''...Very 'Eavy ...Very 'Umble'' is the debut studio album by English rock band Uriah Heep.

Release

The album was released in June 1970 by

Vertigo Records Vertigo Records is a record company with United Kingdom origins. It was a subsidiary of the Philips/Phonogram record label, launched in 1969 to specialise in progressive rock and other non-mainstream musical styles. Today, it is operated by Uni ...

in the UK. The original vinyl release was a

gatefold A gatefold cover or gatefold LP is a form of packaging for LP records that became popular in the mid-1960s. A gatefold cover, when folded, is the same size as a standard LP cover (i.e., a 12½ inch, or 32.7 centimetre square). The larger gatefo ...

sleeve A sleeve ( ang, slīef, a word allied to ''slip'', cf. Dutch ) is the part of a garment that covers the arm, or through which the arm passes or slips. The sleeve is a characteristic of fashion seen in almost every country and time period, acro ...

, featuring frontman

David Byron David Garrick (29 January 1947 – 28 February 1985), better known by his stage name David Byron, was a British singer, who was best known in the early 1970s as the lead vocalist with the rock band Uriah Heep. Byron possessed a powerful oper ...

on the front sleeve, almost unrecognisable beneath cobwebs. It was issued in August 1970 by

Mercury Records Mercury Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group. It had significant success as an independent operation in the 1940s and 1950s. Smash Records and Fontana Records were sub labels of Mercury. In the United States, it is ...

in the United States as just ''Uriah Heep'' with different sleeve artwork (a centipede type monster), and with the track "

Bird of Prey Birds of prey or predatory birds, also known as raptors, are hypercarnivorous bird species that actively hunt and feed on other vertebrates (mainly mammals, reptiles and other smaller birds). In addition to speed and strength, these predators h ...

" in place of "Lucy Blues". The album was reissued by

Bronze Records Bronze Records was an independent English record label founded in 1971 by record producer Gerry Bron on Oxford Street in London, eventually relocating to Chalk Farm. History Bron had been producing Uriah Heep for Vertigo Records, and he set up ...

in 1971 after the band signed to that label. The album shows the band trying out various genres a mix of heavy metal and

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. Init ...

rather than the

hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a loosely defined subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the garage, psychedelic and blues rock movements. Some of the earliest hard ...

that they would become known for on later albums. Tracks 3 and 8 were recorded as

Spice A spice is a seed, fruit, root, bark, or other plant substance primarily used for flavoring or coloring food. Spices are distinguished from herbs, which are the leaves, flowers, or stems of plants used for flavoring or as a garnish. Spices a ...

songs prior to the band's renaming as Uriah Heep, and featured session player Colin Wood on keyboards. When

Ken Hensley Kenneth William David Hensley (24 August 1945 – 4 November 2020) was an English singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer, best known for his work with Uriah Heep during the 1970s. He wrote or co-wrote the majority of Uriah ...

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. Canadian music critic

Martin Popoff Martin Popoff (born April 28, 1963) is a Canadian music journalist, critic and author. He is mainly known for writing about the genre of heavy metal music. The senior editor and co-founder of ''Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles'', he has additionally ...

classifies the album as "proto-heavy metal". ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'' 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."

Track listings

US release

This remastered CD added three bonus tracks and extensive liner notes: *The bonus single edit of "Gypsy" was released for the ''Best of Uriah Heep'' (1991 CD) and then remastered for ''Rarities from the Bronze Age'' (1995 CD). *The two other bonus tracks were originally recorded in 1969 by the band Spice, just prior to

joining the band.

Personnel

;Uriah Heep *

– lead vocals *

Mick Box Michael Frederick Box (born 9 June 1947) is an English musician who is the lead guitarist of rock group Uriah Heep, having previously been a member of The Stalkers and Spice, both with original Uriah Heep vocalist David Byron.Larkin, Colin (20 ...

– lead guitar, acoustic guitar, backing vocals *

– organ, slide guitar,

Mellotron The Mellotron is an electro-mechanical musical instrument developed in Birmingham, England, in 1963. It is played by pressing its keys, each of which pushes a length of magnetic tape against a capstan, which pulls it across a playback head. A ...

, piano, backing vocals * Paul Newton – bass guitar, backing vocals * Ollie Olsson – drums, percussion * Alex Napier – drums (except "Lucy Blues", "Dreammare" and "Bird of Prey") * Keith Baker – drums on "Bird of Prey" ;Additional personnel *

Colin Wood Colin Arthur Wood (born 15 June 1943) is a British musician engaged in the field of jazz and rock music. Wood was born in Camberwell, South East London, & was moved to Somerset in 1950. He played jazz piano while still at school. In 1962 he went ...

– keyboard on "Come Away Melinda" and "Wake Up (Set Your Sights)" ;Production *

Gerry Bron Gerald Lincoln "Gerry" Bron (1 March 1933 – 18 June 2012) was an English record producer and band manager. Early life and education Bron was born in Hendon, Middlesex, into a Jewish family, the elder brother of actress Eleanor Bron. Their fath ...

– producer * Peter Gallen – engineer, mixing * Peter Olliff – mixing

Charts

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Very Eavy Very Umble Uriah Heep (band) albums 1970 debut albums Albums produced by Gerry Bron Vertigo Records albums Mercury Records albums Bronze Records albums