Conquest

gatman (July 18, 2006)

Contrary to a widely accepted belief I found this album quit interesting, intriguing and involving enough for me to warrant a second listen back to front (which I’m at right now) and I’m sure there’s lot more to come. The sounds emanating through my headphones right now have transported me back to an era when red leather and radio friendly songs were in vogue. Yes, I’m pretty nostalgic by nature – a strong reason enough to be an ardent fan of Uriah Heep. (though I was only a toddler then!)

The starters – ‘no return’ and ‘imagination’ tread new ground, anything but like their previous offering…but you will find them experimenting on same grounds with their mammoth successful rebirth ‘Abominog’.

‘Feelings’ is a nice sounding ballad that I hope to cover soon with my band; good hooks – got to be cause it’s Hensley’s offering; that man is one hell of a wizard, has the power to wake you in the middle of the night with his tunes ringing in your head! I’m talking about ‘If I had the time’ from ‘Sweet Freedom’. Oh! Those moods it entices!

‘Fools’ is another good ballad which has Box playing a melancholic hook that sours and gets you high! These songs could have gotten a better rendition from either Byron or Lawton.

‘carry on’ is a good rocker from their ‘innocent victim’ era;

‘Out on the streets’ is another Hensley ballad that sets a mood for quit contemplation. Check out the short lived exchange between Hensley and Box – intense.
and don’t miss the little sparklers that glide across your spectrum...

‘it ain’t easy is a good song with good harmony vocals.

What this album lacks from its predecessors is the definite absence of harmony vocals that have haunted most of their power ballads, though Sloman attempts a strained version of it on ‘fools’ and at some other points with no interest whatsoever from the other members; and of course the dynamic frontmen the band sported. This one leaves a lot to be desired vocally though the instrumentation is good. But for a fan, the fact that this album marked the lowest point in their career hardly matters cause its just not the quality of their music that draws them to it but the collective character and the singular musical endowments that each member brought to the unique sound that seemingly metamorphose as Uriah Heep.