Well, it's finally here. There's a
little merchandise slip in the pack and
you can buy a Wake The Sleeper alarm
clock. I did find that a bit strange but
hey, I'm a bit slow. ( WAKE THE SLEEPER...DUH!)
The pack itself is very well done and
band photos are brilliant. (spotted one
typo in the words of Angels Walk With
You...11th line)
Anyway, the production of this cd is
excellent, so well done Mike Paxman. The
one thing that pervades the whole cd is
the maxim that less is more and it works
very well.
Bernie.....This is, in
my opinion, him at his very best. He
just sings and is not trying TOO hard.
He is not trying to stand out, he
becomes another instrument within the
songs.Brilliant.
Phil....... Busy and
competent throughout.Good interplay with
Mick.
Trevor.....Same as
Phil. His songwriting is very, very good.
Russell.....With a tip
of the hat towards The Bear, this guy
rocks your socks. There are not enough
superlatives to describe......etc etc
Mick.....Mr Box. Yes,
the wah is on and it doesn't always work
for me, I'm afraid. (not a huge wah fan)
When it does tho', it is sublime. Some
of the high points on WTS are when it's
not only off but when he goes for a
completely simple and different sound
like on What kind of God for example. It
shows off his competence much better.
Generally, the band are very much
playing as a unit on this. They were
totally up for this and it shows.
I'm going to score as we go through the
CD,
10...... So good, you'll wet yourself.
8 ... Excellent
5 ....OK
2 ...Crap
1. Wake The Sleeper......
Where the f*** did they pull this one
from?I thought I had a faulty cd cos
there were no vocals except ahhs and the
Wake the Sleeper chant.
I put the headphones on my wife and
started it and when it did start, she
physically jumped.LOL This is different,
this is absolutely fantastic. Guys, you
are going to wet yourself when you hear
this ,it is that good.Mick excels
himself here with Russell being a
complete animal. This just rocks and
throws down the gauntlet. Tubular bells
banging away, high speed wah (which
works) SCORE.....10 (at least)
2. Overload...... I've
already heard this one from the freebie
Classic Rock cd, but it's strange in
that it sounds different put into the
overall context. Good guitar intro. I
like Bernies vocals on this as well as
the understated hammond.
SCORE............8
3. Tears of The World.......
A sort of standard Sea of Light type
start to this one. My foot tapped along
and the chorus sticks in your mind. Yes,
one of those.It picks up in the 2nd
half. Phil is mega busy on this one.Not
a bad song, but one that I suspect will
grow on subsequent hearings.Not a
favourite at this stage but it's ok.
SCORE..............7
4.Light Of A Thousand Stars.......
You'd know it was Heep from the start
and my initial reaction was...ohh, more
of the same but after a few bars when
the guitar and hammond join together
just before the vocals start and we have
an interesting track. I liked this one a
lot. Again, one that will continue to
grow on you, but it does enough to grab
interest even on the first listen.Phil
is great on this one.SCORE.....8
5. Heavens Rain.....
Uninteresting and boring start. It stops
and in comes Bernie and the band and it
comes alive thankfully. This develops
into a well constructed song and Mick
turns off the wah and it works
beautifully, then he turns it on again
and it still works. This is a cracking
song. I like it.SCORE.........8 (nearly
a 9)
6. Book of Lies.....Mick
and Phil play off each other brilliantly
on this one.Mick starts the riff and
Phil joins in, then again.Another one
that is good on first listening and will
continue to grow. Trevor is good on this
one. SCORE ......8
7. What kind of God......Sorry
guys, this may not be a hard rock, foot
stomping,testicle exploding song but it
IS a masterpiece. Mr Box turns off the
wah and plays guitar...respect. Bernie
sings beautifully on this one.Phil is
great.They just ALL do themselves
justice on this track. One of those
songs that your ear focuses on something
different each time. Mick, that guitar
sound is fantastic.Mr Bolder...great
playing.
The wah does come in at some point but
in a judged way and again it works. I
just wet myself. This is great, exactly
why I am a Heep fan.(not the wetting
bit, the music) Great finish too.
SCORE..........10
8. Ghost of the Ocean.......This
is so typical Heep on the intro. Nice
hammond lines but to this listener, a
totally underwhelming song.It's ok and
picks up in the second half. If I had
listened only to the second half, I'd
have been excited.It will grow on me but
at this stage......Yawn (ish)
SCORE...... 5
9. Angels Walk with You.......
The first song written by Trevor. This
is a very interesting song. It's very
different and I like it. This will draw
in new fans.
The guitar is brilliant on this.Simple,
good riff. This is just very good. Well
crafted, well thought out.
SCORE.........8
10. Shadow.......... An
ok start. One of those songs that sticks
in the brain because of the chorus.
Again, it's fine. Good Hammond lines,
heavy thumping bottom end.Good song.
SCORE.............6
11.War Child.........Another
Trevor song and again,different and very
very good. Bernie excels on this. Good
stuff, full of drama. I like the
drumming on this.SCORE.............8
Difficult to compare with other albums
because the band and I were at different
stages in the journey with every one.
Do I like it? YES
Is it one of my fav albums? YES
Will it draw in new fans? Yes, I think
so.
Should the guys be pleased with
themselves? Yes
Will it change the world? Probably not.
What will it do for their popularity? It
will certainly not damage it and will
only have a positive effect.
Who knows what will happen. People hear
some high points and it gets their
interest and they then buy the cd and
off we go.
I do think this is the best thing they
have done with Bernie at the front.
I hope it does brilliantly, it deserves
to.
The sleeper has awakened indeed
This is a well crafted, well written,
well produced and well performed rock
album.
I commend it to you.
Well done Bernie, Mick,Phil,Trevor,
Russell and the Crew.
Seegar
