In recent times the affairs of Uriah Heep have been very ably handled by their
new label Classic Rock Legends. Unfortunately this time I feel they have made
a mistake. Or several.
The album title implies these tracks are remastered originals i.e. Old mixes
cleaned up for a new release. They are not and this is easily spotted from the
back cover, which states these are new re-mixes, alternative versions and recordings
by the current line-up. This still sounds exciting to the existing fan base.
It is impossible to identify the source of the material even in the CD booklet.
All that is contained there is an explanation of what the disc is trying to
achieve and adverts for the other Classic Rock Legends Heep albums.
What we in fact have here is a mix of the recent live albums re-mixed to lose
all the crowd noise and a lot of reverb or Ambience. I haven’t checked every
track but the ones I have, I have always preferred the originals from the Acoustically
or Electrically Driven and the Future Echoes Of The Past sets.
Through no fault of their own Uriah Heep lost control of their back catalogue
when Bronze went into Liquidation. Consequently there have been loads of poor
quality Anthology sets released that Uriah Heep get paid no money for.
This set is an official release and it supports the band. It shows well that
the current line up are not afraid to tackle a lot of material from all eras
of the band. This is mainly achieved because of the Acoustically driven set
but it is achieved and performed well all the same.
In theory the set is a good introduction to the band but if a beginner wants
to get something representative of Uriah Heep get Acoustically Driven and Future
Echoes Of The Past in preference to this album. The sound improvements justify
it alone and they are both cracking albums.