Retrospective: Led Zeppelin (Part 1)

It's been a while sense I've done one of these, and while I have a couple half finished (these are my most time consuming article, and who would say otherwise with five or more albums to listen to before completion...) I thought, with my new computer and my new library, I'll begin with the gods of heavy metal: Led Zeppelin.

Led Zeppelin - 1969
It's apparent to see, with this self-titled debut, that Led Zeppelin were on to something. Remember, at this point the heaviest thing out there was Blue Cheer and Iron Butterfly, and while both of those are decent forerunners to what would become metal, when this album hit the scene it was a game changer. The songs are heavy, but still deep in the blues and rock, making them accessible to the average audience, not something just for fan-boys, hip to this new wave of music. The songs have stories ("Black Mountain Side"), they contemplate on modern issues of love and money ("Dazed and Confused"), all the while combining great guitar and percussion. The parts of this album that I like the most are the breakdowns that lead into a quick and heavy follow-up. "You Shook Me" and "Dazed and Confused" both are examples, with some sort of slowdown, often into the spacy/minimalist style, followed immediately by a fast rock n' roll section before returning to the original tempo and style. No one else was doing this at the time, at least not on this scare, and for that they will always be remembered. As far as the tracks are concerned, pretty much each one is a classic; the only exceptions being the final pair: "I Can't Quit You Baby," and "How Many More Times." I know this is all personal preference, but the first just doesn't seem to get to where it's going, and the second just drags on and on. The songs themselves are enjoyable, but just fall short when compared to the rest of the disc. That's it, that is the only gripe I have, the rest of the release is pretty much gold. A legendary beginning for a legendary career.

In The Beginning: Iron Butterfly - In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida

Another new segment, this one dedicated to where it all began; the beginnings of heavy metal itself. Just a short ditty on bands and albums that predated or laid the foundations for the future of music as we know it today!

Iron Butterfly is a band that few have ever heard of or even remember today. The majority of those who do remember them, probably only remember them for their tripped-out psychedelic seventeen minute venture titled "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida," which really was their claim to fame. Hell even me, with my immense collection have only ever heard the album of which this title track is found on. But this a band that we need to take notice of. For a full year before Led Zeppelin released their debut - they being often erroneously titled as metal's originators - Iron Butterfly had released two records, solid in down-tuned guitars, and heavy with the drums (including the massive drum solo within "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" itself). Now, I'm not going to call Iron Butterfly as the origin of heavy metal as we know it, but they need to be looked at as a solid influence at the quickly evolving sound.

Retrospective: JPT Scare Band

I was sent a copy of JPT Scare Band's newest album, Acid Blues Is The White Man's Burden, directly from Ripple Music, and I realized that I've never actually heard anything from this group. I knew I had a few of their albums, so I decided to listen to what I had before I got to the brand new. A bit of forewarning, I do not have their full discography (but I would like to) so I'm only including those albums I was able to find. So if you have Acid Acetate Excursion, Rape Of Titan's Sirens, or Rumdum Daddy shoot me a message and share the wealth!
First a little of the legend: The JPT Scare Band formed in the early 70s but didn't actually release any albums until the mid-90s, being content just to jam and write. So for almost thirty years they were as underground as you could possibly be - unheard of and very little way to spread your fan base beyond the places you gig. After they decided to start recording and distributing, the group began to make headway; Classic Rock Magazine dubbed them "The Lost Pioneers of Heavy Metal," Rhapsody cited their album Past Is Prologue within their list of the 10 Essential Proto-Metal Albums, and they were scooped up by Ripple Music, to release Acid Blues Is The White Man's Burden. Not to shabby for only being on the scene for a little over a decade. Obviously they do what they do well, which is what I am about to discover.

Sleeping Sickness - 2000
Well I started at the beginning (of my collection) with Sleeping Sickness, which introduced me to the groups vintage, retro-rock/proto-metal style of playing. Imagine crossing Led Zeppelin with The Allman Brothers and mix in a pinch of Wishbone Ash (yes I'm 24 and I know this band), that amalgamation of sound and noise is what this album of JPT Scare Band is to me. The album is a modern version of retro-rock, coming straight from the early 70s. Sleeping Sickness contains some of the groups longest songs, adding a bit of progressive rock to the mix, but also contains some solid rockers too. The vocals are reminiscent of Zep, the song complexity is that of The Allmans, and the song instrumental sections come a la Ash. A must have for anyone who thinks that rock died in the 80s.

Favorite Albums: Uriah Heep - Demons And Wizards

It's been a while, and I have at least two articles that could use my attention, but I just listened to Demons and Wizards by Uriah Heep again and I feel the need to tell you all about this spectacular album. I've already gone into the history of Uriah Heep (way back in January of 2009) so I don't need to go into to much detail on that front. They were/are a British band that is one of the foundations of hard rock and heavy metal music. More specifically, they are the forerunners of progressive rock and - by extension - progressive metal. They were among the first to use dual lead guitars, and layered semi-operatic vocals. Many of their songs were narratives, telling of mystical battles and amazing people; Demons and Wizards was no different.

Bands I Love: Uriah Heep

Uriah Heep: a band that very few people of today's youth knows about, but one of my favorites of the classic blues rock days. Formed in 1969, around the same time as well known acts like Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple, Uriah Heep helped pave the way for bands under the progressive moniker, but still focusing in the blues. Known as "The Beach Boys of Heavy Metal," for their multi-part harmonies and melodic songs, Uriah Heep are still active and touring, releasing their first album in ten years in 2008, Wake The Sleeper.

Named after the antagonist in the Charles Dickens novel David Copperfield, right from the beginning the band was knee deep in immense storytelling and imagery. Their first song of their first album, 1970's Very 'Eavy, Very 'Umble (released as "Uriah Heep" in the US), titled "Gypsy," is the tale of a young man who falls in love with the daughter of the leader of the Gypsies. After being beaten by the chief, the narrator swears that he will train to fight to come back and win the hand of his love, to be "The kind of a man/That he'll understand." Although the album was panned by critics and sold poorly, it is now seen as one of the foundations for modern heavy metal, and at least sold well enough for the group to release more albums.
Their second release, Salisbury, released in 1971, dove deeper into the progressive rock, with the 16 minute title-track featuring a 24-piece orchestra. This album also presented another amazing song, that continues to be a fan favorite to this day; "Lady In Black." This song is about a man visited by a goddess, this "Lady In Black." She asks him who his enemy is, and he begs her for men "To fight and kill their brothers," and horses "To trample down my enemies." She declines his offer, saying that this is not the way to win, that "There is no strength in numbers/Have no such misconception/But when you need me/Be assured I wont be far away." Then she leaves without another word, and although the narrator's labor is no easier, he feels better about it, knowing that She is there, watching. The song ends with the speaker saying that "...If one day she comes to you/Drink deeply from her words so wise/Take courage from her/As your prize." and to "Say hello for me." I find this song is very poetic, and has a simple instrumentation, with it being mostly acoustic with spurts of heavier sounds. One of my favorite songs of all time.
The next album, Look At Yourself, was released in late 1971, and climbed up the charts slowly, breaking the top 100 (ending at 93). It was a fairly decent album, no truly great songs off it spring into mind, but it was this album which helped launch their best album, just a year later.
In 1972, Uriah Heep released arguably, their best album, Demons & Wizards. Just by the title, you knew what would be the bread and butter of this album. It was their best seller in the United States, reaching 23 on the Billboard Top 200, and also jumped to number 20 on the UK Top 100 (this would later be beaten by three of their next four albums, but they never saw a better ranking in the US). The two singles released were, "Easy Livin'," which became their first US hit, and "The Wizard," another narrative song, although short. The speaker is visited by a mighty Wizard, with whom she shares his wine. While there, the Wizard tells this man about his life, and his dreams for this world. The man comes to realize that they weren't so different, that all everyone wants is to be happy. So the traveler leaves and the speaker is left alone pondering the words of wisdom of his guest.
After this album, the band continued to release albums on average of once a year until the 90's (releasing 17 albums in twenty years), but nothing equaled their Demons & Wizards album (well I haven't heard their new one yet, so there still is hope, but I am doubtful). They have had a few more popular singles, "Stealin'," "Sweet Lorraine," and went on to become quite large in the UK and Scandinavia, but they faltered in the American charts.

Throughout the almost forty years of playing together, the band has changed styles several times. Starting as hard rock/heavy metal, moving deep into progressive rock/metal, and then for a time fading in and out of blues and sometimes even jazz, all the while keeping a hard feel to their music. So although they have experimented with several styles, they still were always Uriah Heep, they never fell off of their own path to become something unknown. So forty years and 21 albums later these guys are still the storytellers they always were, and the foundations of both heavy metal an progressive metal.

Studio Album Discography

1. Very 'Eavy, Very 'Umble - 1970
   
2. Salisbury - 1971
   
3. Look At Yourself - 1971
4. Demons & Wizards - 1972
5. The Magician's Birthday - 1972
6. Sweet Freedom - 1973
7. Wonderworld - 1974
8. Return To Fantasy - 1975
   
9. High And Mighty - 1976
10. Firefly - 1977
11. Innocent Victim - 1977
    
12. Fallen Angel - 1978
    
13. Conquest - 1980
    
14. Abominog - 1982
    
15. Head First - 1983
    
16. Equator - 1985
17. Raging Silence - 1989
18. Different World - 1991
19. Sea of Light - 1995
20. Sonic Origami - 1998
21. Wake The Sleeper - 2008