OK – here we go. In what should be a fun week we have first the new Uriah Heep offering Live at Koko. A double CD plus storming DVD capturing their 45th anniversary bash at the Koko last March just before the release of Outsider. All being well the new UFO should be here in a couple of days (see what I mean about a fun week) though for now, here’s a review of UH.

I bought this as a Uriah Heep fan of many a decade and for the DVD rather than the CD, which I have not listened to instead “majoring” on the DVD. Breath-taking. A high quality full on production from a band which consistently delivers and never disappoints as shown by this storming performance. Time may march on and Mick Box may be the only original member left though when you consider that Bernie Shaw has been there for thirty years (and Phil Lanzon too), Russell Gilbrook since Wake the Sleeper (circa seven years) Heep remains a bona-fide outfit putting out new albums and not relying on the classic rock nostalgia circuit resting on laurels. They still do great stuff and relative new boy Davey Rimmer fits right in on the bass even though to me his does appear a bit low in the mix here.

Anyhoo – the music and performance. First class indeed. A very tight tour de force spanning the early (Gypsy, Lady in Black, Traveller in Time etc.) to the present day (In to the Wild, Nail on the Head plus a couple from the as then unreleased Outsider album) and most points in between. 45 years of history in around two hours which do flash by like the proverbial.

Mulit-camera angles capture it all very well and show each band member having a whale of a time. Enthusiastic and oh so eager to please (which they do…..). The old stuff does not age and still sounds fresh especially when delivered as enthusiastically as we have here. The crowd know something quite special is going on and react accordingly. The band seems to feed off that too. Especially the huge perma-grin on Mick’s face.

I think this DVD gives some visible proof of what an under-rated guitarist Mick is. The close ups of his flashy runs up and down the guitar neck demonstrate his unmistakable sound and wah-wah pedal mastery. A lost art these days. And of course he can knock out the riffs too. Gypsy is simply brutal.

Top, top stuff indeed from a band who still sing for their supper in to a fifth decade of existence. Remarkable. The brief interviews on the DVD extras promise more to come. Oh yes please.

If you want style over substance in your live rock performances, this isn’t for you. If you want substance over style, it certainly IS for you. No unnecessary pyrotechnics – just five blokes at the top of their game showing how it should be done. I may have used this Heep-related cliché elsewhere on this blog so do indulge me – you really can’t keep a good bad down and here is the visible proof.

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