Tag Archives: Ken Hensley

URIAH HEEP’s The Magician’s Birthday

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Well, Heep’s The Magician’s Birthday turned 50 in November! (Yes, I’m late on this) It was released a mere 6 months after the band’s hugely successful Demons And Wizards. Demons would become the band’s biggest album – a worldwide success that featured the hit single “Easy Livin”, and propelled the band in to being a headlining act around the world, particularly in North America. Back then record company mentality was to strike while the iron was hot, so it was not as crazy as it sounds today for a band to be hurried into record another album so soon to capitalize on success. The Magician’s Birthday is a classic Heep album, and for many maybe the band’s best (or one of). The album would make a great pairing to Demons And Wizards with it’s Roger Dean artwork, and fantasy themes in various songs. It did however, (IMO) sound a bit rushed, lacking in the grander production of it’s predecessor. The Magician’s Birthday was originally conceived as a concept album of songs Ken Hensley was coming up with based on a short story he was writing, and never finished. The story according to details in a Circus magazine feature were about “a magician who throws a bizarrely supernatural party to celebrate his 500th birthday… the magician would invite his rivals to a party, throw a huge feast where an orchestra of orchids would provide the entertainment, then end it all with a spectacular show of the spells and tricks he’d learned in nearly half a millennium on earth.” The article goes on to tell how the rest of the band didn’t share Hensley’s vision for a concept album at the time – “They were afraid that a total concept LP would come across like an opera, and stir up bitter comparisons to Tommy. So they kept five songs Hensley had composed about the spell-bound feast, but added ‘Spider Woman’ and ‘Rain’…” Ken Hensley stated over the years that the record’s release date was moved up and there was no time to finish it properly. In a 1973 interview with Geoff Brown, he stated – “I think there were some great songs on the album and I think there would’ve been even better songs had we had another two or three weeks to go through all the material. The time allotted was slotted in between tours and things didn’t go well for us in the early stages like they normally do. …Having mixed the last track we left the studio at 7:30 am and 4 and a half hours later we were on a plane to the States. That shows the sort of screws that we were on.”

Ken Hensley, in a 2016 interview with Jeb Wright recalled – “I was writing a short story called The Magician´s Birthday and the title track was the core song from which all the others spread out to paint the complete picture. It would have been so cool, but they took away my time and I consider this album to be less than 60% of what it could have been. Very disappointing.”

The Magician’s Birthday however, would go on to be one of the band’s most successful, with almost all songs from it returning to the live show over the decades. Side one opens with the organ and build up intro to “Sunrise”, a classic Heep heavy near ballad, with those high end Heep harmonies coming in early on, and certainly one of David Byron’s most passionate vocals. The song would be the tour opener, and thus opener for Heep’s historic Live album. Mick Box once told Metal Hammer – “We used vocals on this one is a very different way. It’s like a car starting up almost. We used very heavy vibrato and really played on it. We weren’t quite sure about the song at first, but once we recorded it – it sounded really great.”

The next track, “Spider Woman” was a short upbeat rock tune highlighted by slide guitar, followed by “Blind Eye”, another good guitar based tune (and B-side in North America). “Spider Woman”, co-written by Box / Byron / Kerslake & Thain was issued as a single in many parts of Europe, and was a hit in Germany (#14). And although it was a short and somewhat catchy tune, I don’t know that it was the right choice to represent the album as a single, in comparison to a number of other songs here. I am also quite certain it is the lone track from The Magician’s Birthday never to be played live. “Blind Eye” was brought back for the band’s Acoustically Driven live recording (and Electrically Driven), featuring Ian Anderson on flute. This first side (or whole album) featured less heavy keyboards, and I think less heavy guitars. And this approach, as with the previous 2 mentioned tracks IMO suggest things were hurried and less produced than the previous album. “Echoes In The Dark” is a dark atmospheric number, one of my favorites here, and an under mentioned gem in Heep’s ’70s catalogue; again highlighted by Byron’s vocal and Hensley’s slide guitar. It would’ve been part of Hensley’s original concept, and was brought back for the band’s Acoustically Driven show decades later. The first side ends with one of the band’s most loved ballads, “Rain”, which is a short piano tune, written by Hensley and interestingly also appeared on his solo album Proud Words On A Dusty Shelf, which came out a few months later. Although I like this album, this first side did not capture my attention as the first side of Demons And Wizards had. I think just less cohesive and lacks a greater Heep epic (there’s no “Circle Of Hands” here folks!). But I am sure there will a Heep fan out there who disagrees with me (!?). Side two, for me, is better.

Side two opens with “Sweet Lorraine”, penned by Box, Byron & Thain. It would be the single in North America, and closest thing to a follow up to “Easy Livin”, though it wasn’t a huge success, reaching #91 in the US, but predicted to be a top 40 by Canada’s Cash Box – “Sweet Lorraine (3:10) (WB Music, ASCAP-Box, Byron, Thain) Following their surcess with “Easy Livin,” Uriah Heep pull new single from their “Magician’s Birthday” album with plenty of surprises in store for listen- ers. Group should continue with their top 40 success. Flip: “Blind Eye” (3:33) (WB Music, ASCAP-Hensley)“

“Sweet Lorraine” wasn’t as heavy as “Easy Livin”, but it is as memorable IMO, and is highlighted by Hensley’s lengthy moog solo. I can’t help but wish the guitar riff in the intro was higher in the mix (or as high as) the moog synths. “Sweet Lorraine” would become a constant high point in the band’s set list throughout the ’70s, and recently returned to the band’s set for their 50th Anniversary tour. Given the number of fine cover versions of “Sunrise” and (more so) “Rain”, I am surprised there are very few covers of “Sweet Lorraine”, no major ones, particularly given the song’s popularity in the US.

Next up is the acoustic ballad “Tales”, another underrated classic in the Heep catalogue and a favorite of many fans from this album. One of the 3 tracks originally to be part of Ken Hensley’s concept idea, with some of his finest words – “And there you sit, tomorrow’s child – So full of love, so full of life – But you must rise to meet the day – Lest you become another tale.” “Tales” was also brought back for the band’s 50th Anniversary show, as well as being included in Hensley’s solo shows. A shame Heep’s label’s never pushed more than 1 single per album (at least in North America), as “Tales” would’ve been an excellent choice.

The album is brought to a close with the 10 and a half minute title track. Penned by Hensley and co-credited to Box and Kerslake, as the high point of the song is the guitar vs drum duel that is featured in the song. It was done in 1 take. Kerslake also plays a homemade kazoo in this one. In a 2014 interview Kerslake recalled – “I said to Gerry Bron, this is going to be good – it’s going to be a fight between the white wizard and the black wizard, ya know good and evil. And he said “that’s a good idea, have a run through it”, and I said “I’ll tell ya what Gerry – just roll the tape because the intensity that me and Mick play it – this is going to be a one-off or nothing”. and we just played it so on, it was unbelievable; it was just so tight! we were laughing and smiling at each other in the studio, and I went “you’ve got no chance Gerry!”. and he said “I don’t need one.” that was brilliant, and that was it! So they put that right in the song, it was an integral part of the song, so Ken said “right, you wrote that with me. So me, you and Mick. …done- agreed!” This song has also been brought back to the band’s live show on a number of tours over the last couple of decades.

Aside from the classic Roger Dean artwork, The Magician’s Birthday came in a gatefold sleeve, with band pics taken at the Buxton Festival, UK, by Fin Costello. It would also be the last Heep studio album to feature liner notes from Ken Hensley! (Tho he would add liner notes to the 1974 Downunda compilation for Australian & New Zealand). Later remastered and expanded versions of The Magician’s Birthday would also include such outtake as the excellent Gary Thain penned “Crystal Ball” and a band take of “Proud Words”, which would wind up at the title song to Ken Hensley’s solo album (Proud Words On A Dusty Shelf). The band received a Gold record award for the album in the US, where it reached #31, and placed higher in Canada and the UK, and particularly Finland where it was #1, and few other countries where it was top 10 (Norway, Germany, Denmark, Australia).

The band would move on from the fantasy themes (for the most part), as well as the Roger Dean album covers, and the lengthy epic closing tracks, and following Live…January 1973, would move from Mercury to the larger Warner Bros label in North America.

Links:

http://www.uriah-heep.com

https://www.facebook.com/uriahheepofficial

https://www.superseventies.com/spuriahheep2.html

Uriah Heep Pictures Discs Review- Very Eavy, Salisbury, Demons and Wizards, The Magicians Birthday

http://www.progarchives.com/album.asp?id=5898

Album Review: Uriah Heep – Demons & Wizards/The Magician’s Birthday

https://classicrockrevisited.com/show_interview.php?id=1152

Uriah Heep – The Magician’s Birthday (1972) – Review

New KEN HENSLEY Anthology includes 4 solo albums from 1999 onward

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There’s another Ken Hensley release coming which will offer 4 of his albums from 1999 to 2005. This is the period Ken decided to return to recording music and performing live, as well as moving out of the US. Past & Present (Songs In Times) – A Ken Hensley Anthology 1972-2021 follows recent CD box sets The Bronze Years : 1973-1981, and Tales of Live Fire & Other Mysteries. The 4 albums included in full are A Glimpse Of Glory (1999), Running Blind (2001), The Last Dance (2003), and Cold Autumn Sunday (2005). All these CDs are welcomed as a few of them have become pricier and/or harder to find over the years. For whatever reason there is the omission of 2004’s The Wizards Diary, Volume One – which was Ken’s retakes of a number of Uriah Heep classics that he wrote. But for those 4 CDs alone, this package will be worth it to most fans. The first and last CDs here are not necessary IMO, but presumably included to make this a career spanning anthology package. CD one titled ‘Solo‘, consists of a ‘best of’ from Hensley’s Bronze era solo albums, as well as a half dozen Heep gems from Demons And Wizards and The Magician’s Birthday (and not the predictable hits). CD six is titled ‘Collaborations‘ , and includes tracks from Faster (2011, w/ LIve Fire) right through to a pair from Ken’s last album My Book Of Answers. Absent are some of Ken’s real collaborations and guest appearances with some acts (notably the Toni Rowland album Ken produced and played on in 2007); these would’ve been nice gems to add. Also excluded not included here or elsewhere (yet) is Ken’s 1994 CD of unreleased songs & rarities From Time To Time, or any of Ken’s live collaborations with John Lawton, John Wetton or his guest appearances with Uriah Heep. But hopefully some of these will be included on something further down the line.

Check out the full track listing and Pre-order here: https://www.cherryred.co.uk/product/ken-hensley-past-and-present-songs-in-time-1970-2021-6cd-box-set/

Links:

http://www.ken-hensley.com

https://www.facebook.com/officialkenhensley

https://www.facebook.com/groups/60658447768

URIAH HEEP’s Stealin’: The covers

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Released ahead of the Uriah Heep’s sixth album in September of 1973 (Sweet Freedom), “Stealin'” would become one of the band’s best known and most played classics. It is still one of the few Heep classics that gets fair play on classic rock radio and has been covered numerous times. But the single that started out strong would not become a huge hit single. The band had finally had a top 40 hit in the US with the single “Easy Livin” (from Demons & Wizards) in 1972, and a minor hit with “Sweet Lorraine”, later that same year, so another big single follow up was due and should’ve been with this track. The band signed a new record deal with Warner Brothers in North America (who had so many great acts), and “Stealin” was Heep’s first single for their new label.

However, the song’s lyrics based on the imagination of Ken Hensley included the line “I done the rancher’s daughter”. It was term ‘done’ that seemed to put a damper on the single, as many radio stations would choose to pull the song based on that line.

In an interview with Jeb Wright (ClassicRockRevisited.com), Hensley recalled: “I went to Gary´s flat in London…. We smoked a couple of joints and played a bit and I wrote ¨Stealin¨ from that moment. The story is purely imaginary as I didn´t know any ¨Rancher´s Daughters¨, or ¨Gypsy Queens.¨”

Hard to imagine such a line being remotely controversial nowadays, but in 1973 radio stations (perhaps more so in the US south) might’ve felt pressured in to passing on playing the song. That did not stop the song from becoming legendary though, as it is often regarded as one of the band’s most recognizable songs with it’s quiet bass start, joined by the Hammond organ, David Byron’s distinctive and clear vocal, convincingly delivering the tale of a man on the run, and then the band kicking in with Mick Box’s guitar, Lee Kerslake’s powerful drumming, the band’s harmonies…and it all builds up to a classic Mick Box solo, and the band coming back in with more energy to the end.

Though the band still plays a great rendition of this to this day (I love the John Lawton-fronted version from Live in Europe 1979) and there are plenty of excellent cover versions — nothing comes close to the original production. In Canada the single made it to #65 on the Cash Box chart, while in the US it merely cracked Billboard’s Top 100 at #91. In Norway, however, the song reached #9!

Below is a list of cover versions of the Heep classic. I’ve included those that have been released commercially, and not the numerous live versions found on youtube (OK, i did slip 1 in at the end!). Enjoy.

Karma (1973)

This must be the first cover of Stealin’, recorded and released in 1973 by Finnish band Karma. They translated the words to Finnish and released it on their debut album for CBS! The song was also issued a single, with a (translated) cover of Elton John’s “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” on the B-side!

Panorama (1986)

An interesting pop version by this Italian group. The 12″ single also came with an instrumental version (hmm).

Zoid (1988)

Released by this LA band in ’88. It was the band’s only other release following their lone album in ’87, on Third Orbit Records. Interestingly, the band featured keyboardist Lou Segreti, who went on to record an album with the band Bloodline (1994) – which also included Joe Bonamassa. This is an interesting extended version of the song (with a lengthier mid section, minus guitar). The 12″ single included both a long and short version of the song. The band’s producer had been Matt Forger, who worked on a number of Michael Jackson albums.

EZ Access (1990)

Detroit hard who rock band who released this lone album 10 track album titled One Track Mind, on U.S.A. Records – and on cassette only, in 1990. “Stealin” was the only cover-version included. The band recorded a follow up album, but it was never released. Both albums can be found on youtube.

Satrox (1992)

Swiss band who released this cover on their 2nd (of 2 albums) titled Energy. Pretty 80s ‘metal’ sounding. Interesting that there is a few Heep connections on this albums – Daniel Boone (David Byron) on backing vocals, Derek Holt (who recorded with Gary Moberly… see Heep’s Equator!) also on backing vocals, and produced by Mark Dearnley (who was an assist. engineer on at least 1 Heep album in the late 70s).

Night Crawler (1996)

Night Crawler, from Minneapolis, released their debut album World Of Make Believe in 1996, which included their version of “Stealin'”. It’s a good version (and hard-rock/aor album). The band’s follow up (and last) album was 2001’s Second Nature – which included a cover of “July Morning”! The band’s drummer Billy Thayer is the brother of Kiss guitarist Tommy Thayer.

http://www.travellersintime.com/UniversalWheels/kc0402.html

Men Without Shame (1995)

This band from Saskatchewan originally released this track on their debut 4-track CD, which also included covers of songs by Nazareth, April Wine, and Nick Gilder. The band released one album: Triple-Ply, from 1997, which was largely covers, along with a few originals.

Native Son (2000)

Originally included on the 2000 2Cd tribute album Heepsteria on Red Steel Music. (The band also did a cover of the unreleased John Lawton era track “That’s How I Am”). Native Son had previously released 3 albums… not sure after this.

Nightingale (2003)

This was recorded for the 2003 Heep tribute album A Return To Fantasy. Nightingale was a Swedish prog/metal act, featuring singer Dan Swano . Many years ago I’d corresponded with this guy, and he sent me a CD of a couple of Heep covers he did way back. He also did a cover of “Gypsy” as part of Odyssey for their 2010 album Reinventing The Past.

Tesla (2007)

Included as part of Tesla’s 2007 ‘covers’ album Reel To Reel. An interesting collection. The band made it big in the ’80s with hits like “Little Suzi”, “Heaven’s Trail (No Way Out)”, and their 1990 cover of “Signs” (originally by Canada’s Five-Man Electrical Band).

Out There (2015)

A very interesting version, as it features Stephen (Steff) Fontaine – who briefly fronted Heep in 1986. As he never recorded anything with Heep, I’ve included it here. Out There is an Arizona band (where Fontaine was originally from), and this came from their 2015 album Out There Again, which Fontaine sang all the vocals on. Out There Again is a pretty decent album with a couple of other covers as well.

https://outsiderrock.ca/2015/07/24/out-there-again-with-kirk-krein/

Other versions noted:

Jason Kane – Jason Kane (of JK & The Jive) recorded a version acoustically, on his own (not totally sure of the yearbut about 2014). This version is excellent, and can only be found on Youtube, as he made a video for it. A shame it’s not been included on any actual release as it’s the most interesting cover to be heard.

Grenzgang (1994) – Austrian band who released a few albums did this cover for a compilation titled Metal Freak Sampler – Cover Me, on CCP Records.

Talas (2001) – Buffalo based band that features Billy Sheehan, included “Stealin” as part of their encore many times. This can be found on Youtube, as it was included in the band’s set at the Buffalo Guitar Festival concert (also on dvd). I would love to hear an archival live release from the band with their version included.

09/’22

URIAH HEEP – Demons & Wizards at 50 Years

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Demons & Wizards was Uriah Heep’s 4th studio album. A few days ago the album turned 50 years old. It was the follow up to Look At Yourself, an album which saw the band solidify a heavy hard-rock direction, and featured classics like “Love Machine”, the title track, and the epic “July Morning” – the latter 2 would remain in the band’s set list almost permanently, and the album has been argued as the band’s best by some critics & fans, but it did not have the commercial success that Demons And Wizards would. In the time after Look At Yourself the band went through more personnel changes, first dropping founding member / bass player Paul Newton. Newton was a key figure in the band’s formation and early days, as he had played with The Gods – which featured Ken Hensley and Lee Kerslake before moving on to Spice – which would become Uriah Heep with the addition of Ken Hensley, upon Newton’s recommendation. Newton was initially replaced by Colosseum bassist Mark Clarke, a friend of Hensley’s. Iain Clark, who was the band’s 4th drummer and played on Look At Yourself, left the band soon after Newton, and Lee Kerslake joined. With Clarke on bass the band recorded 2 tracks for a single release – “The Wizard” and “Why”. The latter had been around for some time, as the band had recorded it previously, much longer as “Why -14 Minutes?”, and it would never find a place on a Heep LP, but would become perhaps the band’s most popular non-album track. Clarke would also get a co-writing credit on “The Wizard”, with Hensley. The song featured acoustic guitar, the band’s harmonies, a mystical tale, and the whistle of a tea kettle! The idea to record the tea kettle was spontaneous in the studio and it fitted in perfectly. Clarke also sang the bridge in the song that was better suited to him than David Byron. Released in March “The Wizard” would chart in a few countries, a minor hit in Canada (#86), a top 40 hit in Germany, and a top 10 hit in Switzerland – where the band had previously had a top 10 hit with the single “Look At Yourself”.

Before the album would be completed though Clarke left the band while on US tour, with Gary Thain (ex Keef Hartley) brought in to replace him. “The Wizard” also became the first track on the album, an interesting way to start an album that would go on to be much heavier. (An interesting comparison is Golden Earring’s 1971 album Seven Tears, which begins with the acoustic track “Silver Ships”, as well as a unique lyrical subject). Side one would also contain “Traveler In Time”, and “Poet’s Justice” – the first featured in the band’s live show at the time, while the latter is one of the band’s great album tracks, rarely mentioned, and not featured on the Live ’73 album – just a classic tune, and and stellar performance from Kerslake – who would receive a co-writing credit on both of these tunes. “Circle Of Hands” is the track that had me going back to carefully drop the needle on that Ken Hensley organ intro, and listen through to the end with the David Byron’s vocal and Hensley’s slide guitar that plays out to the end. It is the Heep song that had me as an immediate fan, and remains my favorite Heep track. The band did a remarkable live performance of it on their Live ’73 album, and have occasionally revisited it in the live set since 1994, as it appeared on Spellbinder (Live in Koln) . “Easy Livin'” was the third track on Demons And Wizards, and the album’s 2nd single. It was short and full of energy, with that Hammond organ throughout with Mick Box’s fuzzy guitar tone. And again it’s full of harmonies, a great vocal from Byron, and the rhythm section of Kerslake and Gary Thain drove this one home. Kind of a cool follow up to the track “Look At Yourself” musically. It would be the band’s first (and only) top 40 hit in the US at #39, while in Canada it peaked at #25, and as put by one former Heep PR person “opened all doors” for them. It is among the most covered Heep classics, and is the band’s best known song globally, one of the few that still receives radio play on FM classic rock radio, and has rarely never been featured in the band’s live show.

Side 2 opened with “Rainbow Demon”, another song featuring a tale of fantasy, though darker and heavier than “The Wizard”, it was (obviously) the track used for part of the album’s name. This one has occasionally crept in to the band’s live set over the last decade or so, as well. “All My Life” was the album’s other short and furious rocker, featuring plenty of slide guitar (via Ken Hensley). A Box/Byron/Kerslake credited track that was, in many countries, used as the B-side to “Easy Livin”. Admittedly, this was the last song on the album that I really got in to. The album closes with the epic combo of “Paradise / The Spell”, 2 different tracks that are edited to blend together, and fit well, clocking in at over 12 minutes. While “Paradise” is an acoustic ballad, the weight and pace pick up as the it blends in to “The Spell”, a more upbeat saga of good vs evil with Byron and Hensley trading off vocal lines. Lots of changes throughout, a fantastic production. A shame this one was never performed in full during at the time it came out.

From RPM (Canada) – A surprisingly sophisticated set of uniquely produced avant garde rock. The group has matured considerably and this album is easily the high point of their careers. Listen particularly to “The Wizard” and “All My Life”. This one should do it for them.

Demons And Wizards would be the first of a pair of Heep’s classic albums to feature the artwork of Roger Dean, who was quickly becoming famous during the era having done album art for bands such as The Gun, Atomic Rooster, Lighthouse, Osibisa, and Yes by this point. The album made the charts in numerous countries – top 10 (#1 in Finland, #5 in Germany and Norway), top 20 (Australia, UK) … in the US it would be the band’s most successful, making it to #23 there and #22 in Canada, the band’s first to go ‘Gold’, With Heep’s hectic schedule at the time the band were on the road much of the rest of the year, breaking to record and release a follow up within 6 months! The Magician’s Birthday came out, rushed before the end of the year, and although the 2 albums are often seen as a classic pair for their fantasy themes, Roger Dean covers, and legendary tracks, the latter would not be as successful, nor would it contain that global hit single as Heep had with “Easy Livin”. But another awesome album to look at in the future.

The 50th Anniversary of the Heep’s most successful and famous album seems to have gone by without a huge deal , due largely to the pandemic that pushed back the band’s 50th anniversary tour from 2020. There was a limited edition picture disc LP release, but heck I would’ve loved to have seen a box set (ala Led Zeppelin style) marking such an iconic album. But the year is far from over, the band is touring, and have a brand new album recorded in the can, and there’s a few more classic Heep albums coming up over the next year that will deserve celebrating as well.

RIP: David Byron, Gary Thain, Ken Hensley, Lee Kerslake.

http://tralfaz-archives.com/coverart/U/U_Heep_wizard.html

https://www.discogs.com/artist/254059-Uriah-Heep

URIAH HEEP ANNOUNCE LIMITED EDITION VINYL RE-ISSUES – DETAILS HERE…

https://www.popsike.com/Uriah-Heep-Demons-And-Wizards-LP-180-Gram-2018-Reimagined-artwork/382724670780.html

https://longlivevinyl.net/2017/03/21/roger-dean-interview/

KEN HENSLEY – My Book Of Answers to get special vinyl reissue

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Originally released last year on CD & vinyl, Ken Hensley’s posthumously released My Book Of Answers will get a special white & black ‘splatter’ vinyl reissue in May, on Cherry Red Records.

The album came months after Hensley’s passing, featuring 9 tracks, and cover art by Olesya Vasilieva, package design by Hugh Gilmour, and lengthy liner notes from Ken Hensley, as well as from Steve Weltman (manager & friend). Each track on this album was accompanied by a video. Stand-out cuts included “The Cold Sacrifice”, “Stand (Chase The Beast Away)”, and “Lost (My Guardian)”.

Ken Hensley: My Book Of Answers, Black Splatter Vinyl LPKen Hensley

URIAH HEEP – A Look At High and Mighty

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Among the Heep faithful there are 3 albums that tend to stir up the most controversy and conversation, and often one of them is cited as the band’s ‘worst’ album by many fans or rock historians. I’ve already written previously my support for Conquest and for Equator, both albums that land at the bottom of any Heep album ranking, and the 3rd in that trilogy would be 1976’s High and Mighty – the last to feature original singer & founding member David Byron. Frankly, none of these 3 land in the bottom 3 for me, in particular High and Mighty, an album I rank in the top half of the band’s catalogue.

High and Mighty came at the end of a very busy period for the band. In ’75 – the band had changed bass players, adding John Wetton in place of Gary Thain, who had been fired, and the band got down to releasing Return To Fantasy in the summer of ’75. Ken Hensley also had his 2nd solo album Eager To Please released not too far off from that. A huge world tour followed the release of that Heep album, followed by David Byron’s solo album Take No Prisoners, and a Best of Uriah Heep issued in most markets (except for North America). So, to say High and Mighty might’ve been rushed soon after is more than likely. Despite Return To Fantasy being a huge success in the UK, the band’s last few albums were selling less in North America, and with this perhaps was the motivation to ‘fire’ Gerry Bron as the new album’s producer and produce it themselves. But, where as RTF had many more band co-writes and member contributions, High and Mighty would consist of entirely Ken Hensley penned tracks, with Wetton getting 2 co-writes. Ken has stated in the past the album felt more like a solo album, and both he and Wetton noted that not much of the band were around at the time, leaving the 2 of them to take on most of the production, aided by engineer Ashley Howe.

John Wetton’s presence is felt immediately on the opening track “One Way Or Another”, in which he takes the lead vocal. A fantastic beginning to this album with the opening guitar riff coming in with a fresh new strong sound, before Wetton’s bass, then drums and organ join in. This is a standout track, and a shame it never got a proper single release. There would be no global single from this album, with this song being issued in the UK (limited), and nothing in North America. David Byron was apparently off with chicken pox at the time of recording this track, so that was the reason given for Wetton’s lead vocal. John recalled in an interview that when David did come back he went in to sing the song, part way through stopped, saying that it was fine the way it was. “Weep In Silence”, a heavy guitar driven ballad, with Hensley’s distinct guitar sound throughout and a great vocal from Byron remains a fan favorite from this album, though it was never played live. “Misty Eyes” starts out gently with Byron singing the opening lines alone before the band comes in softly with acoustic guitar, organ and drums. A good lighter pop song that would’ve made a catchy single, IMO. The first side ends with “Midnight”, the longest track on the album, and most progressive,. An often overlooked epic in the band’s catalogue, and although Wetton didn’t get a co-write on this Or on “One Way Or Another”, his performances (bass, guitar, keyboards, vocals or backing vocals) make these 2 tracks his greatest contributions to his time with the band.

Side 2 opens with the anthem “Can’t Keep A Good Band Down”, a response and dig at the band’s critics. A good upbeat rocker that would’ve (again) made for a fine single. A shame the song would never feature in the band’s live show back then or ever. Next up was the pop-rock of “Woman Of The World”; a good tune, tho’ a bit on the lighter side. Might’ve made a decent single, but like a number of tracks here it lacks an extended solo or something unique as the song merely fades out quickly after the last chorus. “Woman Of The World” would include the band’s message to Bron in the harmonies – You can stick this contract up your flue “Footprints In The Snow” is a favorite of mine on this album, co-credited to Wetton. Love the mix of acoustic and electric guitars organ, and harmonies. An underrated classic from the Byron era, IMO. From here, despite how much I love this album, I can see how critics might disagree with my enthusiasm, as the next 3 tracks drop off a bit, especially the funky keyboardy “I Can’t Stop Singing”. I never ‘got’ this song, and listening to it now, I still don’t. . tho’ it’s not bad, and David sounds convincing on the verses, but the chorus… meh…. “Make A Little Love” is a guitar blues n boogie number, featuring slide guitar. Sounds like it could’ve been a good old school jam rocker, but it ends too early, like a few tracks here, sounding rushed . This one did make it in to the live set on the High & Mighty tour, but like the rest of the album was never played again (aside from Ken resurrecting a track live with John Wetton). The album ends on a high note, but a sad one with “Confession”, with David delivering an apologetic lyric on Ken’s piano ballad. It’s an excellent, moving ballad that sits behind the band’s previous ballads “Rain” and “The Easy Road”. A shame it ends so soon.

In 1995 I interviewed John Wetton and he recalled no leftover tracks being recorded, but sure enough 2 outtakes would eventually be released. “Sunshine”, a good upbeat number; love Lee Kerslake’s intro and playing here. The other cut is the guitar heavy “Name Of The Game”. This song appeared in another version on Ken Hensley’s From Time To Time album in ’94 (an album of solo outtakes and demos), as Ken had recorded the track in the late ’70s with members of Bad Company. A great heavy riff to open this song, fantastic delivery from David and slide guitar from Ken. To me, this sounds like it wasn’t totally completed or mixed well enough, hence it’s lack of inclusion on the album, but a crying shame this wasn’t totally finished and cleaned up and included – could’ve made for a very different outcome of an album that is often brushed off as “lightweight”.

High and Mighty received a huge press bash at the time in Switzerland, where James Bond was filmed. But after that the album dropped – with no worldwide single, and little push. As the band toured the US before it’s release – with no single on the radio or record in the shops, High and Mighty was kinda doomed. The tour saw Ken Hensley leave the band and return, and David Byron fired at the end of the European tour. John Wetton had already made up his mind due to the internal conflict, and and left as well. Many fans wrote the band off after David Byron was dismissed, and the band’s profile and album sales would continue to sink in North America.

But really, I kinda love this album. I realize it may be seen as lightweight or too much of a Ken Hensley solo project by many old Heep fans, but to me it had a new fresh approach and sound following Return To Fantasy and Wonderworld. The band experimented, did something new, and High and Mighty offered up a number of tracks that would’ve made fine singles. With John Wetton having a major hand in it, it sounded much more modern in tune with UK nd Asia, and a forward step from the band’s previous albums. Heck, I even think the album cover art is pretty cool!

KJ, 02/’22

WONDERWORLD Pays Tribute To Ken Hensley as LIVE FIRE on New Album

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WONDERWORLD is the name of the power trio consisting of Roberto Tiranti, Ken Ingwersen, and Tom Fossheim. From 2013 until last year the band played alongside Ken Hensley, as his LIVE FIRE band (including 2013’s Trouble album and 2019’s Live In Russia). During that time the band also doubled as their own heavy rock outfit releasing 3 albums under the Wonderworld name. So, it is most fitting that Wonderworld’s 4th album pays homage to their former mentor and band leader via a newly recorded collection of songs they performed as part of Ken’s support band, under the name Live Fire!

The album consists of 12 tracks – 6 Heep tracks, 5 from Ken’s later albums, and 1 instrumental opener to the album. It is essentially songs that the band (Live Fire) would’ve performed the most while with Ken Hensley. There are the Heep standards like “Gypsy”, “Easy Livin”, “July Morning”, “Circle Of Hands”, “Look At Yourself”, the first video “Sunrise”…. and despite Ken’s absence [there is a guest keyboard player on various tracks]. These are not simply tired ol’ rehashes, as the band really does an exceptional job performing,. Lots of energy. Both [singer] Tiranti and [guitarist / producer] Ken [Jr] Ingwersen sing and play with a lot of emotion and it shows throughout this album. I love this version of “Look At Yourself”, and how the band work out the ending here. Digging this version of “Gypsy” as well. [*There is No “Lady In Black” on this album! 🙂 ]

For me though the highlights are the post Heep tracks, notably “The Last Dance”, “Ready To Die”, and “The Curse” — 2 of the best songs Ken Hensley wrote in the last 2 decades. I will always hail Ken’s original take of “The Last Dance” as the best [with his own vocal], however Roberto pulls off a strong performance of it that I will gladly take. “Ready To Die”, from the Trouble album is also a favorite here; tho it lacks a bit of the weight without Ken’s Hammond organ, I think Roberto gives a better vocal here, and the band still delivers it with power; a great track for the heavy hitting drumming of Tom Fossheim here. And lastly – “The Curse” – what made this song so great the first time was the interplay from the 2 Ken’s during the 2nd half – the instrumental section of the song. So the keyboards take a different approach here, but Ken Ingwersen plays this so well, as his guitar stands out even more here, definitely the highlight of the album for me! The disc ends with “The Longest Night”, another track I think Hensley really liked from his latter days, and it is the only track here to feature him, as it’s a duet between Ken and Roberto. (not sure where Ken’s vocal came from – an alternate take from ’13?] , but it sounds great.

Cover art nicely done by Ken Ingwersen, which follows nicely in suit with the other Wonderworld covers.

*You can sign up for this CD release [4 days left!], as well as get other Wonderworld albums [LP & CD] here : https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/wonderworld-live-fire?fbclid=IwAR1D_-RHSAGxbaXX0Vi-fxrswh4fscpryy8263g_9dUX6TQaU_zLSkstBA8#/

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KJ, 11/21