Uriah Heep of Shit

          I paid $12.43 (shipping included) for the two-CD Uriah Heep “The Ultimate Collection” from eBay;17 with David Byron - Lead Vocals - (Track 1-17) and 24 tracks with Ken Hensley - Keyboards, Hammond Organ, Synths, Guitar, Lead and backing Vocals, a total of 34 songs; it is only missing “Tears in My Eyes” according to AllMusic. It is a good overview of the group’s career, the last 10 without any original players. I have one Uriah Heep CD; “Transmissions”, a CD with booklet from the first Eslite clearance I went to five years ago. I only knew one of their songs; “Easy Living” but didn’t perk my interest until I heard The Gods CD “Genesis” in the “Psychedelia” 5 Original Album Series I recently got; I investigated and realized Uriah Heep was where Ken Hensley and Lee Kerslake (drummer) ended up. Three of the songs have John Wetton on bass and, apparently, backing vocals.  

          Mediocrity affected my listening pleasure, too; Uriah Heep almost became the subject of a poem on the topic. After riding up the river listening to disc two of the two CD set, my suspicion was confirmed; this band sucked. Despite 45 albums in 49 years, they had only a few good ones in the ‘70’s. I realized why some said Rob Reiner based Spinal Tap on them. The singer, David Byron, has multiple voices mimicking others style badly, can’t reach a heavy metal high note without a cheap falsetto, and the musical styles of the band stray from their cheesy gothic dramatically, with pretentious lyric including some call and response r&b touches. Henley’s “The Gods” Hammond organ talent was wasted. I chose to listen to the wind rather than complete the CD on the return ride. I'm glad it cost under $10, shipping included, to find out.