September 11, 2026

Uriah Heep - Firefly (1977)

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*U.K. first pressing. 
Contains 8 tracks total.
Country: United Kingdom
Genre: Hard Rock
Label Number: CLACD 190
 
© 1977-1990 Castle Communications/Bronze
 After losing founding vocalist David Byron in 1976, many hard rock fans thought Uriah Heep had reached the end of the line. However, the group bounced back in 1977 with Firefly, an album that pursued a stripped-down sound harking back to the group's early-'70s successes. They also boasted a new singer in John Lawton, a vocalist who had made his fame working with artsy German hard rockers Lucifer's Friend. Although he lacked the multi-octave range of David Byron, Lawton boasted an impressive and emotionally rich hard rock voice that instantly jelled with the Uriah Heep sound. An ideal example of this new synergy was provided by the opening track, "The Hanging Tree," which featured Lawton dramatically delivering a narrative about an outlaw on the run over a spooky musical track that blended echo-drenched synthesizers with some typically gutsy guitar riffs from Mick Box. Other memorable tracks on Firefly include "Who Needs Me," a spirited slice of boogie rock with a rousing singalong chorus, and the title track, a miniature prog epic that deftly blends balladry, hard rock, and acoustic-styled folk into one cohesive outing. Nothing on Firefly hits the epic heights of "Gypsy" or "July Morning," but it contains none of the failed experiments that weighed down High and Mighty and it further benefits from a nice sense of consistency that is built on tight songwriting and inspired performances. In the end, Firefly remains one of the most cohesive albums from Uriah Heep's mid- to late-'70s period and is guaranteed to bring a smile to the faces of the group's fan base. 
 
tags: uriah heep, firefly, 1977, flac,
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Uriah Heep - Innocent Victim (1977)

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*U.K. first pressing. 
Contains 9 tracks total.
Country: United Kingdom
Genre: Hard Rock
Label Number: CLACD 210
 
© 1977-1990 Castle Communications/Bronze
After breaking in new vocalist John Lawton on the back-to-basics outing Firefly, Uriah Heep once again found themselves feeling the need to experiment a bit on Innocent Victim. The resulting album doesn't cohere as neatly as Firefly did, but manages to keep the listener engaged thanks to a combination of slick performances from the band and a handful of truly great Uriah Heep songs. Overall, Innocent Victim's blend of sharp, short rockers and pop-friendly ballads feels like an attempt to court the American AOR market. The rockers are all pretty strong stuff: "Free 'n' Easy" is a fast-moving tune built on an ear-scorching guitar riff that feels like boogie rock in overdrive, while "Roller" is a stylish midtempo track that blends funky, languid verses with a faster, bass-driven chorus that ups the song's rock quotient. The band also weaves in some experimental tracks that hit the bull's eye: "Illusion" is a spacy tale about dreaming that creates a rich atmosphere through an arrangement built on strong keyboard and vocal textures, while "The Dance" successfully marries a reggae beat to its prog-like melody. Meanwhile, the album's ballad leanings brought Uriah Heep one of their biggest international hits in the form of "Free Me," a tune whose acoustic style and accent on harmonies brought the group dangerously close to Eagles territory. The downside of Innocent Victim is that it works a little too hard at being radio-friendly: despite their high level of energy, songs like "Keep on Ridin'" and "Flyin' High" are too contrived and self-consciously poppy to sit comfortably alongside gutsy rockers like "Free 'n' Easy." Despite this unevenness in tone, Innocent Victim remains a likable album with enough strong material to satisfy Uriah Heep's admirers. 
 
tags: uriah heep, innocent victim, 1977, flac,
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Uriah Heep - Fallen Angel (1978)

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European first pressing. 
Contains 10 tracks total.
Country: United Kingdom
Genre: Hard Rock
Label Number: CLACD 176
 
© 1978-1989 Castle Communications/Bronze
On Fallen Angel, Uriah Heep continued the push toward an AOR-friendly style that began with Innocent Victim. The resulting album is too poppy to please hardcore metal fans and too eccentric to fit the bill of an AOR record, but it still manages to be a surprisingly enjoyable listen. Fallen Angel focuses squarely on crafting driving rock tunes leavened with a series of pop hooks: "Woman of the Night" pairs guitar-bolstered verses with a harmony-drenched chorus reminiscent of Queen while "One More Night" cleverly conforms the sloppy good cheer of boogie rock to a pop song format. Other tracks find the band stretching their heavy-AOR ambitions into other genres: the burbling synthesizers and stuttering bassline of "Whad'ya Say" lend that song a disco feel while the insistent, naggingly catchy "la la la" chorus of "Love or Nothing" suggests the group had spent some time listening to old bubblegum pop singles. This surprising diversity points out the problems with Fallen Angel: it goes in so many different directions that it never coheres the way a really good album should, and it strays too far from the group's original sound to really fit in with the rest of their catalog. Nonetheless, it is simply too energetic and well-crafted to be rejected as a bad album. Patient Uriah Heep fans will also be rewarded with some stunning tracks that hark back to the group's gothic metal style: "I'm Alive" is a barnstorming anthem of self-affirmation that layers Mick Box's soaring yet mournful slide guitar leads over a furious, double-time backbeat from Lee Kerslake and the title track is a gothic-tinged ballad about a lost romance that is built on a haunting chorus and an atmospheric backing of acoustic guitar and synthesizer. All in all, Fallen Angel may not please Uriah Heep fans who favor the group's Demons and Wizards-era style, but it offers enough slickly crafted music to please any fan of '70s AOR sounds. 
 
tags: uriah heep, fallen angel, 1978, flac,
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