook on the pop-rocker “Just A Chance” [penned by Ham], love the drum sounds, guitar breaks, and horns are a nice touch. “You’re So Fine” [Gibbons] is a catchy pop track with acoustic guitar, and a southern feel. “Got To Get Out Of Here” [Molland] is a spacey ballad, highlighted with keyboards which give it plenty of atmosphere. “Know One Knows” [Ham] is a really upbeat feel-good track [musically and lyrically]; a memorable chorus, love the guitar solo, and overall production – one of my faves here. My favorite here tho [and one of my favorite Pete Ham- Badfinger songs] is “Dennis”; a personal song by Ham to his girlfriend’s son. Love the changes in this song, great vocals, harmonies, build up, theatrics, and then all comes back down to a soft play out til the end. The theatrics continue on to “In The Meantime / Some Other Time” [Ham/Molland]; plenty of changes and twists; very energetic epic piece. There’s 2 further decent ballads in “Love Time” [Molland] and “King Of The Load” [Evans]. “Meanwhile, Back At The Ranch / Should I Smoke” ends this album just perfectly; a rocker that features a few changes, and a great blend of vocals, heavy guitars. Cool track!

Wish You Were Here is a classic, one of my favorite albums of the 70s. It brought Badfinger out of that Beatles’ styled mix of pop and ballads and showed them [then] as current and full of energy in the middle of the decade. A crime this album’s shelf life would be cut so short. Thankfully it has been re-issued in recent years [including colored vinyl], a remastered & expanded version of the album was released late last year, and this year saw a 2 LP release of the extra tracks & alternate mixes from Wish You Were Here packaged with early takes and outtakes from the 1974 self-titled album.

https://ultimateclassicrock.com/badfinger-wish-you-were-here/

Sadly, this would be the last album released from the band [though 2 later reformation LPs would be made in 1979 and 81]. Following WYWH Pete Ham quit the band, and Bob Jackson [keyboards, vocals] was hired. Ham rejoined, and before recording began on the next project Joey Molland quit, leaving Badfinger a 4-piece again, but not much longer.

Soon after the band realized they were in financial trouble [Molland probably saw this first], they hurried back in to the studio to start a new album with Bob Jackson. Due to the lawsuit between the band’s management and Warners, the label shelved the tapes of “Head First”, and the album would not come out for another 25 years [and not taken from the master tapes]. I like this album, tho it was a rush job [recorded in 2 weeks]; it’s got plenty of good songs, and hasn’t dated much.

Head First has that same energy that Wish You Were Here had, and I’m sure under different circumstances at the time, this album would’ve done quite well. It’s a bit more rocky, and a bit more progressive; certainly Bob Jackson’s keyboard and writing talents were a welcomed addition, from what I hear. Jackson’s “Turn Around” is my favorite track on this album; it’s heavier, a bit darker, more progressive. Bob would co-write on 2 others here – “Passed Fast” [with Evans], again a more progressive track, shared vocals, cool guitar solo… and the more laid-back “Moonshine” [with Evans & Gibbons]. The last songs from Ham would be the upbeat opener “Lay Me Down”, a good rock song, great vocal, harmonies, piano, and guitar. He also wrote the more laid back acoustic based pop number “Keep Believing”, written to departed member Molland; a classy arrangement, harmonies, and guitar work from Ham. Tom Evans conttributed 2 songs – both of which dealt with the band’s situation at the time – the rocking “Rock ‘N’ Roll Contract” and the classic “Hey, Mr Manager” – a classic, and penned to the band’s crooked manager Stan Polley. “Back Again” and the very short “Rockin’ Machine” both came from drummer Mike Gibbons [who could also sing and add guitar]. Both Gibbons tunes are acoustic with the former being a decent ballad and the latter being a bit more country sounding.

Head First finally came out in 2000, along with a 2nd disc of outtakes and demos. Here’s hoping someone will one day obtain the master tapes with intended mix, and an LP version with original running order. But anyone who likes Badfinger should definitely search this CD release out.

Folowing the recording of this album, the band was in limbo, and in the ensuing stress Pete Ham took his own life. That was the end of Badfinger [disounting future ‘reunions’]. Joey Moilland had gone on to record one album with with Natural Gas [w/ Jerry Shirley, Mark Clarke, Peter Wood], and later took to Badfinger reformations and still plays Badfinger and his own stuff to this day, as well as recording several solo albums. Tom Evans would join with Jackson in the short-lived Dodgers, playing on the singles, but was replaced before the album was made; he would later join Molland in resurrecting Badfinger for 2 albums in 1979 and 81.

After a falling out with Molland and various reformed and rival Badfinger line-ups Evans also took his own life in 1983. Gibbons would briefly do session work after Badfinger, and after a brief retirement in the ’80s, he would later make a string of his own albums [RIP 2005]. Bob Jackson kept very busy over the years – first forming & recording with The Dodgers in ’78, and later joining and recording with The Searchers, The Byron Band [ex Uriah Heep frontman] in ’81, The Fortunes, as well as taking part in a few Badfinger reformations in the ’80s. He was instrumental in getting the Head First album released, and in more recent years has formed his own version of Badfinger to play around the UK, as well as releasing a new single in 2016.

There have been a few books on the band, most notably Dan Matovina’s lengthy and in-depth “Without You – The Tragic Story Of Badfinger” , as well as “Joey Molland – Badfinger and Beyond” by Michael A. Ciimino.

Of interest is also the documentary “Strange Fruit” , which focus’ on the rise and fall of the Beatles’ label and other artists on Apple Records.
https://thestrangebrew.co.uk/articles/bob-jackson-badfinger/

https://www.walesonline.co.uk/whats-on/music/badfingers-pete-ham-gets-blue-3182644

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/wales/4319352.stm

Badfinger: A Conversation with Chris Thomas

 

https://www.guitarworld.com/artists/badfinger-10-of-their-best-under-the-radar-songs

I’ve only discovered them ‘beyond the hits’ within the last few years, so apologies for any inacurracies above. There is plenty of Badfinger recordings [rarities, live, solo] which I’ve yet to hear. Thanks to my friend Ron Mann for introducing me to Badfinger and a few others.

KJJ, 05/2019

 

 

Uriah Heep’s 25th studio album was released on September 14 and it has received great reviews from the music press and fans. It has also charted in many countries, including Germany – where it has been in the top 10 — The band’s most successful album upon release in decades, and one that many long-time fans hail as the band’s best since 1995’s Sea Of Light! If you have not heard it yet or looking for some new heavy classic rock – check it out!

http://radi.al/LivingTheDream

Here the band answers questions about the making of the album, some of the songs, and upcoming tour.

I am looking forward to 2019 – hoping many of the new songs feature in the band’s upcoming set.

If you haven’t ordered the album, there’s still a few items left at http://www.pledgemusic.com
also, check out
> https://www.frontiers.shop/featured-artist/

For upcoming tour dates and additional interviews and reviews on Living The Dream – visit : http://www.uriah-heep.com

First of all – Congrats on a Great new album!

Reviews and fans are all really happy with this album. [Many hailing as the best album since Sea of Light – or longer]. How was the feeling when it was finally done – Do you ever get that “this is going to be spectacular” thought when you’re done recording something new?

Mick: We definitely knew that what we had recorded we were very proud of, but until it is released into the masses you really have no idea. However both the media and the fans alike have given it the thumbs up, so we are delighted about that.

LTD has got a very lively and heavy sound to it. No doubt Jay Ruston got the best out of you guys. What was it about his approach that has brought out such a big live feel to this album?

Mick: The scoop on getting Jay to Produce us was to stay true to our heritage, but bring to it a freshness of sound. Jay has great set of ears for separation of sound, but it still ends up with everything powerful and cohesive.

You have an album with 10 really strong songs. Did you approach preparing for this one any different than the previous few Heep albums?

Mick: We were lucky enough to have some pre-production time whereby the band could spend time on the arrangements etc. This was very beneficial and then we made rough demo’s to send to Jay in Los Angeles. We recorded it in 19 days as we played as a band in the studio.

Take Away My Soul has drawn comparisons to the classic Between Two Worlds. What can you tell about that song and sort of where it stands for you amongst the Heep classics?

Mick: It is a strong rock sound with a good melody and very Heep. As for where it stands amongst Heep Classics only time will tell, but it has all the hallmarks of doing just that.

Knocking At My Door deals with mental health issues of fear, and is a solid rocker. How did that one come about lyrically and musically? [it’s a favorite]

Mick: I had the riff written and when my writing partner Phil Lanzon and I got together it moved along very quickly. It is about someone who hears things in his or her head, which to be honest has happened to many people I have known that smoke too much dope over a number of years. They end up paranoid!

There’s room for a good bit more instrumental moments on this album, most notably Rocks In The Road and It’s All Been Said. Are such songs [with a few dynamic changes in them] written as whole or are any kinda different song ideas put together or even jammed out a bit during recording?

Mick: They are written as a whole. Phil and I decided early on in the writing process that if a song needed to breathe, we would allow that to happen rather than stick to the verse, middle, chorus format.

Water’s Flowin’ is the first Heep ballad in a few albums. And its very different to anything the band’s done before. What kinda inspired that one musically?

Mick: I wrote the music for it in France a while ago, and when I played it to Phil he was quick to start adding a melody and lyrics. It has a neat story line about a guy who plays guitar by the waters edge and attracts a huge following. Then one day he is not there, and all that is found is his guitar. The question being would that guitar ever play that popular song again.

for Dave – this is your 2nd Heep album – what has been the difference to working on the last album as the new guy? and might we see more songs from Dave in the future? [Write much?]

Dave: I was very much the new guy on the last ‘Outsider’ album there wasn’t much time to think, we recorded it very quickly then went on a world tour..’Living The Dream’ we had more time to prepare the material, plus all time we spent on the road working together really comes through on the new album. I feel very proud to have written ‘Grazed by Heaven’ a collaboration between myself and Jeff Scott Soto on a Uriah Heep album, and I will present more songs to the band in the future.

Russell – How does this compare to your experience with past Heep albums? Living The Dream seems to have so much more going as players, with changes, some cool intros, etc…

Russell: Well we decided that we wanted this album to have more instrumental bits in it which shows off our playing skills more…. This was easier to achieve as we had pre-production time to work on these ideas and get them sounding good….
That’s the best thing about pre-production, it allows you time to develop the songs into the results you hear now…

There are so many fantastic songs on LTD – how many do you foresee putting in to the live set? [would love to see more than half 🙂 . ] And do you foresee any arguments?

Mick: We have to be sensible, as we are aware that people who come to our concerts like to hear the classics like – July Morning, Gypsy, Easy Livin’ and Lady in Black. We then try and see what works musically and key-wise once we start putting a set list together. We never know until rehearsals start; but there will be no arguments as everything happens naturally.

Can you tell me a bit about the cover art and how it came about? It was obviously chosen some time ago.

Mick: I had the idea which the band liked and we sent it to our manager Ace Trump in Los Angeles, and he worked with an artist he knew, to bring it all to fruition.

The band’s tour of North America this year was probably the biggest tour the bands undertaken here in decades! and seemed very successful. How happy were you with the that sort of ‘return’ here, and when might we expect the band back here on the LTD tour?

Mick: We were super delighted with the response, with many sell out concerts. It was so successful that we will definitely be putting a long tour of dates together for 2019 and every year thereafter.

There hasn’t been any ‘official bootleg’ live releases for some time. will this series of releases possibly come back in the near future? Have a few shows been recorded over the past few tours for future release?

Mick: None that I know of, and we did not want anything in the market place to interrupt the flow of ‘Living the Dream’ being released. 

LINKS:
https://rateyourmusic.com/release/album/uriah-heep/living-the-dream/
http://planetmosh.com/uriah-heep-living-the-dream/
https://bluesdoodles.com/cd-reviews/25-studio-albums-uriah-heep-are-living-the-dream/
https://www.sentineldaily.com.au/uriah-heep-living-the-dream-frontiers-music/
http://www.musiclifemagazine.net/uriah-heep-continue-living-the-dream-with-release-of-rockin-new-album/
https://www.loudersound.com/features/mick-boxs-track-by-track-guide-to-uriah-heeps-living-the-dream
https://xsrock.com/interview-with-the-legendary-mick-box-of-uriah-heep/

09/18. KJJ

As Deep Purple’s “Long Goodbye” Tour [something like that!?] comes this way again, i wonder [and presume] it could be my last time to see them. I did see them back in 1997 in Toronto, at The Warehouse, and was fortunate enough to meet them outsiude afterwards and get a few things signed. A few years later I was able to do a phone interview with guitarist Steve Morse. Here is that interview, re-posted from the summer of 2000.

An Interview With DEEP PURPLE’s Guitarist on The Release of His Own Newest Solo Project. Steve Morse has become one of the most well know guitar players in the rock world today.
Through his years with his own trio, as well as The Dixie Dregs, Kansas, and in more recent years Deep Purple! Following the album “Purpendicular” [95], Steve Morse released his own “Stressfest” album [96 Windham Hill], followed by a few appearances on Magna Carta’s tribute releases, another DP studio album – “Abandon”, and a few DP live releases [most recently with the London Symphony Orchestra].
Morse’s most recent project was his new solo album “Major Impacts”, on Magna Carta, and featuring the rhythm section of Dave LaRue [bass] and Van Romaine [drums]. Major Impacts sees Morse paying tribute to some of his own guitar influences via instrumental pieces that resemble those particular guitarists.
Here I had the opportunity to talk with Steve about his new album, as well as few stories from Deep Purple tours, his Kansas days, and some info on his early years, and thoughts on guitar and music today.

For more on Steve Morse check out http://www.stevemorse.com or http://www.deep-purple.com Or for more info on his Magna Carta release and other MC projects http://www.magnacarta.net

Q: The new album is basically based on all your influences and stuff?
SM: Yea, stuff that was part of my really early life of playing.

Q: How did the idea come about to do an album like this, as far as influences as stuff?
SM: Interestingly enough it was the record company that came up with that – Magna Carta. They’re quite a good label to work with and they came up with the whole idea themselves, and it seemed like a good idea for me.

Q: How did you go about narrowing it down as far as guitarists you picked and everything? Did you have a list or an agenda?
SM: Yeah, I sort of made a list mentally, and then just thought of which of them gave me an idea of where to start, you know.

Q: What went into the individual thought to certain tracks, as far as how you put them together?
SM: Some on words. A good starting point for me was to think of one tune that I really loved, where several times – like the Keith Richards one I was thinking of, his rhythm guitar that Keith Richards played a lot like “Start Me Up” or even “Street Fighting Man” or “Brown Sugar”, and then “Honky Tonk Woman” – there was a really neat kinda funky country thing that he did that I really loved, that was kinda like the verses of the tune, and then it rides out with a different feel, kinda like “Gimme Shelter”. The Zeppelin thing i started with an idea…when I saw Zeppelin live in ’69, I was struck with this song “Black Mountain Side” – which Jimmy Page played live; I thought it was so that this really heavy type of band had taken the time to do this acoustic type piece, along with the open tuning, an so that’s how it begins, and then i kind of incorporate some of the Indian influenced melodies that he does. And then I wanted to have a heavy section, and then combine all those things together at the end – that was what the plan was.

Q: You’ve got quite a wide range of guitar players on here, like the late 60s – Beck and Clapton – kind of the standard guys, plus like Leslie West and George Harrison, and the Allman Brothers. I guess you’re in to the Southern Rock stuff from being from down there!? How much was the Southern Rock influence on you?
SM: It was one of the things i wanted to do, but i thought maybe that on another , a second vine would be better, because I had the Allman Brothers thing already, but I hadn’t finished coming up with a thing yet for Lynyrd Skynyrd – that was a big influence. I like Southern Rock stuff.

Q: I guess that stuff’s still big there, where you are!?
SM: I don’t know what’s big, except everybody wearing pants so their underwear shows; that’s the only thing that I can identify as a constant influence here in America [ha ha]. I don’t know what people like. Every young kid that drives by seems to have a lot of low end in their cars, like the sub-wiffers really loud.

Q: Can you tell me a little about each of the tracks as far as inspirations go – the Hendrix track, Jeff Beck… you got Alex Lifeson here of Rush. I think Alex is pretty underrated, because when most people talk about Rush they usually talk about Neil Peart …..
SM: Yeah, I like Rush a lot. We got to open for them on a tour in the 80s, the “Power Windows” tour. They were a pleasure to listen to every night. Alex, one of the things he did that I thought was so cool was to come up with these nice big voicings, and then come up with a melody out of a chord voicing, and incorporate that into a part. I’ve listen to a lot of guitar players that play with just a trio, and it’s a tough gig to do for any guitar player, and all three of those guys – Eric Johnson, Jeff Beck, and Alex Lifeson played in trios at some time.

Q: Is that the reason you keep your own band as a trio?
SM: Yeah, a big part of it. It’s fun. I’ve been playing gigs with Eric Johnson off and on for decades, and that’s how much I enjoy listening to him play because he gets to solo with a trio, and I always thought it’d be so much fun to have that kind of configuration. And the other thing, some guys like to travel light, you know that like Dave the bass player gets to shine and solo so much more than if we had a keyboard player or something.

Q: When did you get in to guitar as far as making it a profession, or a hobby that grew into a profession?
SM: I guess about ’66 or so.

Q: Was there anything that really turned you on to it, like any guitarist or event?
SM: It was just the opportunity of having a guitar. My brother brought one home that he had borrowed or rented, and I just thought that it was so cool. And i played other musical instruments a little bit, but when I saw the guitar I said “that’s the thing!” The Beatles were probably part of it, the Chuck Berry sound; it’s just that rhythm that everybody loves, ya know!?

Q: You’ve developed your own sound over the years, like when I hear you on the tribute albums and the Deep Purple stuff I immediately know it’s you. What did your own sound develop out of? Can that be explained?
SM: I think you put together your own sound based on how free you feel to be yourself. I remember some kids were more concerned with learning a solo note for note when they were learning to play, and I was more concerned with learning the atmosphere of the solo and kinda doing my own little adaptation. And just having that kind of attitude started me on my way of being less of a session player and more of the individualist. I like to be good at both, but i remember some of my friends were better at that than me; they could maintain their interest in an exact transcription longer than I could.

Q: Could you pick out 2 or 3 guitarists that got you motivated in the early 70s to doing your own stuff?
SM: Some of them I couldn’t put on the album because I thought that they were just too hard to capture to write a song about – like The Kinks. The stuff that they did was great for a beginning guitar player, like “You Really Got Me”, or The Yardbirds – the stuff with Jeff Beck, The Rolling Stones, The Beatles. Chuck Berry I wish I’d done a piece on him, but I couldn’t come up with anything that wasn’t an exact Berry tune because they’re 3 chord songs, ya know! I couldn’t figure out how to handle that.

Q: Are you going to be touring with this album?
SM: We’re going to tour in a few weeks; we’re probably going to play a couple of songs from it, but some of it is lots of overdubs, so it’s going to be difficult.

Q: Was it a long process?
SM: Yeah, but it was a lot of fun; it was more like doing a huge book of crossword puzzle than it was doing a research project…. – a statistical research project in a foreign language! [ha ha…] It was fun.

Q: You mentioned wanting to do another one. What other guitarist players or bands would you want to include on it?
SM: A later influence, but a big influence was Pat Matheny because we went to school at the University of Miami, he was there briefly and i got to play with him then. His philosophy influenced me about as much as anything about his playing. Metheny, Joe Walsh – especially with early James Gang, Ted Nugent – back before he went solo with the Amboy Dukes, to Carlos Santana’s old stuff, and [let me see…] – Cactus, Rick Derringer, Johnny Winter, Edgar Winter and maybe Tommy Bolin. It’s hard to put an exact label on his style though; because he was just kind of slippery and slick.

Q: How about some of the British bands; the progressive – hard rock bands like early Purple, Heep, Yes …
SM: Yes, I think Purple was a legitimate influence. I just felt like it was a little too close to home for this album. It’d be like “yeah right – big stretch!”, ya know!?

Q: What else do you have on the go right now with Deep Purple ?
SM: We’re half way through the writing process of the next Deep Purple album. We’ve got a big tour. We finished a record with Deep Purple and the London Symphony Orchestra doing a concerto that Jon wrote – which is, opposed to them backing us up, is a big classical orchestral piece with the band playing with the orchestra, as opposed to them just being a big string machine. We’re going to tour that later in the year.

Q: Are you going to be in North America with that?
SM: No, it’s South America and Europe so far.

Q: How has the Deep Purple experience been as far as playing with such a band, and opening up to a different and bigger audience, than perhaps you’re used, or in the different territories – that sort of thing ?
SM: It’s been great. When I joined the band they decided they were going to play all the places they’d never played before, that Ritchie didn’t want to go these places. It was like this whole new beginning because the first these people had ever seen the band was with me, and we still had 4 or 5 of the original guys from the Smoke On The Water days. It’s worked out incredibly well. We have been expanding huge markets everywhere – North America being one of the more forgotten ones, so that actually improved; we worked on it for 2 tours here and it got better. There’s lots of emerging countries and former communist countries that are just fantastic places to play.

Q: You guys bring back a lot of the old songs back in to the set I noticed, as far songs that rarely got played.
SM: Yeah that’s something that they are constantly fond of doing. It’s really whatever Ian Gillan wants to do that night, what we play, because he’s got to sing it, and he’s gotta have the stamina for it.

Q: How do you approach the classics, the older stuff in doing your own interpretations?
SM: I just try to listen to what Ritchie did, and to realize that they wanted somebody totally different in the band, not to copy him exactly; so I just do my own take it – what i think would sound good. And if it’s a well known solo or something, I’ll try to capture that, the essence of it anyway.

Q: As far as the new albums go, “Purpendicular” is one of my favorite albums of the ’90s. What can you tell me about how some of the original stuff with Purple has gone?
SM: The new stuff is interesting and is really good because we have all worked on it together in the same room, and we hadn’t done that since some of the early songs of Purpendicular. We got Ian jamming with us on the microphone in the same room when we’re coming up with ideas, so instead of him feeling like “here’s another song idea that just got thrown down in your lap” – he’s there to help you push it in the direction that is comfortable for him; so it’s a really good thing.

Q: Do you have any favorites as far as tracks go?
SM: The opening track of “Abandon” – I love that. The fact that on Purpendicular they let me throw in some weird stuff like “The Aviator”, and I always thought that Deep Purple could benefit from acoustic influence, like Jimmy Page did with Zeppelin.

Q: You said you guys are working on another album!?
SM: Yeah, we’ve got about 5 or 6 songs done.

Q: Is this one going to differ?
SM: I don’t know. It’s hard for me to judge; I don’t notice much difference from album to album. I couldn’t give you an objective opinion because I get so far into the music. I could sit there and play all the songs on the album but I don’t hear much stylistic difference between them; it’s just all music, all tonal music, no big deal. I’m not good at categorizing.

Q: Do you see yourself as having some sort of an influence as far as guitar players go?
SM: I’ve actually got enough to be proud of and die happy with. Just John Petrucci, to have him say I’m a big influence on him is wonderful for me, because he’s such a virtuoso, killer guitar player. And Jimmy Herring, from Atlanta. I remember him as a kid; he used to sit in front of us at the Dregs gigs, and he was always there. And he’s turned out to be one of the most incredible soloists there is. Those are enough to put in my resume!

Q: Is there any guitar player you can say is the best of the last decade?
SM: Those 2 guys … [ha ha]. The last decade has been a little tricky, because it’s been hard to hear much guitar; I mean I hear some stuff with some neat riffs and stuff like that, but most people are consciously avoiding presenting the guitar as a main feature, so it’s hard for … ’cause I can’t quite figure it out.

Q: Well I guess being in Deep Purple with Jon Lord, that’s quite a task ….
SM: Jon Lord really is an amazing musician, and mostly because he can hear and improvise anything on the spot. Every set we have a spot where just he and I will play, but I don’t know what chord he’s going to play next, and I don’t know what melody I’m going to play next, and we just kind of work together, and clothes our eyes and just listen, and try to read each other’s mind – it’s so cool to improvise like that.

Q: How has the response been as far as the Deep Purple fans go?
SM: Great from the beginning, really, because there had already been a year since Ritchie quit, and a lot of people knew that Joe Satriani had done part of the tour to finish, and they were ready for the fact that Ritchie was not there anymore. And Ritchie’s been very good about it too, as far as [you know] – he’s had every opportunity to slag me or the band and he’s just pretty much turned in to his own new project and kept his energy there, which is great.

Q: Does anybody keep contact with him?
SM: I think Roger has talked to him a little bit. They’re not real close or anything, but everybody’s really pleased that the war seems to be not happening.

Q: Can you sum up your few years with Kansas?
SM: I actually got involved with them officially when Phil Ehart [the drummer] and I were both at a Robert Plant concert as spectators, ya know the comp seats are always in the same area, right!? [ha ha]. So we were sitting together and talking and he’s saying ‘we’re thinking of getting the band back together’, and I said ‘great! I love you guys; you should do it!’ And then it came about that Kerry Livgren would probably not be doing it, so i said ‘hey if you need any help – I’d love to write tune with you guys or something’, and he said ‘yeah – we were actually thinking about that!’, so it was ‘Great – let’s do it!’. So we just ended up writing an album together, and then there was some gigs, and then there was another album. It was kinda neat.

Q: Any favorite tracks from that era?
SM: Yeah – “House On Fire”, “Musicado” [sp], “Bells Of St. James”; those are some of my favorites.

Q: You’ve done a few tribute albums. How do you feel about those, because those seem to be quite the ‘thing’ the last couple of years!?
SM: Well I got off pretty easy because of the main things I did, like on the Yes album I got to play Steve Howe’s acoustic stuff, which is a pretty neat gig because you don’t really have to match anybody else’s work, as far as playing with others, strangers, because you know how the mix is going to sound as soon as you send it off, because you’re just sending off one guitar.

Q: Do you have any plans to do any more of those? Is Magna Carta putting any more out?
SM: Good question, I don’t know. I was just a guest musician on those, I wasn’t an intricle part. I think we’re looking at doing a John Petrucci and Steve Morse album, but I’m not sure what label it’s going to be on.

Q: Instrumental album?
SM: Yeah, guitar duos – that type of thing.

Q: Can you give me any stories from Deep Purple?
SM: There’s always something crazy going on [let me think…] We finished our last tour in Korea, there was a typhoon coming in, and Dream Theater was playing before us there. They pretty much got to do their set, and when we began playing it was starting to rain. And the rain was coming in sideways, so we were in the rain – playing. And we kept playing…. And the drums, every time he hit, we’d see just sheets of water come off the heads of the drums, and Jon would slide his hand up and down the keys when he was playing his solos you could see a rooster-tail of water. My guitar stopped working, I had to switch to another guitar, because it’d just literally like totally shorted out. And the same thing happened with Roger’s. We had my pedal board covered in plastic, as if that was going to do any good. but it was real slippery, and I was slipping trying to move the pedals and everything, and Ian was just out there singing and getting soaked, and he was happy, because he loves stuff like that. We kept playing until our equipment wouldn’t work any more. We used up all the guitars; they all got shorted out. The only drag was because it was the last day of the tour, everything immediately got thrown into boxes, shipping cartons – as it’s raining, this typhoon, and it got shipped on a boat for like a month – totally wet, so everything got ruined. And then shifting channels to a gig recently… We’re playing somewhere in Switzerland, we get there, and ride up this incline – railroad, for like a mile and a half, and it’s snowing! And the only problem is it’s an outdoor gig! So we’re playing in the snow. [Ha ha..] It was just so bizarre. And the dressing room, which was the little station where the trains come and they work on them and put grease on the wheels and stuff – that was the dressing room. The snow was too deep to walk to the stage, and we just had like regular clothes on, we weren’t dressed for the outdoors. They had one of those one of those big snow caps that they use in ski resorts bring us from the “dressing room” to the “stage”, and the stage was just a wooden platform with plastic around it [ha ha ha]. And the snow’s blowing in our faces and you can’t feel your fingers … it was just so bizarre! So we do some weird gigs.

Q: Must’ve cost you a fortune in equipment!!?
SM: Ha ha , Yeah!

Q: Would you happen to have any recollections from tour with Uriah Heep?
SM: They were nice fellows, and I think we did about 8 or 9 shows together. They were all just real pleasant guys, and they just loved to play; they were just happy to be out touring, and that’s the main thing I remember. I was impressed with how jovelant and nice they were, that they really enjoyed what they were doing, and I love musicians like that.

Q: Do you do a lot of stuff outside of music, as far as hobbies go?
SM: My farm here as an air-strip on it, and I fly airplanes here. I fly everyday. I study Tae-Kwan-Doe with my little boy; and I enjoy it now, it’s my work out. And we’ve gotten into skate-boarding, although I’ve just recently broke my left wrist skateboarding, so I’m in bad shape.

Q: Anything else you want to add in as far as your new album goes?
SM: I’d just like to say that the album was fun for me to make. And I think that it’s easy to listen to for a lot of different people — you don’t have to be a musician to enjoy to get some fun out of listening to it. And it’s a fun thing to do with a group of people – to play the songs and see if they can guess “who’s that?” – who the writer [me] was thinking of. Because you know, you do that a lot with pop music; you say “I wonder why that song’s a hit – because it sounds just like another song that was a hit!” So now people can do it without being cynical, because it’s meant to be influences.

Q: Do you listen to much new stuff these days?
SM: I listen to radio. There’s always good songs. One of the best songs things I’ve heard though was 20 years old – a new version of an Abba song – an impeccable production of “Dancing Queen”. I heard a nice sonic song by Rage Against The Machine, and the Santana thing I thought was good.

Q: Do you get on the internet much?
SM: Yeah, just for Purple oriented things; i don’t have much time to surf anymore.

KJJ, July 2000.

Canadian producer Jay Ruston has worked on a number of rock, pop, and metal albums over the past 15 years.
Most recently he has produced the new Uriah Heep studio album, set for release in mid September.

For more on Jay’s work check out – http://www.jayruston.com

You are Canadian – what bands / artists did you grow up on?

Rush, Triumph, Iron Maiden, Led Zeppelin, Van Halen, Black Sabbath

What are some of your favorite LPs from your younger years?

Rush-2112, Iron Maiden-Live After Death, Led Zeppelin-Physical Graffitti, Billy Squier-Don’t Say No

How did you wind up in Calilfornia and as a mixer , producer on so many great projects? [How did you get into that end of the music business?]

I was living in Ottawa working for Canadian producer Leslie Howe (Alanis Morrisette). Leslie built a studio in Los Angeles and hired me to come down in 2003 to run it. After about 2-3 years I decide to build my own studio in LA. One of the first records I worked on was by Wilson Philips, produced by Peter Asher. They also introduced me to Desmond Child. I made a bunch of records with both producers until about 2007, then I produced the first Steel Panther album.

You produced all the Steel Panther albums!? These guys come up with good stuff musically and hilarious [x rated] — HOW do you keep a straight face in the studio with this band?

We definitely have a good time making those records, but they are very serious about their craft. They’re all amazing musicians and work very quickly in the studio.

Any Steel Panther stories and/or favorite tracks?

I think my favorite song to work on was “Eyes Of A Panther”. During the first album we had a lot of great guest appearances, including Corey Taylor and Scott Ian.

You produced the Ronnie James Dio tribute albums years back. How did you get involved in that project can you recall a bit of how that all came together ? [with the various ‘name’ players guesting]

A few years before I met Wendy Dio and became friends with her. When she told me about the tribute album, she already had Metallica and Halestorm lined up, and a few others. I told her i’d get Anthrax as well as Corey Taylor. Amazingly, my two favorite Dio performed songs were available, Neon Knights and Rainbow In The Dark, so I produced both of those. I also mixed the Oni Logan track, and a couple others as well.

You’ve also worked on the Black Star Riders albums. [Today being Phil Lynott’s birthday] – Any favorite Thin Lizzy albums or songs?

BSR are one of my favorite clients. I think my favorite Thin Lizzy song is Cowboy Song

You are credited as Mixer on BSRs albums. How much input do you have as a mixer? And any fave tracks of theirs?

I don’t have a lot of input if there’s a great producer at the helm, which they had for the last two albums. Soldiers Town and Testify!

What have been a few of your biggest and/or most successful projects you’ve worked on?

Probably both Stone Sour albums, Meatloaf, The “Big 4” live DVD and the first Steel Panther album. Anthrax’s Worship Music has sold really well also.

How did you come about to produce the new Uriah Heep album?

Their manager is a good friend of mine. The band was interested in working with me, so it worked out perfectly.

How familiar were you with Heep – their past and the band today?

Pretty familiar. Growing up near Detroit, I heard a lot of Heep on the radio! I had heard their last couple records and was hoping we could circle back to their classic sound with a modern edge.

What was the approach or direction that you and the band were going for? (LTD is a much more “Heep” album – with ballads, epics, different guitar and keyboard sounds [to past few UH albums])

My goal is often the same, make a classic record that can’t be dated by production. The demos they sent were pretty much ready to go.

[In promo videos] the band states that you worked on 1 song per day for the album. Is that the way you normally work? and if so – why [?] – as opposed to put down each instrument day after day, then vocals, overdubs, etc..?

This is the most efficient way to make a record. If you do drums for a week, then bass for a week, then you get to guitars and decide an arrangement change should be made, it’s impossible! This way, everyone is focussed on the same song for the whole day, or sometimes 2 days, and by the end, you have an entire song almost finished, except for maybe guitar solos etc. I always finish records ahead of schedule when I record this way. Not every band can do it, especially if they live in different cities or countries, which is often the case.

The band seems to stretch out more on LTD with lengthier solos [guitar, Hammond organ] – How much was kinda done right there on the spot or were things a bit more pre-rehearsed to what we hear on the album?

I think it was all pretty well rehearsed. They did a lengthy pre production week and sent me the recordings. The band really edited themselves and made the songs work great before I was even involved. Makes my job much easier when they have the experience like that.

What tracks and moments on LTD stand out for you? any comments on some of the songs?

Water’s Flowin’ and Rocks In The Road are my two favorites. Both songs have totally different feel and vibe, but were equally fun to work on. Rocks is a really long epic piece of music with great riffs. We recorded it live in 2 sections, then added overdubs after wards. Water’s Flowin’ is just a magical song with an amazing vibe and spirit. We were trying to get a great acoustic guitar sound, and Mick mentioned he had an electric 12 string, I immediately thought that would be a great intro sound, and it worked amazing. I also love the vocal production we did, Bernie really knocked it out of the park.

After hearing the Heep album – Take Away My Soul really stands out. Any recall on this one?

Take Away My Soul is great. Andy Sneap (Judas Priest producer) came and hung out with us this day, and Mick was blazing through takes of the outro guitar solo that’s like 3 minutes long. It was a super fun day, and that’s a great song.

Were you happy with the final product? [as a Heep fan I think it is amazing]. any hiccups?

No hiccups whatsoever! I’m really happy with the record. I think the songs are amazing and the band performed top notch in the studio. There is no weak link in Heep!! Each of them are total pro’s with great attention to detail and the desire to make great art.

What other projects do you have on the go ?

I recently mixed the new Coheed and Cambria record. I’ve also been traveling a little bit this summer, doing some work in Sweden. That project will remain un-named for now. I’m also gearing up to start another Steel Panther record later this year.

What music do you listen to on your own time?

I still listen to a lot of Led Zeppelin, David Gray, Eagles, 80’s new wave and some metal. I love Ghost, Opeth, and a pop band called St.Lucia.

More reading on Jay:
http://loudwire.com/what-does-producer-do-jay-ruston-anthrax-stone-sour-explains/

http://www.samsontech.com/artists/jay-ruston/

http://www.metalsucks.net/2011/08/11/69392/8

KIK, 08/2018

Uriah Heep are releasing their highly anticipated brand new studio album – the 25th in their storied career [after 4+ years] – which will be titled, appropriately enough, “Living The Dream”.

“We have been together for 47 years and we have seen many bands come and go, so in effect we are ‘Still Living The Dream,’ so it was the perfect title for the new album.” says Uriah Heep guitarist and founding member Mick Box.
Famed Canadian engineer, Jay Ruston has been called in to produce the album. Mick continues: “We chose Jay because we admire his work with The Winery Dogs, Stone Sour, Black Star Riders, Paul Gilbert, and Europe. Jay has either produced, mixed or both for these bands, and he brought a fresh approach to Heep. He has been marvellous to work with.”
The band is beyond excited with the material written for the new album, which will include some epic additions to the band’s huge catalog of rock staples and looks forward to sharing it with their fans around the world.
The album will be released in CD, deluxe edition including one bonus audio track and a DVD, LP and Limited Box Set Edition (including deluxe edition + T-shirt).
Uriah Heep debuted in 1970 with the release of one of hard rock’s milestones, Very ‘eavy… Very ‘umble, and have since sold in excess of 30 million albums worldwide. They constantly tour the world, playing up to 125 shows a year to 500,000+ fans. The band’s live set features the classic tracks from the ’70s and is a musical journey from the band’s beginnings to the present day.
The band has announced a full World Tour which will last until the whole first quarter of 2019. “The mighty Heep are proudly able to tour in over 61 countries and we look forward to a packed touring schedule in 2018 and 2019. Touring is in our blood and what we have a passion to do, and so 2018 is no exception,” concludes Box.

OFFICIAL TOUR DATES: http://www.uriah-heep.com/newa/livedates.php

LIVING THE DREAM available in:
CD (Jewel Box)
CD+DVD (Digipack)
BOX SET (Limited Ed. CD+DVD Digipack + T-Shirt)
VINYL (180g Gatefold)
Blue VINYL (180g Gatefold) – Exclusive USA
Crystal VINYL (180g Gatefold) – Exclusive Frontiers Shop
TRACKLISTING: Grazed By Heaven / Living The Dream / Take Away My Soul / Knocking At My Door/ Rocks In The Road / Waters Flowin’ / It’s All Been Said / Goodbye To Innocence / Falling Under Your Spell / Dreams Of Yesteryear / *Take Away My Soul (Alternate Version) Bonus Track (Deluxe Edition Only)
DVD (deluxe edition only): Grazed By Heaven (Music Video) / Take Away My Soul (Music Video) / Making The Dream (Documentary)

• Official Website: http://www.uriah-heep.com
• Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/uriahheepofficial

BAND:
Mick Box: Guitar, Vocals
Phil Lanzon: Keyboards, Vocals
Bernie Shaw: Lead Vocals
Russell Gilbrook: Drums, Vocals
Dave Rimmer: Bass, Vocals

Well, where do i start!? Upon first run through of this album – I couldnt believe it! While older bands are winding down, slowing the pace, packing in – Uriah Heep seems to have more energy and ideas than ever. Living The Dream might simply be the best thing the band has done since the mid 70s. Now, i liked Outsider [2014], and Into The Wild [2011], while Sea of Light [95] and Sonic Origami [98] were a great pair of 90s HR albums – but LTD seems to pack even more of the classic and neo-classic Heep elements into one amazing record. The lead off single “Graced By Heaven” was a fine sample of what’s within, co-written by Davey Rimmer, who’s bass playing graces this – his 2nd album with the band. But the album really just gets better, starting with the title track – a cool mid tempo progressive song, interesting vocal intro …… “Take Away My Soul” [the 2nd video upcoming] is perhaps the most impressive Heep song since “Between Two Worlds” — it’s a rocker that really let’s loose with a hammond solo from Phil Lanzon, and classic Mick Box guitar riff and solos, great chorus. “Knocking At My Door” is another cool rocker – this one kinda gallops along as Bernie sings about fear and hiding from something – a great vocal; mid and ending guitar solos! What’s so more impressive about this album to previous Heep albums is that it is MORE of everything — a bit more in the variety [ballads, acoustic guitar, piano….] – more lengthier tracks. Fans who longed for another Heep epic, more progressive songs, or a ballad and more memorable rockers will Not be disappointed thanks to more progressive tracks like “Rocks In The Road” [clocking in at over 8 minutes] – starts as an upbeat rocker before dropping in to a very quiet mid section and vocal, before the song builds back up with the Phil Lanzon’s hammond organ [reminiscent of Jon Lord here] working in to a classic extended Heep solo and that builds to the finale. The ballad “Waters Flowin'” – a very different sound for Heep – a bit southern feel, it features acoustic guitar, organ, piano, and a bit of a sing-along ‘na na na’ chorus, which gives it a bit of a 60s vibe. The hammond organ turns up, followed by a rockin instrumental before it drops off and a piano ballad comes in – “It’s All Been Said” then picks back up, a more progressive song about news headlines; includes a cool hammond solo, and a few changes in pace — this one has a lot to it, the paces and build up to the finale reminds me a bit of Iron Maiden. Next up is a sweet guitar intro, followed by Rusell Gilbrook’s drums coming in reimscent of “Radar Love” on this upbeat goodtime rocker – “Goodbye To Innocence”; one of the shortest tracks here, but it’s a memorable one. “Falling Under Your Spell” is another rocker; fast paced – perhaps this album’s “Easy Livin” [tho i liken it to more in the class of “Sweet Pretender” from Sonic Origami], an interesting solo and chorus of ‘ahs’ that are reminiscent of “Bird of Prey”. Living The Dream closes with “Dreams oif Yesteryear”, and it is a classic Heep mini-epic — love the guitar melody and Bernie Shaw’s vocal; a song of reflection and hope, this one could go on, much in the same class as “KIss Of Freedom” [from Into The Wild].
I cannot wait to get a CD of this for the car – where i can crank it up. There is a lot to this album, and Canadian producer Jay Ruston has done an amazing job of giving this a heavy feel, and getting so much new, so much classic, and so much more out of Heep, going on 49 years as a band. Heep diehards will be more than satisfied [blown away!] with the first 5 tracks, but Living The Dream has 10 standout tracks — fans won’t be disappointed.
Coming out in CD, and 3 different shades of vinyl [black, blue, crystal — yes, i’ve pre-ordered all 3!]

https://www.pledgemusic.com/projects/uriah-heep-living-the-dream?referrer=site_search

http://www.frontiers.it
http://www.amazon.ca
http://www.amazon.com

KJJ, 08/18

I figured I could simply do a Top 10 ‘Most Necessary’ or ‘Must Hear’, or Favorites, but really – that would be impossible. I jotted down 30+ albums and went from there. I quickly eliminated the Bronze solo albums of Ken Hensley and David Byron – these feature Heep members, engineers, etc.. and are pretty much already part of the Heep discography. I also excluded posthumous releases and live ‘reunion’ albums. There are some obvious mentions here, but also [hopefully] a few rarities and things you may not be familiar with. There are a few Heep alumni who’ve had such lengthy, successful careers [John Wetton, John Lawton, Bob Daisley, Ken Hensley..] that I had to pick a few from such big big discographies. [Of course, this all leaves room for a Part 2 here].
Drop a note – would like to hear suggestions not included here…..

Gods – Genesis [1968]
The Gods were a London based band that Ken Hensley wrote, sang, and played organ in. The band at times also included Lee Kerslake, Greg Lake, John and Brian Glascock, and in a very early version – Mick Taylor [Stones]! The band’s 2 albums featured Hensley, as well as guitarist/singer & writer Joe Konas, Lee Kerslake, and John Glasscock. The Gods albums were recorded at Abbey Road Studios and produced by David Paramor. The debut album Genesis featured psychedelic rock and pop, with gems here like Towards The Skies, Misleading Colors, Looking Glass, and Candles Getting Shorter. The Gods also issued a number of singles which weren’t included on the LPs, and a few of their best such as Somewhere In The Street and Real Love Guaranteed, as well as a cover of the Beatles Hey Bulldog [the latter are included on CD re-issue of this album]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ecUJ7qbgKIU

Lucifer’s Friend – Lucifer’s Friend [1970]
The debut from German rockers, who were fronted by and introduced rock fans to Englishman John Lawton – who would later front Heep. this album was every bit as heavy as Heep’s debut and Purple at the time, but beyond this the band strayed into jazz, fusion, pop, etc… this being a classic early proto metal album. Ride The Sky would become the band’s most popular song, and tracks like Toxic Shadows and In The Time of Job When Mammon Was A Yippie were all great early heavy rock.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hjicnb5aFG4

Weed – Weed [1971]
This rarity is all Ken Hen Hensley — songs, keyboards, vocals, and presumably most of the guitars. not brought to light til the early 90s through the Uriah Heep Appreciation Society. Ken doesn’t talk much about it, as it was a ‘mercenary’ project for money [between Heep albums]; but it’s heavy and tracks like Sweet Morning Light and My Dream are classic Hensley tunes.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Vn-NYeP8C4

National Head Band – Albert One [1971]
This LP is the lone release from NHB, which included Lee Kerslake on drums, as well as Jan Schelhaas [keyboards – pre Caravan], Neil Ford, and Dave Paull [bass – pre Jonesy].
A neat album of rock, folk, country, prog, with lots of harmonies … Lee co-writes the pop-folky tune Too Much Country Water, but it is the album’s final track Mister Jesus – which highlights the band’s playing, particularly the first few minutes of heavy prog.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cuz28diSyF0

Fable – Fable [1973]
the lone LP by this pop band fronted by Peter Goalby – who wrote, sang, played some guitar and mandolin. A very likeable album with a wide variety of tunes. The single Madolin is probably the best cut here, with the intro sounding like Queen’s “Tie Your Mother Down” [a song that came later – but Queen recorded at the same studio on off hours, while Fable was there. hmm] . there’s also the CSN inspired Four Horsemen, the rocker Hard Life, and pop gems like She Knows How To Love Me, and Google Eye.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TwFN7ddyocA

King Crimson – Red [1974]
Before Heep John Wetton had made a name for himself, largely in King Crimson, playing and singing on a string of successful progressive albums, and this one – my favorite, and i believe it was John’s favorite. Red is a classic track, and Starless would become a big part of John’s live set for years – either in Asia or solo.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OfR6_V91fG8

Spiders From Mars – Spiders From Mars [1976]
Prior to joining Heep, Trevor Bolder was the bass player in David Bowie’s Spiders From Mars. He played on Bowie’s best albums, but when that ended – Bolder, along with Woody Woodmansey, took the Spiders’ name and recorded this lone album. They band also included Pete McDonald [vocals] and Dave Black [guitar], and Mike Garson guesting on keyboards. Trevor Bolder would write [or co-write] more than half of the album. A bit rockier than the Bowie stuff, and a bit funky in places, a decent listen, even just for curiosity’s sake. Neat album art, but the record didn’t do much, and the band didn’t last long. RIP – Trevor Bolder and Dave Black
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hcbOfYVWK_4

Rough Diamond – Rough Diamond [1977]
the first band that David Byron fronted after being fired from Heep. it featured Dave Clempson [ex Colosseum], who didn’t get the Purple gig. this was over hyped and under appreciated. Byron was fired from the band too [they carried on as Champion]; a shame – I really like this one. Tracks like Lookin For You, Scared, Hobo, Lock & Key — very cool listening – great playing. Willie Bath [bass], Damon Butcher [keys], Geoff Britton [ex Wings, Drums].
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dCGKCrlgXao

Lone Star – Firing On All Six [1977]
Prior to Heep John Sloman was playing in a Canadian based band ‘Pulsar’ – that band also featured drummer Dixie Lee, both Lee and Sloman had previously played in Welsh band Lone Star, which also included Paul Chapman [pre UFO] on guitar!. This is Lone Star’s second [and final] studio album. A classic piece of prog and hard rock with The Ballad Of Crafty Jack, The Bells Of Berlin, All Of Us To All Of You. Cool silver cover.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JwXXWjdxbu4

Trapeze – Hold On [1979]
Prior to joining Heep Peter Goalby was in Trapeze for a few years [the band once fronted by Glenn Hughes]. He wrote a couple of tunes on this album, as well as shared vocals with Mel Galley, and played rhythm guitar. He would go on to record the follow up – Live In Texas. *This album had released some months previously in ’78 in Germany titled Running, which featured a series of photos of a nude model on the front 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nWYBa0GzzDg

Grand Prix – Grand Prix [1980]
This British band released 3 albums in the early ’80s. It is the first album to feature Bernie Shaw, and it also featured Phil Lanzon – who wrote or co-wrote much of their material. Often listed as a ‘metal’ album, Grand Prix is more pomp, a bit of prog, ’80s radio rock. A shame this album never hit it big – a cool piece of ’80s rock, solid guitar, lots of keyboards and backing vocals, with songs like Which Way Did The Wind Blow, Westwind, Feel Like I Do. Following this debut album Bernie Shaw was replaced by Robin McAuley.  All 3 albums are well worth checking out.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PHbP5hzMeHw&t=45s

Ozzy Osbourne – Diary Of A Madman [1981]
Following Lee Kerslake’s departure from the band in 1979, he would join the Blizzard of Ozz band, fronted by Ozzy Osbourne, and including young guitarist Randy Rhoads, and bass player Bob Daisley. Lee played with a renewed energy and heaviness from the previous few Heep LPs. He had a co-write on the first album, but would be credited as a co-writer on the entire Diary Of A Madman album. Sadly, he and Bob were removed from the band prior to the 2nd album’s release, and their playing credits and photos were not included. Many of Lee’s drum intros and performances are legendary on these albums – Over The Mountain, Little Dolls, SATO…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hA1CKGGPYPA

The Byron Band – On The Rocks [1981]
The last album released by Heep’s original frontman. The Byron Band was trying to catch up to the times, hard rock, with an interesting band including Robin George [guitar & co-writer], Bob Jackson [keys, ex Badfinger], and Mel Collins [ex King Crimson].  A decent album with tracks like Start Believing and How Do You Sleep, but failed to catch on at the time. Pretty neat cover as well and included poster at the time. CD re-issue included the singles that preceded the album. A 2nd album was demo’d, and was eventually issued years back through Robin George.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=82S0xwhN6cA

Lucifer’s Friend – Mean Machine [1981]
When Lawton left Heep he recorded a solo album, backed by members of LF. The follow up was a Lucifer’s Friend reunion album. It was a straight ahead hard-rock album, perhaps influenced by the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal at the time[?]. Great riffs, songs, and performances. Love this album!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0INMDMbhJEw

Wishbone Ash – Twin Barrels Burning [1982]
When things went worse for Heep in 1981, Trevor Bolder left [needing work] and joined Wishbone Ash. He played on this one album [wrote as well, uncredited]. More of an attempt to mainstream the band at the time, a more hard-rock direction. Produced by Ashley Howe, who’d worked on most Heep albums [engineer, tape op] and who’d go on to produced Heep’s Abominog and Head First. A solid album, notable also is the track “Hold On” featuring Bolder on vocals — my favorite here [this would’ve sounded so good on an ’80s Heep album!]. *There are 2 versions of this album, as the US label insisted on a different mix and a different cover. 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5WezDQcOi_g

Blackfoot – Siogo [1983]
After a solo album that didn’t do much, Ken relocated to the US and in time joined Southern rockers Blackfoot. Siogo retained much of the band’s southern style, but with keyboards and a slightly more polished commercial approach. Ken wrote a few gems here, most notably the single Send Me An Angel [w/ Jack Williams].
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GyqvYf02Ups

Zar –Live Your LIfe Forever [1990]
Lawton had done so much over his career, but this album is classic metal that saw him belting out heavy ’80s metal better than anyone else. Heart Of The Night, Fire And Ice, Live Your LIfe Forever…. killer album; didn’t get released everywhere. Zar went on to make more albums – without JL [John guested on 1 track on the band’s 3rd album]. Re-released on CD years ago [accompanied with it’s predecessor – Rebel]. Highly recommended.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E7nwqFGSgoI

Ken Hensley – Blood On The Highway [2007]
Since his return to recording and performing, Ken has recorded some good albums, but Blood On The Highway stands out as it’s based on the story of being that ’70s rock star – the ups and downs, etc.. The songs all fit in the story [a few had been previously done, but re-worked here]. It also included a few guest singers – Glenn Hughes, Eve Gallagher, and John Lawton.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2HUngJoX73I

Berggren/Kerslake Band – The Sun Has Gone Hazy [2014]
Lee Kerslake left Heep at the end of 2006 due to health issues. this album is a bright light in his post Heep life. Along with singer/guitarist Stefan Berggren, Lee co-wrote and played on this fine album. His playing is superb and he contributed more great songwriting than he had for his past 2 decades in Heep.  A highly recommended Heep related gem.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SyOCWYhXlyY

Newton-Rainbow Project – License To Rock [2016]
Original Heep bass player Paul Newton never got the credit he deserved in those early days. He played on the band’s first 3 albums, and more importantly at the time – invited Ken Hensley to join [the band was Spice then]. He left, and very little was seen or heard again, until he appeared in the Uriah Heep Appreciation Society magazine. He then joined Hensley and Lawton on stage at Heepvention 2000, and has been a part of the Heep Legends gigs over the past several years. This album came out last year, a collaboration with singer/guitarist/writer Chris Rainbow. A good section of styles, and songs, and most notably includes 2 Heep classics re-done.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iiXg3uUx-s8

Phil Lanzon – If You Think I’m Crazy [2017]
After so many years, Phil Lanzon steps out with his own project. Phil has been largely responsible for writing or co-writing Heep’s material since he joined in 1986, so it’s a wonder that it took this long. Frankly – this album is fantastic! Lots of variety – ’70s pop, acoustic numbers, some great storied lyrics, and a few fine singers on this album. Highly recommended.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=axvn-xaKa9g

KJ

By the time I had discovered Alice Cooper, in the early ’80s [due to my age] Alice was out of fashion. He was not touring, and his most recent ’80s albums [Flush The Fashion, Zipper Catches Skin, Special Forces…] could all be purchased for 99 cents at Avondale variety store! At that time I’d  just bought the albums [old and newer], assuming I’d missed the whole ride of Alice’s career. But then magazines started mentioning an Alice Cooper comeback. There was a forgettable horror flick called “Monster Dog”,  which starred Cooper, as well as including a couple of new tracks. Then there was a guest vocal on Twisted Sister’s “Be Chrool To Your School” [and in video]. Then there was the theme song [and another song] appearing in the latest Friday The 13th.  And finally, after a 3 year recording absence – a new album, along with a new direction, and new energy.

There was plenty of publicity for the Constrictor album, as well as the tour [The NIghtmare Returns]. Q107 in Toronto aired “Teenage Frankenstein”, pronouncing Alice was certainly back. For the time, Constrictor was a good album – tracks like “Give It Up”, “Life And Death Of The Party”, “Crawlin'”… stood out; though the live show would only feature 3 songs from this album. Beau Hill produced this album [Michael Wagener produced 2 tracks, as well as mixed the album], aiming for a very timely 80s sound. Hill’s credits included Stevie Nicks [co-writes], and 80s ‘metal’ albums by Ratt, Kix,  and Warrant. As much as I liked the songs from this album, the the overall sound let it down a bit, lacking in weight, making this album fairly dated sounding.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-eyksvPr40

The new band featured guitarist Kane Roberts, bass player Kip Winger [before Winger!], keyboard player Paul Taylor [aka Horowitz], guitarist Steve Steele, and Ken Mary on drums [not all were on the album]. On stage in was a return to the gothic Alice, with slasher films being a big influence at the time. Kane Roberts was built like a bigger version of Rambo [complete with a machine gun guitar that shot sparks] and offered a new metal sound to the AC classics; he would also co-write the songs for Constrictor and the next album.  “Welcome To My Nightmare” would begin the show, and it was a fast paced – no letting up,  gory show, with some theatrics or blood for every song. It was essentially a greatest hits, plus classics like “Dwight Fry”, and a few other album classics + 3 new songs – all ‘metaled’ up for the period, finishing up with the guillotine!  My first Alice show, and I couldn’t wait til the next one!

The follow up album Raise Your Fist And Yell  followed soon in 1987. Co-written with Kane Roberts, and featuring Roberts, Mary and Winger, Horowitz, and produced by Michael Wagener, who’d previously worked with Accept, Dokken, and Bonfire. This album was a heavier production than Constrictor, and featured plenty of great anthems in “Freedom” [the first single and video], Give The Radio Back, and Step On You. Side 2 featured favorite “Prince Of Darkness” – which was featured in the John Carpenter movie ,of the same name that year. Alice would also appear in the movie. Side 2 also featured a trio of songs revolving around a serial killer – “Chop Chop Chop”, “Gail”, and “Roses On White Lace” would also feature in the live show, with gory results.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJvMZ96Z8ac

I preferred this album largely due to the sound [they were fairly equal in performance and song quality, IMO]. The live show would also include Devils Food & Black Widow, and close out with Killer and Alice being hung.
During this time Kane Roberts released his own album, self-titled, featuring Steele on bass, and drummer Vitor Ruzzo [RIP]. Anyone who liked Constrictor or Raise Your Fist And Yell could easily get in to Robert’s solo album. It was hard hitting, big sounding 80s rock anthems, with songs like “Rock Doll” [single/video], “Triple X”,  “Full Pull” … a shame it wasn’t bigger at the time, with Roberts being Alice’s right-hand man at the time – both on stage and in interviews on TV and radio.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R9bhiiasQeQ

Following this period Alice decided to take a new direction with Trash.  It would be the last Alice Cooper album that Roberts or Winger would appear on [both on 1 track each]. Winger and Horowitz would go off as ‘Winger’ and Roberts would release a second solo album a few years later. I would’ve loved to have seen another album from this line-up, before Alice started bringing in the likes of Bon Jovi and Aerosmith to guest and co-write on Trash, and then the vast list of guests on Hey Stoopid [tho this is one of my favorite AC solo albums].
to be continued…

KJJ .