Head First (Uriah Heep album)
Head First was the 15th studio album from British rock band Uriah Heep. It was released in 1983, on Gerry Bron's UK label Bronze Records.
Head First | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | May 1983 | |||
Recorded | January–March 1983 | |||
Studio | The Manor Studio, Oxfordshire, England; The Roundhouse, London | |||
Genre | Heavy metal, arena rock | |||
Length | 37:21 | |||
Label | Bronze Mercury (North America) | |||
Producer | Ashley Howe | |||
Uriah Heep chronology | ||||
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Singles from Head First | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | |
Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal | 8/10[2] |
The album was recorded by the line-up responsible for the previous year's Abominog, but this time with a greater proportion of the songs written by the band members. Bob Daisley left the group shortly after the album's recording to rejoin Ozzy Osbourne; on the Head First tour former Heep bassist Trevor Bolder rejoined the band, effectively replacing his replacement, and remained with the band until his death in 2013.
Though Head First was deemed to be a worthy successor to Abominog by critics such as Geoff Barton,[3] it suffered from a lack of promotion as Bronze went into liquidation the month after its release.
Video footage of the tour, from a show in New Zealand, was heavily featured on the long-form video Easy Livin': A History of Uriah Heep. In Japan only, this was also released on laserdisc.
Track listings
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
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1. | "The Other Side of Midnight" | Mick Box, Bob Daisley, Peter Goalby, Lee Kerslake, John Sinclair | 3:55 |
2. | "Stay on Top" | Tom Jackson | 3:35 |
3. | "Lonely Nights" (Bryan Adams cover) | Bryan Adams, Jim Vallance | 4:07 |
4. | "Sweet Talk" | Box, Daisley, Goalby, Kerslake, J. Sinclair, Linda Sinclair | 3:51 |
5. | "Love is Blind" | Richie Zito, Joey Carbone | 3:38 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
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6. | "Roll-Overture" | Box, Daisley, Goalby, J. Sinclair | 2:18 |
7. | "Red Lights" | Box, Daisley, Goalby, J. Sinclair | 2:57 |
8. | "Rollin' the Rock" | Box, Daisley, Goalby, J. Sinclair | 5:31 |
9. | "Straight Through the Heart" | Box, Daisley, Goalby, Kerslake, J. Sinclair | 3:39 |
10. | "Weekend Warriors" | Box, Daisley, Goalby, Kerslake, J. Sinclair | 3:50 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
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11. | "Playing for Time" (B-side of the single "Stay on Top") | Box, Daisley, Goalby, Kerslake, J. Sinclair | 4:27 |
12. | "Searching" (instrumental out-take) | Box, Daisley, Goalby, Kerslake, J. Sinclair | 3:52 |
13. | "The Wizard" (live 1984) | Mark Clarke, Ken Hensley | 4:52 |
Total length: | 50:32 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
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11. | "Playing for Time" (B-side of the single "Stay on Top") | 4:27 | |
12. | "Searching" (extended demo) | 4:54 | |
13. | "The Other Side of Midnight" (live 1984) | 4:36 | |
14. | "Lonely Nights" (live 1984) | 6:45 | |
15. | "Angel" (live 1985) | Box, Trevor Bolder, Goalby, Kerslake, J. Sinclair | 5:22 |
Total length: | 63:25 |
Personnel
- Uriah Heep
- Peter Goalby – vocals
- Mick Box – guitars, vocals
- John Sinclair – keyboards, synthesizer, vocals
- Bob Daisley – bass
- Lee Kerslake – drums, percussion, vocals
- Additional musicians
- Frank Ricotti – percussion on "Roll–Overture"
- Production
- Ashley Howe – producer, engineer, mixing
- Nick Rogers – engineer, mixing on "Roll–Overture"
- Keith Nixon – assistant engineer
Singles
- "Stay on Top" was released as a single and a video was made. A double-7" gatefold edition was released. Non-album track "Playing for Time" was included.
- "Lonely Nights", a cover version of the previous year's hit by Bryan Adams, was the second single. A picture-disc 7" was released.
Charts
Album
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Singles
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References
- Guarisco, Donald A. "Uriah Heep - Head First review". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved 20 May 2012.
- Popoff, Martin (1 November 2005). The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal: Volume 2: The Eighties. Burlington, Ontario, Canada: Collector's Guide Publishing. p. 379. ISBN 978-1-894959-31-5.
- Head First (CD Booklet). Uriah Heep. UK: Sanctuary Records. 2004.CS1 maint: others (link)
- "Uriah Heep – Head First (Album)". Norwegiancharts.com. Media Control Charts. Retrieved 13 February 2019.
- "Uriah Heep Official Charts". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 13 November 2018.
- "Album – Uriah Heep, Head Firs". Charts.de (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 13 February 2019.
- "Uriah Heep Chart History: Billboard 200". Billboard.com. Billboard. Retrieved 4 November 2018.