antiMusic.com: Uriah Heep - Celebration Review

Uriah Heep - Celebration
by Kevin Wierzbicki

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If you're a back-in-the-day Uriah Heep fan from the '70s you probably think that your copies of Demons & Wizards and The Magician's Birthday are the only titles out of the band's very substantial catalog that are worth owning. True these are the only works that could be considered essential but that doesn't mean that you won't find some of Heep's other music enjoyable. Celebration is a greatest hits package of sorts, done in an unusual way. The band (guitarist Mick Box is the only remaining original member) has re-recorded a dozen of their favorite tracks from the past, "The Wizard," "Easy Livin'," "Free and Easy," "Gypsy" and "Stealin'" among them. Earlier, lesser-known songs like "Lady in Black," "July Morning" and "Look at Yourself" are also included; of course the band sharpens the songs up but each stays true to it's original arrangement. Two new songs are appended to the remakes; the Whitesnake-like "Only Human" and the classic Heep-sounding "Corridors of Madness." This is another of the great old bands that's nearing the end of the line but this set is not meant as a goodbye; it's a very pleasing "hey, remember us" meant to give old timers a chance to come back home and ease into some of the band's new music at the same time.

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Uriah Heep - Celebration
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