Lost/Forgotten Album #333

[Jon]

Series are fun to do, especially since my millions and millions of fans seem to adore 'em when I decide to do 'em.

So, I've finally come up with another series for 2016, and this one is going to be really fun! See, I'm going to feature an album and it's going to have something in common with the previously posted L/F album and you're going to have to figure out what they have in common. For example, last week's album might have a song on it that is on this week's album and you'll just have to let the other fans know that you've figured it out all by yourself. I'm not going to give you any clues, so you're going to have to put your thinking caps on.

This week's selection is Uriah Heep's Head First which was released in 1983 and is the followup to 1982's Abominog which featured one of the greatest album covers ever because it was so dang evil and is also one heck of a good album.

This album cover isn't quite as evil, but it does have an evil contraption so it's kinda evil, maybe. The songs aren't as strong as the previous album, but it's a pleasant listen. From what I've read, there wasn't a lot of publicity about this album since the record company, Bronze Records, went into liquidation a month after its release.

Well, you know what you have to do. While you think about it, here's the allmusic.com review for your perusal:

After rising from the ashes with 1982's impressive Abominog, Uriah Heep continued to pursue a similar combination of heavy metal firepower and AOR sleekness on Head First. This album lacks the consistently strong tunes and unified feel of its predecessor, but it still offers enough highlights to make it worth a listen. Head First does best when it concentrates on songs that evenly balance power chords and pop hooks: "The Other Side of Midnight" cleverly balances a boisterous pop-tinged melody built on a pulsating bassline with plenty of powerful guitar riffing while "Weekend Warriors" layers its shout-along chorus over a slick rock backing that fuses programmed synthesizer lines with high-flying guitar work and relentless double-time drumming from the ever-reliable Lee Kerslake. However, Head First occasionally loses the plot when it strays from this balancing act: "Love Is Blind" works too hard to ape AOR conventions and comes off sounding faceless as a result, while "Roll-Overture" is an ornate prog instrumental that doesn't really fit in with the rest of the album due to its lack of hooks and guitar riffs. The album also runs into problems in the lyrical department due to its overt AOR-styled reliance on the travails of love as its main subject matter (see "Sweet Talk" and "Love Is Blind"). Despite these occasional shortcomings, Head First manages to work, thanks to its consistent high level of energy. Even at its poppiest, the album throbs with guitar-fuelled energy: for a good example look no further than the band's cover of Bryan Adams' "Lonely Nights," where the poppish quality of the melody is boosted into the hard rock stratosphere by a lengthy succession of guitar riffs and a relentless backbeat. In the end, Head First's adherence to AOR stylings may turn off some hard rock fans but there is enough energetic, well-crafted music here to please anyone who liked Abominog.

Head First

1. The Other Side Of Midnight
2. Stay On Top
3. Lonely Nights
4. Sweet Talk
5. Love Is Blind
6. Roll-Overture
7. Red Lights
8. Rollin' The Rock
9. Straight Through The Heart
10. Weekend Warriors

Availability: The Castle reissue which contains three bonus tracks (not featured here) runs around $40. The older Castle release with no bonus tracks runs around $13.

[Scott]

[Jon]

Where's the sound?

[Scott]

[Jon]

That's better.

[Scott]

I own this on vinyl only, I bought it because Abominog was soooo good the follow up just had to be as well. And the opener doesn’t disappoint at all. What a cool riff! And then we get the required “Rock of Ages” knock off track that everyone seemed to have to record in the couple of years that followed Pyromania. Stay On Top does have some decent guitar work however…

Next up is the answer to the question of what this album has in common with the last post. I don’t like it as much as Adams rendition, but it is his song afterall, though this isn’t bad and feels heavier which is never a bad thing.

Sweet Talk continues the trend to 80’s power pop clichés. The keyboards are way heavy and way 80’s and so goes the remainder of side one.

Side Two is a bit heavier, a bit more less radio friendly, but it feels like a neglected side as well. They seemed confident in hitting with whatever they had on side one and then filling the rest. Don’t get me wrong, the guitar work is far better on side two so all is not lost, but the song writing isn’t as interesting so there’s give and take.

For me this all about side one and that’s what interested me when I bought this on vinyl, but it was not enough to transition into CD’s and the iTunes age. So this album will remain in my vinyl collection but this post did provide me with some great memories of this time…

[RJhog (Admin)]

Just read your reply (I try to wait until I've listened and commented so that my comment doesn't accidentally reflect yours).  Funny how we heard this almost exactly the opposite.

[RJhog (Admin)]

Fired this up for me and my six year old to listen to this morning.  Went in his bedroom to shoot some baskets and he made it through 3 songs.  He did say that he liked the Bryan Adams cover.  Well, what he actually said was that he liked that song, he doesn't actually know who Bryan Adams is or what a cover is.  

Anyway, this felt like a Foreigner album.  About half of it a second rate Foreigner album.  I'd say tracks 1-4 and 10 were the second rate songs.  Don't get me wrong, Lonely Nights is a pretty good song, but I don't thing UH's version comes close to BA's version.  The singer reminds me of Lou Gramm, but of course, not as good as LG.

The album picked up for me on Love Is Blind.  I liked that track.  Red Lights was good as well, and Rollin' The Rock had quite an epic feel to it.  The chorus wasn't great, but overall it was a good track. That closer was pretty cheesy.  I think they should've stopped at Straight Through The Heart.

Good post though.  I have definitely become a fan of Uriah Heep.  I have this one.  I checked, it actually has 5 bonus tracks, a studio cut, a demo and three live tracks.  Don't remember what I paid for it, pretty sure I got it from the used CD store a couple of years ago.