Search - Uriah Heep :: Lansdowne Tapes

Uriah Heep - 'The Lansdowne Tapes' (Viceroy Music)

Mike Reed | USA | 12/17/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I've heard about the pre-Uriah Heep band Spice for SO many years,I never thought the public would get a chance to hear the band's material.Glad I was wrong.'The Lansdowne Tapes' is a must-have for ALL true Heep fans.Especially the older ones.Fourteen tracks of mostly unreleased cuts and a few studio out-takes.Through out this 77-minute disc,you'll get to fully experience the true spirit of the band,during the 1970-71 era.One critic said the group was like a mutated Deep Purple,as I've always agreed with that.The two best tracks are the eleven-minute "Why"(features a priceless melody)and "Here I Am".Other good songs are "Simon The Bullet Freak",the never before heard "Astranaza","Lucy Blues" and the instumental "Born In A Trunk".Have always enjoyed the work of guitarist Mick Box,met him after a Heep gig a few years ago and he gave me a most beautiful pink guitar pick with the band's name on it and always wished I could've seen vocalist David Byron(R.I.P.).A good CD to play on a Sunday night.Should appeal to fans of Wishbone Ash,Trapeze,Thin Lizzy and Argent.Recommended."

Good,but now obsolete.Get the Sanctuary 2-CD edition.

Philip A.Cohen | Bay Harbor Islands, Florida United States | 01/10/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This is the U.S.A. pressing of original one CD edition of "The Lansdowne Tapes"(same track listing as the original UK "RPM" label edition).This is a collection of outtakes & unreleased songs from the first three "Uriah Heep" album sessions,but focusing especially on outtakes from "Very 'Eavy,Very 'Umble",showing the group's transformation from the 4-piece group "Spice" to the 5-piece group "Uriah Heep"(with the addition of keyboardist/guitarist Ken Hensley).It is a good collection,but there is now a much more comprehensive 2-CD edition edition from "Sanctuary Music".Buy that version instead.Besides,a technical fault with some of the mixes(or tape copies) of the "Spice" tracks used on the original Viceroy/RPM editions caused those tracks to run much faster than the artists intended.Those tracks are now newly remixed and run at the correct speed on the new 2-CD edition."