British keyboard player, producer, Paul Bliss can be found on the lone album by Dog Soldier, which also included Miller Anderson and Keef Hartley (both of the Keef Hartley Band), he went on to work for various bands before forming The Bliss Band, and releasing 2 albums – 1978’s Dinner With Raoul and 1979’s Neon Smiles. The 2nd album received good reviews, but it’s the album’s last track, “That’s The Way That It Is” (clocking in at over 7 minutes!) that would gain the most notoriety for it being recorded by a few other acts, notably Graham Bonnet for his 1981 solo album, following his time in Rainbow, and then being a comeback hit single in the US for Uriah Heep, on their 1982 album Abominog. Ironically Heep’s then-new singer, Peter Goalby had been replaced by Bonnet in Rainbow!

Songwriter, Paul Bliss recalls that the song was inspired by “just a discussion between two friends with a difference of opinion about something political. I always put more weight behind the music than the lyrics…..which is why I always liked writing with my songwriting partner Steve Kipner because he was so great at meter”.

Recalling the songs creation and recording – “The guitar riff was mine but Bliss Band guitarist Phil Palmer and producer Geoff Westley layered many tracks of guitar to get ‘that’ sound. If memory serves I think there was a track or two recorded at half-speed to get that 12-string effect. “

On the few covers of his song, Bliss notes – “I have heard all the versions and particularly liked the Uriah Heep version…possibly because it was the best known.“

Although it was never released as a single for The Bliss Band, Paul recalls that the track did get airplay in Brazil.

The Covers…. For the most part I’ve included covers that were officially relased. There are a few other fairly decent versions on Youtube from cover bands.

GRAHAM BONNET, 1981

Fresh out of RAINBOW, Bonnet included the song on this 1981 solo album Line Up , which included Mickey Moody, Cozy Powell, Jon Lord, and others. Bonnet’s version was released as a single in the UK and in Australia, in October thqt year. In the UK, it hit #76. It’s a very good version, shortened to just under 3 and a half minutes, a bit laid back, with the focus being on Bonnet’s voice. Line Up also included 2 Russ Ballard (Argent) covers – “S.O.S.” and “Liar”.

URIAH HEEP, 1982

Included on Uriah Heep’s 1982 comeback album, Abominog. This was released as a single and video. It reached #25 on the rock charts, and was close to the top 100 singles, as well as the video being in regular rotation for some time.

Ashley Howe (Producer, 2002) – “The Way That It Is, which I think was a very nice track for them, we originally recorded that at Ridge Farm Studios, and it had the Hammond C3 organ on it, and it was far more ‘Uriah Heep’ than it ended up, but what I tried to do with that was I had originally recorded that as the ‘old’ Uriah Heep, and the old Uriah Heep sound, but we ended up scrapping it because basically it ended up as a good song, but it felt like the ’60s. so what I did was I stripped the whole thing down and I re-started it more along the lines of Journey, like ‘Who’s Crying Now’ – type of feel to it. And we retained the song, which was a good song, and I think just having the whole band out, then they all join in on the 2nd part of the first verse – they came in as Uriah Heep. And I think it was a good new sound for them. “

THE PRESIDENT, 1983

From this Dutch band’s 1983 album By Appointment Of. This was also released as a single. Curious to hear from anyone who knows how this version was received in the Netherlands back then.

BLACK PEARL , 2011

I’ve included this version, even though it is a live video only as it features Stef Fontaine (I believe the vocal was re-recorded and dubbed in). Fontaine would replace Peter Goalby in Uriah Heep, briefly in 1986.