LIVE IN EUROPE 1979

It's John Lawton that makes the Uriah Heep fans need to have this live record which took in various places around 1979. I have been a big fan of Lawton since I knew him for the first time with Germany's Lucifer's Friend. In fact, I'd rather have Lawton than Bernie Shaw as replacement of David Byron. Yes, Lawton's voice is unique and there is no similarity with Byron. The joining of Lawton to Heep had made the overall sound of Uriah Heep was different from the previous early years. As it's quite different you might find some tracks who originally were sung by Byron do not sound quite smooth in this live performance. In this case, Bernie's voice quality sounds similar in some ranges with Byron. That's why I basically have no major issue having Bernie Shaw sings Byron's tracks. You might find how struggling Lawton to match with the first three tracks : Easy Livin' (3:14), Look At Yourself (5:18), and Lady In Black (7:26) (originally sung by Hensley. Thanks, Eugene, for the correction). Not really bad but I find the soul's lost. Fortunately there are Ken Hensley and Mick Box who can make the overall music still sound Heep. When Free Me (4:53) is performed, yes .. this is really unique Lawton! The other disappointing one is during "Sweet Lorraine" (12:44) which does not sound quite right.

This is not bad at all, but I'd only recommend this for the die hard fans only.