The album was released on 19 June 1970 by Vertigo Records in the UK. The original vinyl release was a gatefoldsleeve, featuring frontman David Byron on the front sleeve, almost unrecognisable beneath cobwebs.
It was issued in August 1970 by Mercury Records in the United States as just Uriah Heep with different sleeve artwork (a centipede type monster), and with the track "Bird of Prey" in place of "Lucy Blues". The album was reissued by Bronze Records in 1971 after the band signed to that label.[3]
The album shows the band trying out various genres – a mix of heavy rock and progressive rock – rather than the hard rock that they would become known for on later albums.[1] Tracks 3 and 8 were recorded as Spice songs prior to the band's renaming as Uriah Heep, and featured session player Colin Wood on keyboards.[4] When Ken Hensley joined Spice in early 1970, the tracks were not re-recorded.
Reception
The album was generally panned by the mainstream critical press upon its release, although it has since been acknowledged as an early classic of the heavy metal genre.[2] Canadian music critic Martin Popoff classifies the album as "proto–heavy metal".[5]Rolling Stone magazine's Melissa Mills began her review by saying, "If this group makes it I'll have to commit suicide. From the first note you know you don't want to hear any more."[6]
^ abPopoff, Martin (October 2003). The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal: Volume 1: The Seventies. Burlington, Ontario, Canada: Collector's Guide Publishing. pp. 300–301. ISBN 978-1894959025.
This article is copied from an article on Wikipedia® - the free encyclopedia created and edited by its online user community. The text was not checked or edited by anyone on our staff. Although the vast majority of Wikipedia® encyclopedia articles provide accurate and timely information, please do not assume the accuracy of any particular article. This article is distributed under the terms of GNU Free Documentation License.
All content on this website, including dictionary, thesaurus, literature, geography, and other reference data is for informational purposes only. This information should not be considered complete, up to date, and is not intended to be used in place of a visit, consultation, or advice of a legal, medical, or any other professional.
