Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Artist: Uriah Heep
Label: Frontiers Records
Release: 2011
Rating: 3.5/5
Uriah Heep have obviously gone completely nuts about live releases. Keeping track of the band these past two years is almost easier than keeping up with Twitter. Uriah Heep live their lives on concert stages. Right now, as I write this review of their new live release, they’re out on yet another tour. Their hunger for the stage is as strong as ever. Not long ago the band put out five official “bootlegs” from their live shows, recorded in Australia, Sweden, Hungary and Japan, and for us citizens of the Republic of Slovenia, the most interesting of the bunch is undoubtedly the one from the band’s anniversary show in Salzburg, Austria, on December 19, 2009, at the Gusswerk hall.
Anyway, here’s the official live album, spanning two CDs, with a live DVD tucked into the box. It comes from an exotic corner of the world. The country is called Armenia. Those of you who’ve followed the band for a long time may be reminded of the release from their performance in the former Soviet Union in 1988 (“Live In Moscow”), which seemed just as exotic back then, since with a series of concerts in 1987 Uriah Heep became the first Western rock band ever to break through onto Soviet stages.
I’ll say it straight. Uriah Heep didn’t need this live album. The first and main reason is simple. The setlist dates from the promotion cycle of the album “Wake The Sleeper” (2008) and, to put it mildly, is outdated for a release coming two years later. Especially considering that Uriah Heep have since put out a new studio album, “Into The Wild” (2011), and are already on the second leg of the tour promoting “Into The Wild”, so this live album doesn’t capture the essence of the stage climax this lineup is creating today, to put it most fairly.
You’ll also quickly notice that the setlist from this concert, recorded on October 16, 2009, has been trimmed down even further (only 15 songs made the cut) compared to the richer set Uriah Heep played a year earlier on other European stages, including their Ljubljana show on December 13, 2008. The weight of the setlist still tilts toward “Wake The Sleeper”, but it’s better balanced with classics from the band’s iron-clad treasure chest. Just a month after the Yerevan, Armenia show, the guys totally changed the setlist for their new European tour, since that tour already coincided with the promotion of the album “Celebration”.
The recording itself is fantastic, though. Uriah Heep sound devilishly good again, just like we’re used to! The structure of a warm yet impenetrably massive wall, held together by the winning chemistry of the dialogue between Box’s riffs and Lanzon’s Hammond, and anchored on the other side by the Bolder/Gilbrook rhythm section, gives you that feeling of power, invincibility and the outstanding stage confidence of this legendary band, who long ago learned every last trick of the stage trade. Bernie Shaw doesn’t sound quite as convincing in the highest registers, and in places he cautiously leans on improvisational tricks that deliberately steer his vocal lines into the mid to upper-mid range. Especially on the newer songs from “Wake The Sleeper” you can hear that his voice is no longer as explosive as it once was. Still, Uriah Heep remain most convincing on the classics. When they add layered vocal harmonies to their winning instrumental performance, clinging seamlessly to Bernie Shaw’s lead vocal, moments of unique, noble Heep magic are never missing. Gypsy, Look At Yourself, July Morning, Easy Livin’ and Sunrise remain the most convincing on this recording too, as far as the stage performance goes. Despite my grumbling that the release feels belated, one special moment is worth pointing out that you won’t find anywhere else. Sympathy, a Uriah Heep classic from the “John Lawton era”, is a real surprise near the end. Uriah Heep played this song neither at the European shows before this one, nor later, after the Yerevan gig. It isn’t even included on the “Celebration” release (2009). In short, since the acoustic run of shows in late 2003, when the guys played a stripped-down version of this song, Uriah Heep hadn’t played it live until Yerevan.
For all the reasons above, “Live In Armenia” is a release meant for the most devoted and loyal Heep fans. It’s mostly for those who caught the band live around the time these recordings were made, at one of their concerts.
Lineup
Bernie Shaw – vocals
Mick Box – guitar, backing vocals
Phil Lanzon – keyboards, backing vocals
Trevor Bolder – bass guitar, backing vocals
Russell Gilbrook – drums, backing vocals
Production
Mike Paxman
Tracklist
01. Wake The Sleeper
02. Overload
03. Tears Of The World
04. Stealin’
05. Book Of Lies
06. Gypsy
07. Look At Yourself
08. What Kind Of God
09. Angels Walk With You
10. Shadow
CD2:
01. July Morning
02. Easy Livin’
03. Sunrise
04. Sympathy
05. Lady In Black
