Firefly (Uriah Heep album)

Firefly is the 10th studio album by British rock band Uriah Heep, released in February 1977 by Bronze Records in the UK and Warner Bros. Records in the US. It was their first album without lead vocalist and founding member David Byron, and the first of three albums with new singer John Lawton, formerly of Les Humphries Singers. Bassist Trevor Bolder made his Uriah Heep debut on this album. Barring a break of about 18 months in the early 1980s, he remained with the group until his death in 2013.

Firefly
Studio album by
Uriah Heep
ReleasedFebruary 1977
RecordedOctober–November 1976
StudioRoundhouse Recording Studios, London, UK
GenreHard rock
Length35:20
LabelBronze
Warner Bros. (North America)
ProducerGerry Bron
Uriah Heep chronology
High and Mighty
(1976)		 Firefly
(1977)		 Innocent Victim
(1977)
Singles from Firefly
  1. "Sympathy" / "Crime of Passion"
    Released: 1977
  2. "Wise Man" / "Crime of Passion"
    Released: 1977

The first single from the album was "Wise Man".

The original vinyl album was a gatefold sleeve, with a cardboard lyric liner.

The album was remastered and reissued by Castle Communications in 1997 with four bonus tracks, and again in 2004 in an expanded deluxe edition.

Reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal3/10[2]

A retrospective review by AllMusic said that the album "pursued a stripped-down sound harking back to the group's early-'70s successes," and concluded that "Firefly remains one of the most cohesive albums from Uriah Heep's mid- to late-'70s period".[1] Martin Popoff in his Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal defined the album as "a mixed bag of scroungy, comatose blues ballads, nerdy party rockers and scary prog rock abortions", proving the intensification of "the deconstruction of a once great collective".[2]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Ken Hensley, except where noted.

Side one
No.TitleLength
1."The Hanging Tree" (Hensley, Jack Williams)3:40
2."Been Away Too Long"5:03
3."Who Needs Me" (Lee Kerslake)3:39
4."Wise Man"4:40
Side two
No.TitleLength
5."Do You Know"3:12
6."Rollin' On"6:21
7."Sympathy"4:44
8."Firefly"6:21
1997 CD edition bonus tracks
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
9."Crime of Passion" (B-side of "Wise Man" single)Hensley, Box, Kerslake3:37
10."Do You Know" (previously unreleased demo version recorded in 1976) 3:16
11."A Far Better Way" (previously unreleased version different from the rough mix released on the Time of Revelation box set in 1996)Hensley, Box, Kerslake, Bolder, Lawton5:50
12."Wise Man" (TV backing track – previously unreleased mix originally used during an advertising campaign) 4:48
2004 Deluxe Edition bonus tracks
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
9."Crime of Passion" (B-side)Hensley, Mick Box, Kerslake 
10."A Far Better Way (Demo Mix)"Hensley, Box, Kerslake, Bolder, Lawton 
11."I Always Knew"Hensley, Box, Kerslake, Bolder, Lawton 
12."Dance Dance Dance"Hensley, Box, Kerslake, Bolder, Lawton 
13."Been Away Too Long (Alternative Version)"  
14."Do You Know (Demo Mix)"  
15."Who Needs Me (Alternative Live Version)"Kerslake 
16."Wise Man (T.V. Backing Track)"  

Personnel
Uriah Heep
Production
  • Gerry Bron – producer
  • Peter Gallen – engineer
  • John Gallen – assistant engineer
  • Gail Clarke – cover concept and coordination
  • Martin White – cover painting

Charts

Album
gollark: Although you probably wouldn't want to repeat some instructions very much.
gollark: 4 bits, with 3 for instruction and 1 for repeating that instruction some number of times specified by the next byte/nybble?
gollark: Of course it does. It's highly undense.
gollark: ++remind 3w TCP
gollark: Well, it mostly just doesn't exist.

References
  1. Guarisco, Donald A. "Uriah Heep – Firefly review". AllMusic. Retrieved 16 January 2019.
  2. Popoff, Martin (October 2003). The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal: Volume 1: The Seventies. Burlington, Ontario, Canada: Collector's Guide Publishing. p. 303. ISBN 978-1894959025.
  3. "Uriah Heep – Firefly (Album)". Norwegiancharts.com. Media Control Charts. Retrieved 19 January 2019.
  4. "Firefly – Uriah Heep". Danske Hitlister.dk. Retrieved 19 January 2019.
  5. "Uriah Heep – Firefly". Dutch Charts.nl (in Dutch). Media Control Charts. Retrieved 19 January 2019.
  6. "Album – Uriah Heep, Firefly". Charts.de (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 7 December 2018.
  7. "Sisältää hitin: Levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1961: U > Uriah Heep". Sisältää hitin / Timo Pennanen. Retrieved 11 November 2018.
  8. "Uriah Heep – Firefly (Album)". Swedishcharts.com. Media Control Charts. Retrieved 19 January 2019.
  9. "Uriah Heep Chart History: Billboard 200". Billboard. Retrieved 4 November 2018.
  10. "Single – Uriah Heep, Sympathy". Charts.de (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 19 January 2019.
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