Top 10 Uriah Heep Songs

Uriah Heep Songs

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Our Top 10 Uriah Heep Songs list looks at a band that has successfully balanced the genres of rock, heavy metal, and progressive rock to formulate an original sound that the band has stayed true to for nearly 50 years. Uriah Heep will go down in classic rock history as one of the most prolific bands, releasing albums consistently from 1970 to 2018 and still going strong. Uriah Heep’s first album was released in the U.K. in 1970 entitled …Very ‘Eavy …Very ‘Umble. The band’s most recent album, Chaos & Colour, was released in 2023. Between those two albums, the band has released twenty three more studio albums for a total of twenty six. Uriah Heep has also released twenty live albums, most of which were released post-1986.

With such an extensive catalog, any top 10 list will only scratch a small surface of the band’s material. We intend to publish an article showcasing some of their best material to turn people on to this great band who may have never heard of them.

# 10 – Gypsy

What better way to open our top 10 Uriah Heep songs list than with a song from their debut album? The excellent track “Gypsy” was released in 1970 on the …Very ‘Eavy …Very ‘Umble album. The band’s debut album featured musicians  David Byron on lead vocals, Ken Hensley on piano, organ, mellotron, guitar, and vocals,  Colin Wood also on keyboards, Mick Box on guitars and vocals, Paul Newton on bass and vocals, and three different drummer including legendary Elton John band drummer Nigel Olsson along with drummers Alex Napier and Keith Baker

# 9 – Sweet Lorraine

“Sweet Lorraine” is one of Uriah Heep’s most loved songs by their fans. The song was released on  The Magician’s Birthday album in 1972. The song broke the Billboard Top 100 in 1972, which was no easy feat for most Progressive Rock bands in the United States. Listen to the way this one starts. It hits you hard and heavy instantly and never lets go of your attention; it is simply a spectacular song with that sci-fi-sounding guitar lick at the song’s start and then that funky riff that moves in at the start of the verse.

# 8 – Lady In Black

“Lady In Black” appears on Uriah Heep’s album Salisbury. This moody-like song gets better and builds in intensity as the song moves along. The record was released in 1971. The band toured as the opening act for Three Dog Night and Steppenwolf when the album came out. Now that’s a concert!

# 7 – Easy Livin’

Continuing our list of top 10 Uriah Heep songs, we turn to the great Demons and Wizards album. With a cover that bleeds Progressive Rock, Uriah Heep released one of the strongest albums of their career in 1972. The album cover was designed by Roger Dean, who was responsible for so many of the album covers by the band Yes. Easy Livin’ was a big hit for Uriah Heep in 1972. The song reached the US Billboard Top 40. It is one of the band’s most recognized songs.

# 6 – Bird Of Prey

“Bird of Prey” is the opening track from the band’s 1971 album Salisbury. The song featured Mick Box on lead guitar, David Byron on lead vocals, Ken Hensley on organ, Paul Newton on bass, and Keith Baker on drums. The opening guitar lick at the song’s start is to die for. This song sounds like a cross between Queen and Black Sabbath. However, as this came out years before the first Queen album, it’s easy to see that Uriah Heep played a role in inspiring Queen’s music. I love that organ riff in the middle of the song.

# 5 – Look At Yourself

The great Uriah Heep song “Look At Yourself” was the title track to the band’s third album release entitled Look Yourself. The record was released in the fall of 1971. The song “Look At Yourself” was released as a single and remains one of the band’s most popular songs.

# 4 – Rainbow Demon

Our favorite Uriah Heep song from the Demons and Wizards album was the great track “Rainbow Demon.” The song served as the opening cut on side two of the album. The version presented here was a special live version the band released on the Spellbinder Live album in 1996.

# 3 – Wise Man

Easily one of the most excellent classic rock vocal performances of all time. John Lawton’s first album with Uriah Heep as the band’s new lead vocalist. The album Firefly was released in 1977.

# 2 – “TIE” Stealin’ / July Morning

Two Progressive Rock masterpieces. We could not leave either one of these songs off this list, so we tied it up. Why not? The song Stealin’ was released on the album entitled Sweet Freedom. The album was released in 1973. The song “July Morning” was released on the Look at Yourself albumThat album was released in 1971. We always loved the cover of the Look At Yourself album. It was just so brilliant. The song is killer. The guitar and organ work at the song’s beginning, and how the instruments dance with each other, is outstanding. David Byron delivers such a killer vocal on the track.

# 1 – Salisbury

Uriah Heep has released a tremendous amount of material over a period of close to 50 years, so we apologize if this list is heavy on early 1970’s material. We can’t help it. The material the band released early in their career is some of the best classic rock released during that era. The track “Salisbury” is all the proof you need.

Updated January 30, 2024

Top 10 Uriah Heep Songs article published on Classic RockHistory.com© 2024

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