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Silver Lining Music [Release Date 27.01.23]
Uriah Heep spent last year belatedly celebrating their 50th anniversary with some special live shows that showed their distinguished legacy to its finest. But they have also had a contemporary new lease of life. Their heaviest effort for a long time, 2018’s ‘Living The Dream,’ set the bar high, but this follow up ‘Chaos and Colour’ – in the hands of the same producer Jay Ruston- in my view raises it even higher.
‘Save Me Tonight’ is a blistering opening, nothing less than classic Heep with its galloping rhythms and Phil Lanzon’s organ solo and an illustration how Bernie Shaw, never my favourite of their various singers, has really grown in to the role.
‘Silver Sunlight’ has a distinctively seventies feel both musically- excellent melodic guitar work from the evergreen Mick Box and a baroque-style organ solo late on – and lyrically, and could have come from the pen of Ken Hensley. Indeed the whole album seems to have drawn inspiration from the band’s classic years, as if in tribute to the band members that have left us – Lee Kerslake and John Lawton being the others – in the years since they last recorded.
‘Hail The Sunrise’, a celebration of the solstice, is again vintage Heep with Phil stabbing his organ prominently and layered vocal harmonies on the chorus, and ‘Age of Changes’ features another Heep trademark in its harmonic high pitched chants, and more solos as Mick’s guitar gives way to more keyboard wizardry. ‘Hurricane’ (whose opening riff reminds me of Foreigner’s ‘Dirty White Boy’) is relatively ordinary but redeemed by a nice organ solo.
The first change of pace comes in the lengthy ‘One Nation, One Sun’, beginning for its first three minutes as a piano based ballad before tasteful guitar work from Mick. ‘Golden Light’ takes the seventies vibe a stage further with its Hammond-heavy intro, and proggy synths in the middle complemented by a guitar solo.
‘You’ll Never Be Alone’, eight minutes long, with piano prominent early on and rapid wah-wah guitar work from Mick, again hints at Ken Hensley’s whimsical work, ’The Magician’s Birthday’ in particular, and the mix of gentle and heavy passages takes us back to their work from the very earliest seventies.
‘Fly Like An Eagle’ also has that proggy feel with some heavy Hammond and synth playing from Phil, while ‘Freedom To Be Free’, the longest of a trio of songs all over seven minutes long, features several different musical passages and even a brief bass and drum jam featuring Dave Rimmer and Russell Gilbrook, both of whom have given the band fresh energy. This adventurous album is bookended by two relatively concise songs and ‘Closer To Your Dreams’ ends proceedings, built on a galloping ‘Easy Living’ inspired rhythm.
While perhaps lacking some truly memorable songs, this is an album is heavily inspired by their distinguished past. It ranks alongside other successful attempts to move back to the classic Heep sound such as ‘Sea Of Light’ and ‘Wake The Sleeper’, but with an added and praiseworthy willingness to embrace lengthier songs and instrumental passages.
Yet it still comes over in a very fresh manner, and Heep join a select bunch of veteran bands (including close contemporaries Deep Purple) who are sounding as good as ever. Indeed classic heavy rock does not come much better than this. **** 3/4
Review by Andy Nathan
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