Chapter & Verse Reviews
 

Chapter & Verse: The Uriah Heep story (35th anniversary collection) - album reviews Thom Jurek, All Music Guide Now, this really is a chunk to bite off and chew. This six-disc overview of the long, winding, and confounding career of Uriah Heep (confounding that Mick Box and Lee Kerslake have managed to keep it afloat for nearly 40 years), is the first box to take into consideration all the permutations this dinosaur juggernaut has been through. First, the box itself: a long box, containing the six music-packed CDs, a lavishly illustrated book with an exhaustive liner-note interview with Mick Box (the man who compiled this set, and the band's only constant member), Ken Hensley (member from 1969 -- 1980), and Lee Kerslake (left in 1979 and came back in 1981). Two of the band's founding members, vocalist David Byron and bassist Gary Thain are deceased due to self-destructive behaviors. There's also a groovy concert poster enclosed. (A DVD of concert footage would have been nice, but oh well.) Disc one begins the tale with 12 tracks by Heep precursor bands such as the Gods, Spice, Toe Fat, Head Machine, and the Keef Hartley Band. Interestingly, this music, though it has its flaws, is utterly compelling, particularly the cuts by Spice -- the unreleased cut "Astranaza," and "Born in a Trunk" contain the earliest version of the sound the Heep would hone on Magicians Birthday and Demons and Wizards. The earliest UH material here is "Gypsy" and the previously unissued "Real Turned On" and "What's Within My Heart." It's frightening how the band has a sound a lot like the music Deep Purple would make in 1974. Hensley's keyboards against Box's roaring SG are devastating. The Heep story continues through the glory years when they rang the bells at the higher reaches of the charts on both sides of the Atlantic through 1977, and into the demise and back again -- musically if not popularly. There are 14 unreleased studio cuts, in total, and a whopping sixth disc of live material, most of which has never been released before. Virtually every track a fan would want is here: "Sweet Lorraine," "The Magician's Birthday," "July Morning," "Look at Yourself," "Tears in My Eyes" (an unreleased alternate take), to "Easy Livin'," and "Stealin'," to "Sweet Freedom." The new cuts here, like the alternates of "Lady in Black," and "Why," are wonderful sit-ins for their originals. It is true that the material on discs four and five can be dicey at times, but there is still plenty to love. Box did a fine job of keeping the dross of the albums from Different World through Sonic Origami at bay, but all is redeemed on disc six with the live material, showcasing the awesome power and sheer dynamic theatricality of a band that walked the line between hard rock, metal, and prog rock. Chapter and Verse is highly recommended for the faithful. All others be forewarned: the Heep might become an addictive, guilty pleasure as one of the consummate bands of the 1970s; they embodied everything wonderful about the rock decade as well as its tawdry, conceited excesses. ~ Thom Jurek, All Music Guide

Rating: A+ Classic Rock Revisited The box set celebrates 35 years of Uriah Heep.  Six discs in all, this is the most comprehensive Heep set on the market.  Aside from all the classics, the collection includes recordings from pre-Heep bands The Gods, Spice, Toe Fat, Keef Hartley Band and the National Head Band.   All in all, there are 12 tracks of rare early stuff before the box set settles into familiar territory with AGypsy.@  The rare tracks do not end there, though.  There are extended versions of songs and acoustic versions.  Disc Six is entirely live with songs ranging from 1973 to 2001.    Every classic Heep track is included B I am mean every one.  There is no stone left unturned.  Heep founder Mick Box was very involved with the track listing and the box set=s booklet that accompanies.  There is also a very retro touch in that the box set includes a poster!  The booklet is very comprehensive with extensive interviews about every era the band has been through.  The answers are very candid and the entire history of Heep can be found in it=s pages.  There is also a track-by-track analysis and an amazing discography.  The bottom line here is that this is a box set that will require a commitment from the listener because of its sheer length.  However, the listener will willingly give the time and then some because it is so well done.  It is rare that a band cares enough to oversee a career retrospective with such thoroughness.  Uriah Heep is an amazing band and Chapter & Verse is an amazing release.

REVIEWS Uriah Heep blicken auf eine großartige, mittlerweile 35jährige Karriere zurück und sie zählen zu einer der bedeutendsten britischen Rock Bands. Dieses Jubiläum krönt ein umfassendes, hochwertiges und aufwendiges 6-CD-Box-Set, das u.a. 31 bislang unveröffentlichte Songs beinhaltet, sowie "alternative" und "extended" Versionen, eine CD mit Live Material und ein bislang unveröffentlichtes Interview mit den Band Mitgliedern Mick Box, Ken Hensley und Gerry Bron. Die exzellenten Liner Notes wurden von Uriah Heep Kenner, Dave Ling, geschrieben. Im Booklet befindet sich auch die vollständige Diskografie und rares Fotomaterial. 2005 feiern wir 35 Jahre URIAH HEEP! Source: Castle Music

"Chapter & Verse" as featured by Adey Gibbs This is without question the most definitive collection of all things Uriah. For starters it is beautifully presented with six CD's and an Informative book that takes you thoughtfully through each track as each CD plays. But the most striking thing about this box set (apart from the price £30.99 from the TR Shop), is that each member of Uriah Heep, both past and present, speaks so highly and so fondly of the band's name throughout it's 30 year history.. to you, the fan, which is wonderful in itself. Long Live Uriah Heep!

http://www.dprp.net URIAH HEEP: Chapter And Verse – The Uriah Heep Story is the first-ever fully comprehensive 6-CD Box Set, compiled with full band involvement and includes tracks from every variation the band has experienced since its tentative formation as The Gods in 1968 right up to the present day. First ever fully comprehensive 6-CD Box Set covering the entire recorded history of Uriah Heep from The Gods to present day.  Contains 31 previously unreleased tracks, including alternative and extended versions and a complete disc of live material with a never before heard interview by Mick Box, Ken Hensley and Gerry Bron.  Sleeve notes by Uriah Heep expert and author of Wizards And Demons: The Uriah Heep Story, Dave Ling. Complete and comprehensive discography with replica period poster. Booklet contains rare photos and images of hard to find import releases and memorabilia. Fully supported by the band. 2005 marks the 35th Anniversary of Uriah Heep. Looking back over the career of this great British rock band is not unlike turning the sepia tinged pages of a dusty Dickensian novel. The story of Uriah Heep is one that is now well into its third decade with 2005 marking the 35th Anniversary of a band that has stood fast and defiant within the eye of the rock ‘n’ roll hurricane, year after year. From their early incarnations as The Gods and Spice, through to record breaking tours, gold and platinum selling albums, timeless chart scaling anthems and a fiercely dedicated fan base of worldwide proportions, Uriah Heep can rightly claim to be one of the greatest progressive heavy rock bands of the 20th and 21st Centuries. Their music has endured every fad and phase that commercial rock and pop has forced onto the record buying public and since the release of their first album, Very ‘Eavy…Very ‘Umble in 1970, the band has enjoyed 10 albums reaching the UK Top 50, 3 of which, Demons And Wizards (1972), Sweet Freedom (1973) and Return To Fantasy (1975), entering the UK Top 20. In 1987, Uriah Heep became the first western rock band to play behind the Iron Curtain touring the Russian states and playing to over 180,000 fans during their ten concerts in Moscow alone! The result of this amazing coup was captured on the Live In Moscow – Cam B Mockbe album and released in 1988. The band hasn’t been without its moments of extreme lows, however, and like other bands with similar longevity in the rock business, they have experienced more than their share of sorrow through the passing of not one but two previous band members. First was bassist Gary Thain in 1976 then original vocalist David Byron passed away in 1985. Testament to the band’s mettle is the grit and determination they possess to pull themselves up by the haunches and carryon through what could easily have been career-halting experiences. It’s probable the force and nature of the music itself generates the will needed to drive the band forward, ensuring the memory of the fallen is kept alive through the great songs that were once played and sang by the departed members. Today, Uriah Heep continue to add pages to their illustrious history by releasing vibrant and powerful hard rock albums and playing live all over the world to expectant and ever loyal fans.