Update:April 3RD

 

I am probably one of the last members of the fanclub to receive this
long-awaited release. There's nothing that can be done as I live very far
from an epicentre what has become bomb torn. Nevertheless I see an advantage as
I had time to observe the reaction to this release in the West reading the various
comments on the forum. 

At first sight I could agree with some of them. By this I mean some of the attacks by founders in connection with overdub sound, etc.
However very soon I have understood that it was made correctly. I see no
need to be guided by those members of a fanclub who already have these records and have done
for a long time. The absolute majority of Uriah Heep fans all over the world were waiting for this issue very much and for a long time. I assume that from all the available sources they
did not have more suitable video for the  beginning section than first three songs taken from concert in
Japan. 

In my opinion it is the most impressive film. Overdubs with high quality sound came about as the
original sound did not correspond to the director's demands. And this successful decision has
allowed authors of the film to captivate viewers instantly. This trick is
not absolutely new and it was used many times before this film. I am sure
that it will be done many times in the future too. It is the justified
course.

As to the other material it is more than magnificent. Each frame provokes
in you a mass of memories, associations and pleasures. Undoubtedly it is very successful job. Also may I pass on the appreciation from all Russian fans.

Please understand that Russia likes and knows Uriah Heep as much as the
west. Russians never had their own opportunities to have something similar
and consequently Russian fans value the DVD greatly

Justice has triumphed! Thanks a lot!

Alexander Kolesnikov from Russia

Now I got my DVD from the Byron Era I have to say what for a perfect package it is. Great book written by Bob and good photos of the Band. It’s really “holy”! Now the music: The Shepperton footage I knew from earlier days (VHS-Video) but the rest is new for me and so  interesting. I prefer the USA-footage from 1975 (Disc 1). David, the real performer and his singing was great.The quality of the sound is very good. On disc 2 I prefer Sweet Lorraine, Micks beautiful solo, the Japanese Rock’n’Roll medley, and July morning (72). How good David sang this song. Pure emotion (with tears in my eyes!). The Rough Diamond clips are also very good and looks like David has (short) good times with these guys. Thank you very much for all the people who were involved in this project!! Hopes for more………. How about the Lawton Era with footage of the “Firefly”-tour 77 etc.? My order you will have for sure, o.k.? 

Cheers Robert from Switzerland

Hi Heepies! We watched the second Byron diac last nite. To me it was
great. It was so cool to see the boys in action that the sound quality
really didn't matter. It was a good decision to include the collectors disc.
Maybe we are so spoiled with digital surround sound now that we don't like anything else, but to me it was just fine.

Wasn't the part with David and Mick and the yellow crepe paper cool?
The July Morning on disc 2 is fabulous. It was done with much more emotion
than other takes I've seen.

This is the greatest thing I have ever bought. If I was being robbed
and had a choice of giving up my car or the dvd I'd give 'em the car.

Thanks to all who had a part in compiling this masterpiece-it must
have been tremendous hard work to get it all together. I really appreciate
it. Thank you-thank you-thank you-thank you!

Lin in Pa.



I received the dvd in the mail on March 6 and upon opening the package, I was immediately pleased to see the DVD in the form of really nice book. The cover is beautiful and the booklet describes the producer's love for Uriah Heep since childhood and then how the process of making the dvd came together.

Next step was actually watching the dvd. I must preface with saying video and audio technology have sure come along way since the 70's. Watching this dvd reminds us of how primitive video was in the 70's, but we did not realize that at the time. I have never seen Uriah Heep live before 2000, even though a fan since the early 70's. I did see them on TV doing Shady Lady in 1975 and that was my only exposure until the Lawton era on Midnight Special. I was thrilled to see the Shady Lady performance included in the set, as I was able to relive the huge thrill of seeing Uriah Heep on national TV. I will never forget that night. I had no idea that they were going to be on TV and I was in my room at the college dormitory. TV's were not allowed in our rooms, but of course there was always some who dared to throw caution to the wind. All of a sudden I hear a friend shout, "Hey Winward, your group is coming on, hurry up and get down here" Of course you can only imagine how fast I sprinted down the hallway to his room, just as Heep was being introduced!! So if this dvd can recreate that moment of excitement for me, I can understand hoiw much more significant it must be for those who did see Heep live in that era. So throw comments out the window about the technical quality, this dvd is about emotion and art, not technological perfection.

I do not wish to do a song by song critique, it is Heep there is nothing to criticize!! However some observations. I got a kick out of David kicking Gary Thain in the butt during Tears in My Eyes, as if to say bass player belongs in the back of the stage. Most of the video seemed to focus on David himself. Another thing is Lee is a wild man on the drums, i could not believe how energetic he was, and yet still is!! Seeing Gary Thain play bass with such effortless ease is a real treat. I am also surprised at how well Wetton played bass live and contributed so much in the vocal dept. I also feel that those shooting the various videos did not spend enough time on Mick and his extraordinary guitar playing. You hear it of course, but it is not the fault of those who put the dvd together. Vocally it is tough to get a read on Mick's voice, but I did hear him distinctly on "Easy Livin" singing "oh happy day". There is some impressive video of Ken playing slide guitar that were breathtaking.

I could go on an on, but ah Mmastercard, $65 US dollars for Uriah Heep DVD, $6 for beer and potato chips while watching the video, memories of Heep during the Byron era of yesteryear, priceless!!!

Bob Winward




Travelers In Time...

Transported back into time ... the best time...is the only way I can describe this release from Classic Rock Productions.

All of us have memories of "when we saw Heep", and some of us were able to see them with the "Classic Line-up".

CRP has allowed .. has provided,  those fans who had not witnessed that quintessential musical complex to enjoy some footage that has been "heard about", but never seen.

For those of us who were witness to those days, this is a welcome, and highly sought-after gem.
For those of us that are seeing David Byron, Ken Hensley and Gary Thain together with Uriah Heep for the first time, they are looking at the makings of a true Rock Legend.

I remember well being in an apartment in Minnesota when Heep played on TV and I didn't know they were going to be on ! It was a night that had started with Heep music and all the usual trappings that needed to accompany that kind of evening, and I was very primed so to speak. Uriah Heep hit the stage and I was in the kitchen, and heard them..Woooahhh.....this is too too much...

Needless to say, it was a show to remember.

Bob Carruthers and staff, Louie Rentrop, and Ron Mann and Mac Steagall of the CHA deserve well due credit for searching, sometimes begging, traveling ,cataloguing, and delivering what we firmly believe to be the best compilation ever produced of that era...that long ago time of Uriah Heep.

We have an expression ..."Have You Had YOUR Heep today"...well, now we have it all..

Thanks guys ! B R A V O !!

Dave White

Click here for the Sea of Tranquility 

Review by Reviewer: Pete Pardo
Score:

Heepsearch for gold

At last!! Some visual substance of that Great, Legendary line up has rightfully found its place onto DVD. It's always puzzled me why early film was so limited of a band that spent so much time on the road and now finally it's here and is a whole lot more than anticipated.
Disc1 is brilliantly crafted. I could not believe the images unfolding on the screen during those first three numbers and especially during July Morning. Some excellent work has been done here.
Disc2 is just fascinating and is equally as good regardless. Well done and thank you to the team that put this together.

Karl

Well, it’s finally here ‘ and what can I say’ First of all, let there be no doubt that CRP has done a great work assembling this Classic Heep set. You sense that it has been made with care. And for that alone they deserve a big thumbs up. Alright, then to the performances: It has been discussed whether the Japan performances should have been overdubbed or left with the original sound, poor as it may be. I can see the point in both. If I was a collector (which in fact I am), I would prefer the original sound, however, if I was to present this material to friends and like, I would prefer it overdubbed as it is now. You get a much better musical experience this way. So I think it makes sense. Of course not every single beat is in sync, in fact a lot of them isn’t, but this is to expect, and CRP has generally done a great job attempting to melt the pieces together. 

The Shepperton performances has also been overdubbed, this time with the soundtrack from the remastered CD version. I have always thought that this was a lousy performance from Heep. Byron is at his drinking best (or worst) here, resulting in a generally awful vocal performance. 

The pictures are dull, and you almost can’t hear Mick’s guitar courtesy of Rob Corich’s mixing. On the other hand the guitar sound is not too well anyway, so maybe it’s just the same. I tend to skip these tracks every time. The USA performance is great in the way that you really get to see and hear Uriah Heep as they was in 1975. There’s a lot of power here, and Byron shows yet again how great a performer he is, although at times he sounds flat and strained, probably because of his unfortunate drinking habit combined with the heavy tour schedule at the time. 

Nevertheless, it’s pure magic, and you can almost "smell" the show! The Holland performance shows the strain on the band, as Byron is now on his own plane. His singing bear the usual signs of his drinking habits, but he performs quite well, and again there is a lot of power from the band. However, the chemistry and togetherness, that once was one of the trademarks of Uriah Heep, has by now completely disappeared. 

Rough Diamond deserves a special mention here, because this was IMO such a great band that deserved much better. Byron’s vocal performance is great, and shows what a great singer he really was. But what contrast from singing in front of 40.000 people to singing in an empty hall...’ Sad, when you think about it. 

All in all, a great job by CRP, and to the words of David: "Do you want some more’ ", my answer is: YES !!!

Per Rannug

For the first time in DVD and the majority of these images, for the first time very short, it is possible to see and re-examine with l’envi David Byron, Ken Hensley, Mick Box, Gary Thain, John Wetton and Lee Kerslake in full action.

There was well a "antique" cassette VHS called "Easy livin’ - The history of Uriah Heep "published by Bronze Records in the middle of the Eighties, since good exhausted a long time, which comprised some thin titles where David Byron evolved/moved, the original voice of the group.

Why, if few cinematographic documents d’un of the headlights groups of the beginning of the Seventies? D’abord, the vidéos means, such as we know them, did not n’existaient and it was necessary to hope on relatively heavy equipment to film a concert. The request for this kind of film was not to be significant and finally, whether l’on wants or not, Uriah Heep, in spite of the colossal sales of discs and the great multitudes of the public to their concerts, n’a ever acquired with the critical rock'n'rolls or the media. Perhaps those did not n’étaient particularly interested to film these giants qu’ils had become quickly in 2 years. It would also be necessary to take into account the short career of the group at the top.

Established once this truth, it is easily comprehensible that the quality of the images and/or the sound track is not always optimal: it took days and working days to manage to go up, with mixer the material at disposal without speaking about the months spent before to seek the documents. Bob Carruthers, the producer for Classic Rock Productions, is also a large fan d’Uriah Heep and c’est thanks to its tenacity that l’on can aujourd’hui regale these images.

Obviously for any fan d’Uriah Heep, these documents are as as many treasures as l’on will cherish like the pupils of our eyes. The images turned to Tokyo into 1973 are astounding: one sees there a welded group which "breaks the hut". You never n’avez, except those d’entre you who have l honnor to see them at that time (and which has a good memory), Lee Kerslake to strike its barrels of the kind, you never n’avez considering Ken Hensley s’agiter like a patient on his Hammond, you never n’avez considering David Byron contorsionner thus on the boards, without forgetting l’incroyable elegance of Gary Thain and declads it rageuse of Mick Box. At the sight of these images, one likes them still more our Heep.

Only the first DVD will be soon available in the trade, puisqu’il gathers the documents presenting of the quality standards sufficient for marketing at large échelle…. and c’est here, qu’il is necessary to be attentive, dear readers and nevertheless fans:

You need the 2nd DVD imperatively. This one is abounded in nuggets: images turned in slides, in the cabins, with l’aéroport of Zürich or in Näfels (Swiss) on June 5 1976… l’un in the last concerts of David Byron. Without forgetting 2 short interviews d’époque and cherry on the cake, 5 titles of Rough Diamond, qu’a group formed Byron after its ousting d’Uriah Heep and which counted in its rows Clem Clempson, the superb guitarist d’Humble Pie.

The set, format box DVD, arise as a book with cover lasts in which niche 2 DVD and a booklet of 80 pages containing full with beautiful photographs and a rich person text of the producer Bob Carruthers….à who l’on can say THANKS A BATCH FOR YOUR WONDERFUL  JOB.

François Pitton

www.uriah-heep-romandie.com

Wow, was this ever worth the wait! I haven't even gotten to disc two yet, so amazing is disc one.

With all due respect to every lineup my favorite band has had (the current lineup being my *very* close second-favorite just behind the "classic" '72-'74 version, although if I listen to "Acoustically Driven" a few more times they might actually displace them!), this set just confirms for me that David Byron simply has to be considered the greatest frontman in the history of rock, and reminds me that one of the music world's great tragedies is that he and Gary are no longer with us. Bernie, John Lawton, and Pete Goalby are all truly great vocalists, but David was in a league of his own, IMO. Many thanks to CRP for giving us this treasure.

Now on to pop disc 2 into the DVD!
Firefly

I received the DVD two days ago and it didn't leave the DVD player since then.
It is MAGNIFICENT--WONDERFUL--UNIQUE !!!!!!!!!!!

Actually the real TREASURE is the Disc 2 -- Collectors Rarities.
I don't care for the sound quality on this Disc (we all have the Heep Live '73 CD with the real sound of the band), but to SEE the guys in action--that is something UNFORGETTABLE...........

My favorites :
1.Mick's guitar workout --I did play it probably 10 times on a row -INCREDIBLE.....
2.Sweet Lorrainne'76 and Rock'n'Roll Medley'73 --I have been to many Rock concerts, but I have never seen something like this--Uriah Heep were the BEST....Box, Byron, Hensley, Kerslake,Thain(Wetton)--they were playing with the crowd like puppet masters--UNFORGETTABLE!!!!!
3.July morning'72 --something REALLY SPECIAL!!!!!!
4.The interviews -- to hear everybody's real voice.....
5. Rough Diamond--Byron after Heep......

I would gladly pay the $50 to have only Disc 2 !!!!!!!!!

Krass


This is the most important album for me since "A history Of Uriah Heep VHS on Bronze Records/Virgin in 1985. I was 10 years in 1975 so I had almost NO chance to see David Byron "live" with Heep. Therefore its great for me to be a owner of this double DVD from Classic Rock Legends. I have all the other DVD/tapes with Heep but this one is different.

Runar

Have had a wonderful weekend watching the classic Heep DVD, over and over.
It is hard to find words.  David Byron really was unique.  Despite the
sometimes poor sound quality, the second, rarities, disc is my absolute
favorite, though the first one is a real gem too despite the obvious
over -dubs.  This limited release above all other material provides a true
insight into the dynamics and bonding within the band, and has completely
blown me away!  I have laughed and cried!

David's performance as part of Rough Diamond is also exceptional.  That band
had so much potential.

Thanks to Ron and all others involved for making this a truly amazing
package.

Dave

   
 

You'r gonna be a happy camper when you get this gem
Wendy (from the forum)

This is it! The real thing. I've been waiting for this for almost thirty years
to happen. And they're here: The Byron videos on dvd! What can I say...such a
lovely package: the beautiful book consisting two tremendous dvds and the story
in between. I was screaming out loud for five minutes, when I got this. My son
stared at me: "What happened?" I couldn't say a word until I teared out the
package and said to my son: "Hey kiddo, this is what daddy's life has always
been about..."

So to the disc 1. Sunrise opens majestically as always. It's overwhelming to see
the classic line-up in full form. Tears in My Eyes follows. Great slide guitar
from Hensley, Box cranking his raw chords, Kerslake banging his drums like a
monster, Byron singing like a bird and last but not least: Thain walking around
with his fingers running down the bass guitar. I must be dreaming. Traveller in
Time ends this disc's Budokan '73 section, but it does it even better than on
the official live '73.

The next highlight for me is the Live USA '75 performances with Wetton. The band
is raging through silence - so to speak. Especially Return to Fantasy and
Stealin' look and sound very good! July Morning Montage '73-'76 is
fantastic...I'm in seventh heaven, and my family just don't understand! I have
to run to the store and buy a six-pack of beer and carry on! The family
leaves...

The beers and disc 2. Can't Keep is a funny compilation of various pictures and
situations. Then Midnight. It's good, but it shows that the band is sadly
fading. To me it's obvious, others might enjoy the part, because Uriah Heep is
Uriah Heep even then when it's not on its highest peak! These Holland songs '76
are rare and very valuable to evidence what was going on back then. The
interviews are interesting. It's great to see the guys talking about their
approach to music and concerts.

Rough Diamond is a good doc of that band and Byron after the classic Heep-era
was buried. The songs are fair, but the players just seem to be at the wrong
place, wrong time. Byron still makes it, and to my opinion if the band would be
different, Byron would have survived...Who knows? Just speculations.

Finally - a biiig thank you to the makers of this document! Your work has been a
tough one, but you have really succeeded! Thanks guys! This will mean a lot
more many would expect. And - we want some more! Got a deal, eh?

Jari Perko

A very nice dutch review by Menno Kloppenburg

The DVD's are on the inside of the front and back cover and the booklet is sandwiched in between. It's just like a hard back book---really smart. On watching the 1st disc I can immediately see that hours and hours of work has been put into the film footage to bring the sound and picture into sinc. It must have been like a jigsaw puzzle trying to fit bits of footage to the sound. CRP should be congratulated for doing such an excellent job. The actual footage is excellent quality considering it's age, it reminds me of the Led Zep "DVD". This is all very nostalgic for me, it has rekindled fading memories of Heep concerts that I attended in the 70's. Very emotional stuff.

Hi all , just received the classic heep dvd,boy was that ?30 quid well spent, they should subscribe it on the N.H.S. as an anti-depressant, fabulous

Paul Roche

Arrived today 1/3/04 ! Well worth the wait. Very good package with a book well written and a good read. I have watched the first DVD and flicked through the second .... very good and loads of old footage. It leaves a tear in the eye David was a great singer and what a waste BUT watching the Dutch footage you could see why he was sacked . A great collectors item . Well done Classic Rock an the team that found the footage. We all slag off CR but without Bob and the team our store of Heep goodies would be full of compilations. Enjoy yours when it arrives .

Clive Arnold