LOOK AT YOURSELF

The third album from Uriah Heep sees them taking further giant steps forward. The rhythm section is still in a state of turmoil, but the nucleus of Box/Byron/Hensley have found a solid direction, and are approaching the pinnacle of their combined creativity.

The title track has become one of the band's most enduring pieces, a solid five minute chunk of loud, infectious rock, with a wall of sound, and a breathtaking pace. The instrumental breaks are quite stunning, with Box in particular in fine form. Towards the end of the track, Bronze label-mates Osibisa add additional percussion as it increases pace before reaching a climactic conclusion. I only discovered recently, that the lead vocals on the track are performed by Ken Hensley, not David Byron, although the latter always took the lead when the song was performed live. Quite why this happened is puzzling, as the overall sound is very much as if Byron himself was singing as usual.

The album includes the epic "July Morning", with its majestic prog sound, and superb structure. The track alternates between soft and loud passages, and includes a wonderful Hammond solo followed by Byron reaching ever higher with his piercing screams. The main instrumental theme which closes the track is basically simple, but transformed by a guest appearance from Manfred Mann on synthesiser. While Hensley would later master this instrument himself, they were still somewhat rare at the time, giving the track a very progressive feel in the early 70's. A truly magnificent piece of music.

The rest of the tracks are all very strong, including the melodic ballad "What should be done", and the twin guitar lead on "Tears in my eyes".

With this album, the Uriah Heep "sound" was firmly established. The tracks have great power, while strong melodies are still very much the priority. "July morning" especially is an absolute classic.

The recent Deluxe remaster has 7 additional tracks, including "Why", probably the best UH song not to have been included on an official album. Also included is "What's within my heart", a lovely soft ballad considered at the time to be too similar to "What should be done" to allow both to appear on the same album.

I had the chance to buy this album when I was a child and even though I had no Idea what prog' means always treasured this LP with a mirror made of aluminum foil instead of an artistic cover, maybe because I guessed they had something special, that I wouldn't completely understand until I became a prog' fan a few years later.

For the first time in Uriah Heep's career all the tracks have progressive rock influences, stronger in some songs as Tears in my Eyes but present in each and every one.

The first song is "Look at Yourself", a frenetic track leaded by strong guitar, choirs and organ but specially with a powerful drumming, enhanced with fantastic percussionists as Teddy Osei, Mack Tontoh & Loughty Amao from "Osibisa". The song has more drastic changes that I can count, but inclusion of the powerful organ plus Ken Hensley voice and great chorus leaded by David Byron are a constant. The song ends with a breathtaking percussion and keyboards section hardly ever heard before them.

"I Wanna be Free" begins with a hard keyboard and guitar intro, until David Byron's starts soft and goes in crescendo, Mick Box is particularly strong when his turn comes but as almost in every track David Byron's voice is a highlight, not as strong as the opener but still an excellent song.

"La piece de resistance" of "Look at Yourself" is the amazing "July Morning", one of the first epics in prog' history and the first rock song that became a major hit in the Soviet Union. A beautiful symphonic track that has almost everything, even Manfred Mann invited to play the keyboards. At this point the atmospheric sound created by the fusion of organ, Moog and guitar appear for the first time in Uriah Heep's catalogue, even though the lyrics are not brilliant, the music and David Byron's operatic voice is so spectacular that nobody really cares. A true masterpiece!!!

"Tears in my Eyes" is my all-time favorite track, starts as a relatively complex rockabilly song that without advice stops in the middle to let in an extremely complex vocal arrangement supported by Mick Box's wah-wah guitar, which is broken by an acoustic guitar just to introduce another radical change with all the band playing hard rock style. If this track is not considered progressive, I don't know what do people expect.

"Shadows of Grieve" maybe the hardest track of the album, somehow similar to Deep Purple, with Uriah Heep's characteristic style, but again the classic organ divides the track in two parts, the second one being closer to what we can understand as prog' oriented, with various changes and leading keyboards, that lead to a mysterious vocal section with haunting chorus and then a dark keyboard ending, what an outstanding track!

"What Should be Done" is a power ballad where David's voice and Ken playing piano are the higher points, again the vocal arrangements are very important as in most of this album as well as the keyboards and Mick's guitar. A good relief after so many strong tracks and before the breathtaking "finale".

Sometimes introductions lead to confusion, anybody who listens the moody organ passage at the beginning of "Love Machine" would expect something softer and even proggy, but after 27 seconds, everything is pure rock & Roll, a very good track with a terrible name. A good frenetic closer for a great album.

"Look at Yourself" may not have Gary Thain and Lee Kerslake or a Roger Dean Art cover, but IMHO is the best Uriah Heep album an one of the most influential prog/metal albums.

A five stars album that I really suggest it to any progressive and/or metal fan.

In 2000 I purchased the CD remastered version of the album. As Ken Hensley put it in the liner note of this CD version, this album was the one that made the band recognized in the American market. So I could only imagine how "important" this album to the band because it remarked the band's entrance into American market. Some people said that the band was the second division bands and the others like Deep Purple and Led Zeppelin were at the first division. Well, whatever people said I totally disagree and I don't care what people really said!. For me personally, Uriah Heep is the band with its unique characteristic and they play really original music unlike Led Zeppelin who mostly played other people's songs or Deep Purple's "Child In Time" which was adopted from other song. So be it. I LOVE URIAH HEEP man! No matter what other people say about the band! The uniqueness of Heep lies on unique sounds produced from Mick Box' guitars and Ken Hensley's strange organ sounds. That's good enough to justify how the band is unique by its own. The combined sounds between the two are also excellent.

"Look At Yourself" (5:07) is a great track opener with a dynamic drum work combined with soaring organ and stunning guitar work. The music flows dynamicallywith organ as main rhythm section and backing vocal sound "aaaaaa." characterizes the music uniquely. In between segments, organ provides its punch wonderfully followed with vocal choirs like "chuw chuw chuw ." augmented with guitar solo and soaring organ sounds. The composition lets drum solo followed with organ produces great musical flow. It ends up the song beautifully.

The opening track is followed almost seamlessly with "I Wanna Be Free" (3:59) which is actually a ballad song with an excellent melody and vocal choirs. This is the kind of song the people want to emulate especially the opening choirs line. It's really a good song. Well, I don't need to explore further with "July Morning" (10:36) which has become the icon of the band. This song is even becoming a regular setlist in any Heep's live concert even until now. But my favorite version was the one featured at "Live 73" album where the combination of soaring organ and bass guitar playing of Gary Thain (RIP) is truly wonderful! I even like the live version than the original studio version.

No one would argue that "Tears In My Eyes" (5:02) is an excellent rocking track. Performed in relatively fast tempo this track combines stunning guitar solo by Mick Box and powerful Byron's voice and excellent keyboard sounds. Everyone knows that the main characteristic of this song lies on minute 1:45 where the voice line sings "chuw chuw chuw .." accompanied with acoustic guitar fills. It's really great!

"Shadows Of Grief" (8:40) is not the band's hit but it has a powerful musical quality in terms of composition and textures and, again, it demonstrates great vocal choirs combined with stunning organ sounds. It's one of my favorite as well. The drum is also very dynamic. Byron sings in relatively fast tempo and high register notes. "What Should Be Done" (4:13) is a mellow track with excellent electric piano work by Hensley. It provides a musical break because it's relatively slow. The concluding track is a rocker "Love Machine" (3:37). This track has become a legend and one of my favorites.

It's hard for me to identify any lacking this album has as a phenomenal rock music that shaped the foundation of classic rock sounds. Altogether with "Demons and Wizards" I would give this album as a masterpiece rock album which any rocker on planet earth should own a copy of this album. It's a mandatory album of the 70s! My CD has two bonus tracks: "Look At Yourself" (single version) and "What's Within My Heart". Keep on proggin' ..!

To Uriah Heep: Welcome to Indonesia!! We will rock the stadium with a flock of Indonesian rockers ..

Peace on earth and mercy mild - GW

This one is my favourite HEEP album. "Salisbury" might be better in development, but this one is raw, daring and sincere.

The only weak song on the album is the closing song, "Love Machine". However, it's weaker only a) because it's not prog and b) it's not on the some (high) level with the rest of the album. But BLACK SABBATH fans could find it easily enjoyable.

I would like tho point out the highlights of the album, but I can't. Simply because all other tracks are brilliant.

The opening tune, "Look At Yourself" will bless your ears with the rawest and strongest Hammond organ ever. Ken Hensley is playing like a possessed maniac. Song is quite simple in structure (two chords!) but the layering and developing is insane. This is a masterpiece of dynamics - one of the most important aspects of progressive rock music.

"I Wanna Be Free" contains loads of merry melodies and powerful chorus, while "July Morning" is an all-time epic. "Tears In My Eyes" and "What Should Be Done" are two more simple-structured songs, but both are very good, "Tears In My Eyes" leaning on a hard-rock side, while "What Should Be Done" is bluesy piano ballad.

"Shadows Of Grief" is one-hundred percent progressive rock madness and hard-rock song at the same time, utilising best from the both worlds. Insane vocal harmonies (only QUEEN can compare in the complexity and beauty), equally insane guitar and organ interplays, dissonant and psychedelic parts, unpredictable changes - they are all participating in this beautiful insanity.

This one is not only for hard-rock fans, it's well worth giving it a try.

Heep has surprised quite a lot of people in releasing two very different albums so far. Their debut album showed clearly a tendancy in releasing hard-rock songs, with a strong keys influence. With "Salisbury", they delivered an almost all progressive piece of work. So, which direction for this one ?

When you listen to the opener, there are little doubt.

As usual we get a superb opener. "Look at Yourself" is an incredible piece of hard-rock music with gorgeous and violent keybords from Hensley and great backing vocals. This is with no doubt one of the highlight of the band, ever.

Hensley's keyboards attacks are one of the most aggressive I have heard (similar or even harder than Jon Lord's ones). It is a great rock song, all times, all genres. This track is absolutely devastating. Drumming is tremendous as well. I can compare the violence of this song with "Speed King" wild intro. The difference being that with LAY, the rythm is frenetic all the way through. After those five minutes and eight seconds, one will have the need to breathe a little bit to recover from such a shock, really. This track is a piece of anthology. This is the classic Heep that I prefer (by far).

Although rocking alright, the next track sounds like a sweet rock ballad in comparison. It is a nice transition track in expectation of "July Morning".

Hensley's work in the intro is truely remarkable here. Very heavy again. The song switches to a wonderful vocal part : subtle, quiet and very emotional (ah, how much I love emotion...). This long track (over ten minutes) leads us to a fantastic keyboard solo combined with the so typical high voice from Byron. It has even some (very short) prog moments but the general mood is close to heavy rock. The very repetitive and hypnotic musical riff might be a bit too long at the end, but what a wonderful track ! Another all-time high.

What a first side has delivered the Heep ! Can they go on like this on the second one ? I guess it is almost impossible.

It opens with "Tears In My Eyes" : another great hard-rock song with fabulous vocal moments but this is the Heep's trademark. It is more guitar oriented than the two masterpieces of side one. The instrumental middle section features a crazy beat : Box delivering a great guitar work.

"Shadows of Grief" is also a great, solid hard-rock tune with fantastic keyboarding as usual. This long track (almost nine minutes) includes some quiet psychedelic moments here and there (almost proggy for a minute). But they are combined again with the greatest musical furry : hard- rock at its best. The filiation with DP is of course obvious. The mood is a bit scary (it reminds me of the musical "Fantom Of The Opera", namely its title track). The last three minutes are less convincing and a bit hectic. But that's not an issue !

"What Should Be Done" is a mellow ballad that would better have fit on "Salisbury". Somewhat out of tone here ...Or maybe, the Heep did it on purpose to avoid a complete knock- out of the listener ? It's the weakest number of the album, but still not too bad.

The closing number "Love Machine" is precursory of "Easy Livin" (the track, not the collaborator). Hesitant intro and then, we are submerged again by Hensley's sublime keyboard sound. The rythmic section is rather remarkable. But this apply to the whole of this fantastic album. No compromise with this song : the mould is 100% hard-rock. Of the best one.

After such an album, one needs a few minutes to understand what has going on since the start of it some forty-one minutes ago. The Heep even released an expanded version of this masterpiece to prolonged the extasy a bit longer. I can only rate this great album with five stars.

I guess when it was time to go back to the studio, URIAH HEEP made its choice of going back to straight hard rock; no more orchestra and trumpets! just let's rock!

LOOK AT YOURSELF is one of the most energetic, violent ,mean album URIAH HEEP (BYRON era)would record .It sounds like the 5 members came back with a vengeance, angry at everybody (maybe the rock journalists who usually couldn't stand the band) MICK BOX and KEN HENSLEY especially play like demons who have been possessed by mad wizards (ouh-la-la; poor me)

The first 2 tracks are pure hard-rock mayhem, especially the title track with furious guitar and hammond and a screaming DAVID BYRON. Things go slower with the following track, one of their most enduring anthem: the 10mn epic JULY MORNING which is to URIAH HEEP what CHILD IN TIME is to DEEP PURPLE. This is the most ''proggish'' track of the album , one of the wonder of the HEEP catalogue, still played live by the band (or what's left) nowadays. Great guitar theme, great hammond, great vocals of course by BYRON and a moog solo from ..MANFRED MANN. A true classic.

I would give to these 3 songs that made the side 1 of the original LP 6 stars if i could; it sounds so good, still after all those years; i will never get tired to listen to these gems all my life.

Difficult to keep the same quality on -then- side 2?? not really! we still have some great music coming. Everything stays very hard rocking with ''TEARS IN MY EYES'' or ''SHADOWS OF GRIEF, then quites down with the beautiful ballad ''WHAT SHOULD BE DONE '' And for desert, we are treated to another HEEP classic , the great ''LOVE MACHINE''.

. URIAH HEEP has found its definitive sound they will carry throughout their carreer ( sadly, not always at this high level): Hard rock, yes but with a twist! A LOT of hammond, a lot of falsetto vocals, quite a few prog elements and yes ,KEN HENSLEY knew how to compose great songs with strong melodies perfectly suited for the vocal abilities of DAVID BYRON.

A must have album for any ROCK and PROG lover: as good as any best LED ZEP or DEEP PURPLE album. Nothing less!

5 STARS!

StarStarStarStar (objectively +Star)

The development from the potent Very 'Eavy, Very 'Umble to this album is obvious, but nonetheless astonishing. It is one of my most-listened albums, as it has no obvious points where it's unpleasant to listen to. Most of the issues from the debut are fixed, and replaced by a masterful use of David Byron's exceptional voice. Even the harmonies are very much in place. The band has clearly taken a more oddball and artistic (or even, you could say, progressive) direction, with the inclusion of excellent drumming from members of Osibisa on one track, as well as Manfred Mann's moog on a couple of others. Still, despite these eclectic touches, it is definitely a rock album, and a damn fine rock album at that. For anyone who's looking for sophisticated, well-played hard rock with a hammond organ or a really strong vocalist, this is essential listening.

Look At Yourself kicks off the album with a stunning rocker, combining an insistent and deliberate rhythm section with a powerful lead Hammond organ. David Byron's vocals are sublime and lively, and the harmonies do seem to be directed and timed properly. Mick Box's guitarwork is very well-incorporated, jumping into focus with verve and speed. On the concluding section, dominated by the rhythm part, additional percussionists provide an interesting addition to the Hammond's inexorable drive to a conclusion. Seriously wow music.

I Wanna Be Free follows this quite strongly, with a lead harmony, tapping percussion and careful organ leading to a hard-rocking guitar riff. Mick Box takes an interesting solo (maybe a duo). The song does take off amazing with Byron's wailing 'I wanna be free', Paul Newton's blipping bass (I can't find a better way to describe it) and the guitar breaking out in full force. Overall, a very nice song.

July Morning is an example of the band moving between softer and harder sections, and fully exhibits David Byron's status as a rock vocalist. He handles the softer bands with emotion, and the harder parts with determination. His handling of the non-lyrical sections, twisting off on various 'la's into a completely different style is completely impressive. The harmonies and romantic vocals fit in perfectly. The music is equally amazing, with Ken Hensley's organ moving between soft and potent without pause or issue. His backing piano is subtly and well handled. The acoustic guitars and heavy guitars are switched without an inch of awkwardness. Newton's bass provides a connection between all the various elements, and Ian Clarke on drums manages a number of different moods unflinchingly, whether martial or mollified. Last, but certainly not least, Manfred Mann provides a moog solo par excellence, spinning, slipping, sliding, whirling with a whinnying sound. Astounding, and a nice break from the weight of the first two.

Tears In My Eyes is initially a bit of a listening effort relaxation, being heavily riff based, heavy and with a repeated chorus, as well as rather more generic lyrics. It does, however, include an excellent instrumental break, with acoustics dropped in, a sort of throbbing force underneath the soft harmony and the slightly more punchy acoustic bursts are neatly handled, a guitar duo is neatly handled, and the moog makes another appearance. David Byron's vocals are, as always, to die for. Essentially, a great, fun rock song.

Shadows Of Grief is probably the heaviest and darkest section of the album with a swelling organ complimented by Ian Clarke's percussion moving onto a killer organ riff, which is taken up by the guitar and extended bass notes. David Byron provides a frantic vocal. Ascending rock guitar and whirly Hensley organ bursts out throughout the piece, and Ian Clarke really does let loose on the percussion. A dark, reverent break with a low aa-ah aa-ah harmony, full percussion ideas, and a steady bass features, leading us up to a smashing return of the verses. A second intensely dark section includes what must be one of the weirdest guitar parts ever, and leads up to a cathartic release of the tension and force.

What Should Be Done is a fairly nice piece, with the band taking a break from all the weight of the previous pieces. David Byron's softer side again comes into play, accompanied by good, if fairly simple, piano-and-organ work. On the entrance of the second verse, the harmony vocals, odd guitar and percussion come in. An interesting example of structuring a song around one riff part, and pulling it off perfectly.

The jumpy rocker Love Machine rounds off the album, with an uplifting force, typical Byron vocals-of-sheer-jaw-dropping-greatness, heavy guitars, twinning Box's soloing with Hensley's rhythm hard rock stuff. As is always the case on this album, the rhythm section is superb, especially Newton, who manages to drop in some bursts of bass into the lead area without a hitch. Ken Hensley throws in organ soloing for fun value. The piece is ended with a winding-down effect.

Naturally this combination of consistently excellent tracks, superb playing and nice, artsy touches merits at least a four star rating, and the variety of the album matches its sheer force. The weird choices compliment the hard rock sections perfectly, and the group is able to find variety and innovative and interesting options within a distinctly rock sound, without resorting to bringing in dozens of extra musicians. Essential listening, to say the least. Not exactly a masterpiece for me, since I tend to get my biggest kicks out of more spacious, atmospheric and lyrically driven music, but I can't make a single criticism, and it is one of my most-listened albums. Not to be missed. Those who call it a masterpiece are objectively spot on.

Rating: Four Stars (objectively, I think it might earn a five, but only those closest to home should really have that rating)

Favourite Track: Look At Yourself

The band would find their way soon after, but this album still lacks some direction. On the other side, the strong tracks are so powerful they even up the weaker tunes.

On Salisbury the influences included Folk (Lady In Black), Jazz (The Park) and Classical (the title track). Look At Yourself, on the other hand, presents us with a rather straightforward Deep Purple-style hard rock based primarily on electric guitars, bass, drums, organ and vocals. July Morning is supposed to be the progressive track of the album and it is a decent one. However, the Moog solo at the end is truly awful! I cannot believe that it is Manfred Mann playing! It is even out of tune and is very unpleasant to these ears. Mann could easily play this solo with his toes.

The lyrics are quite alright here on most songs as opposed to on many later albums. The lyrics to July Morning are quite simple and naïve, though.

If you are looking for progressive rock you should stick with Salisbury. But if you are looking for decent Hammond-heavy hard rock with slight progressive touches, then this is for you.

"Look at Yourself" The title track is also the first. It mixes simple chord progressions, a bouncy rhythm, and interesting guitar licks. There's a lot of interesting musicianship in the middle, not the least of which is the organ, which will be a reliable staple throughout the album. The vocals during the instrumental section are annoying (annoying vocals also being a staple of the album), and the guitar part does not fail to please. The build of the final minute relies on a gradual rise in tempo until the band is playing at a frantic pace.

"I Wanna Be Free" With heavy blasts of chords from an electric guitar, this one reminds me of The Who, but suddenly gives way to two vocals over a quiet organ. There's a some fair lead guitar work halfway in, but otherwise, this is a fairly forgettable song. The screeching vocals competing with the lead guitar toward the end are irritating if anything.

"July Morning" Pleasant organ begins the third track just before the bass, drums, and some fine guitar playing enter. Subtle acoustic guitar exists during the first part of the verses, but the sound is fuller during the second part. The organ solo is enjoyable, maintaining a good tone and a simple structure. The polyphonic interplay of instruments during the second half is intriguing, although not quite as sophisticated as that of the heavier symphonic acts like Kansas. The wild electronic noises during the last two minutes are too loud, all over the place, and downright irritating- the track should have faded out well before that.

"Tears in My Eyes" A rocker with sloppy slide guitar at first and a fairly simple but catchy rhythm at first, but the more atmospheric section with acoustic guitar is far superior, even if the vocals and the lead instrument that comes in later are completely annoying. The slide guitar solo is refreshing and better than what was performed in the very beginning.

"Shadows of Grief" Creative organ work is almost marred by silly-sounding voices. Guitar through a wah pedal played over a basic chord progression, interrupted by drums occasionally, dominates the middle section. For once, the choir-like vocals are not irksome, but do lend to the overall "shadowy" atmosphere (even though I still care not for the shrieking). More organ work follows, and it's quite exceptional. There's some stimulating experimentation towards the end until the absolutely ridiculous vocals ruin what would have been a perfectly great ending.

"What Should Be Done" This soft piano-based song has the organ in the backdrop and sounds a lot like Three Dog Night. It's a fairly conventional song.

"Love Machine" Moving briefly back into the realm of progressive rock, Uriah Heep's organist experiments with the sound a bit. After that, it's more of a blues-rock song, with a George Thorogood sound, which is to say, plenty of slide guitar. The ending returns to some more experimental business.

Look at Yourself, in my humble opinion, is the rise of early Heavy Prog, together with albums like In Rock by Deep Purple and Death Walks Behind You by Atomic Rooster, as well as Sabbath's debut, though I find Look at Yourself to have much more resemblence with In Rock and Sabbath's debut than Rooster's, due to the rawness and heaviness.

Look at Yourself is, well actually Uriah Heep is, a full-blown Heavy Rock, and when I mean Heavy, I really mean it. This album, specifically shows how fierceful and in your-face this band can be, with the screeching vocals which are hard to surpass(in both senses), the mammothic hammond organ chords, and the invincible wah-wah solos, are all what make Uriah Heep one of it's own, as well as give the answer to why they could never reach stardom as contemporaries like the already mentioned Deep Purple or Led Zeppelin, since all these aspects are not as accesible nor as catchy from first listen like the others.

This album leaves the experimentation with orchestras(Salisbury) completely, directing all to heaviness with the exception of one of the highlights, which is quite famous by the way, this is July Morning, which is lovely, yet featuring power and agression from Mick's guitar and Ken's organ, as well as some clever chord progressions, signs of early Heavy Prog. The other highlight is the other long song in the album, Shadows of Grief, which belongs to the in-your-face heavy monstrousity songs from the album. It's heavy, it's powerful, it's agressive, it's well-thought, what else you want from a Heavy Rock band?!

The rest of the album is composed by heavy tunes, which are in the standards of previous released hard rock tunes like Gypsy from their debut and Time to Live from Salisbury, just that this time heavier, with the exception of What Should Be Done, which is a sweet piano lead song, with David's irresistible voice, and a great climax created by Mick's wah-wah guitar.

Look at Yourself, really implies on looking at yourself after having heard this album, you'll surely have half of your face melted, especially having ended with the powerful Love Machine, with it's addictive hammond-riff, and mind-blowing organ solo at the end.

Totally a must for Heavy Rock fans, as well as Heavy Proggers, and finally those who are looking for the first traces of Heavy Metal. It might be a bit of a rough album to start with, but in the end you'll enjoy it as much as the other classics.

The title track is just perfect. Five minutes of sweeping organ, wahwah and inciting percussion. It's the first Heep song that I have heard and it has always remained the yardstick to measure any other Heep song against. I Wanne be Free, Tears in My Eyes and Love Machine are all a outstanding hard rock songs and What Should be Done a mandatory but satisfactory ballad.

For prog fans July Morning and Shadows of Grief will probably be of major interest. Especially July Morning with its dramatic onset and crescendo structure, layering waves of Hammond organ and synths into a dramatic climax. It's one of Heep's finest moments. Shadows of Grief is particularly appealing for its gothic atmospheres.

Uriah Heep never managed to equal this album, let alone top it. It serves as a perfect introduction to the band and stands as the most essential Uriah Heep album in my collection. 4.5 stars

Classic Uriah Heep album. To be honest, I prefer their debut because of heavy Hammond keyboards and common heavier sound. There they demosntarte all they 're doing good : nice melodies, multi layer vocals, heavy drumming. Still plenty of keyboards,for sure.

But for me this album has the same minus,as all their classic albums: there always are two- three strong tracks, and all other are fillers. I think it's a reason why during all their history critics hated UH. Another reason - their music is simplistic, working more on emotional level, then musicanship high technique standard.

All in all, album is classic example of their music and has it's own aura. But year after year become more historical value,than pleasant one for listening.For sure, the reason of that my point of view could be based on my love to original energetic music. In case of UH, their debut album mas much more interesting for me, there in "Look At Yourself" I hear much more sweety ballads and pop-oriented soft rounded keyboards I hate. So, for sure, it question of taste as well.

I own 2003 expanded de-luxe edition with some bonus tracks. Again, I prefer 2003 Casle re- realise of UH debut album with crystal sound and interesting bonuses. There in "Look at Yourself" re-release sound isn't so perfect, and bonuses mainly consist of boring LP out-takes and B-sides).

The trademark organ and guitar driven hard rock with semi-progressive elements is still the order of the day on "Look at Yourself", so forget about this being a stripped-down and raw hard rock album, athough the progressive tendencies aren´t as dominant here. There are some great hard rocking tracks on the album though. Take a listen to the title track for an example of that. In the other camp there is a track like the 10:36 minutes long progressive rock track "July Morning". The great epic ending to that track with the organ motifs by Ken Hensley and the moog themes played by guest musician Manfred Mann are nothing short of stunning.

The musicianship are as always excellent. Uriah Heep were in those days (and still are) a really well playing band. To my ears the vocals by David Byron are exceptional and the vocal harmonies and choirs are outstanding too. "Look at Yourself" is well produced too, which is another asset, that makes the album a great listen.

Although "Look at Yourself" doesn´t add that much new to Uriah Heep´s sound it´s an excellent album by the band. While "Salisbury (1971)" saw the band experiment with different sounds and styles (that album is arguably the band´s most progressive effort), "Look at Yourself" is more a consolidation that Uriah Heep is first and foremost a hard rock act and only secondly a semi-progressive one. A 4 star (80%) rating is deserved.

''Shadows of Grief'' and ''July Morning'' are those prog bouts here. The former has a rock base but goes through this climactic build in the middle complete with David Byron's high pitched shrieking that only Geddy Lee could match. Unfortunately for ''July Morning'', I can't get into it despite having an interesting theme. It just runs too long and the Moog solo at the end doesn't excite me even if it's Manfred Mann.

There's also two softer tracks in ''I Wanna Be Free'' and ''What Should Be Done''; soft rock isn't really my thing. This to me is very good hard rock; the prog about it is up for debate. I say that these guys have as much prog as do Wishbone Ash, but Wishbone Ash has a different approach to prog rock, one more to my liking. It's a nice effort, so no lower than three stars.

Having said that, I still don't consider this album all that spectacular. Judging from everything I've heard so far by Uriah Heep, the band has never released a solid album and so what this album has in comparison to their other works are the high tops that make up for all the lesser material. This is what makes this album even stronger than then more popular Demons And Wizards.

In conclusion Look At Yourself might not be a great progressive rock masterpiece nor even such by the Heavy Prog standard but there is definitely enough great moments here to make is an excellent album. Everyone who wants to get a acquainted with this band should, in my opinion, skip Demons And Wizards and go straight for this release!

***** star songs: Look At Yourself (5:07) July Morning (10:36)

**** star songs: I Wanna Be Free (3:59) Shadows Of Grief (8:40) What Should Be Done (4:13)

*** star songs: Tears In My Eyes (5:02) Love Machine (3:37)

The title track opens the album in energetic fashion with a forceful guitar and Hammond riff that features Box and Hensley playing in unison during the transitions between verses. Mick Box displays great wah wah pedal technique in his solo, before Osibisa add percussions to the runaway mine-train ending. I Wanna Be Free is a straightforward melodic rocker that has Byron's voice and Box's guitar shrieking to a noisy climax. What can I add to previous descriptions of the following track, July Morning? It's a 10-minute Hammond-driven tour de force that should tick all the boxes for Heep fans: Fine David Byron vocals, from quietly reflective to intensely emotional; Tidal waves of Hammond organ and wah wah guitar; Great melody and varied dynamics. It even features a guest appearance by Manfred Mann, whose Mini-Moog duels with Mick Box's wah wah for the closing minutes of the song. Epic!

Tears In My Eyes is another rocker, this one featuring slide guitar and more Mini-Moog. Midway through the song there's an acoustic interlude that gradually builds to a guitar solo before returning to the main riff. Shadows Of Grief is the most complex piece on the album and contains ominous, brooding sections that alternate with hard, aggressive riffs. Some ghostly-sounding vocal effects add to the threatening atmosphere of this song. Track 6, What Should Be Done, mainly features piano and organ and sounds like the kind of song that would feature on Proud Words On A Dusty Shelf. Unfortunately it's nowhere near as good as anything on the Hensley solo album and even manages to end up sounding like a Kiki Dee cover (sorry Ken!). The first few distant strains of Hammond on Love Machine precipitate the classic Circle Of Hands. Thereafter it's another rocker featuring more of Hensley's slide guitar along with Mick Box's trademark wah wah.

Look At Yourself is another fine album that cemented the classic Heep sound. It features several songs that would become live favourites, but conversely there are no acoustic ballads in the vein of The Park from the Salisbury album. So, a collection that has some excellent songs but is possibly lacking in variety and subtlety, and which contains one duffer in What Should Be Done. All things considered I'd place it on a par with Salisbury, therefore I'll give it 3 stars.

The opening track, Look At Yourself is a heavy anthemic rocker. To me this track spells Uriah Heep, and would be one of the best tracks to represent the band. The band employ the sensational percussion skills of the legendary Ghanaian band Osibisa to help build up to an explosive climax.

I Wanna Be Free is a less satisfactory song, with little to keep the prog ear interested.

One of the highlights of the album is the ten-minute monster track July Morning. This is a very dramatic song with good lyrics and long instrumental sections. This song was originally crafted from three seperate songs, according to the sleeve notes. The outro consists of 4 minutes based around a repeating theme on the organ, rather like the outro to Starship Trooper or I Want You (She's So Heavy), and guest star Manfred Mann appears on Moog here.

Side 2 opens with the 5-minute Tears In My Eyes. The first verse doesn't give you much hope for the song, but when you realise that the instrumental is almost 3 minutes long, it doesn't seem like such a bad track after all. Unfortunately, this would be the best quality to expect from the band's songs in a few years to come.

The best track for my money is Shadows of Grief, Uriah Heep's most progressive number. At almost 9 minutes, this track is wild, complex and unpredictable. This experimental piece feels like around 5 songs shoved together, and it sounds great.

What Should Be Done is a piano-based piece which is remarkable in that it was recorded before it was three hours old. Unfortunately, that seems to be the only remarkable thing about it.

Love Machine reminds me greatly of a similar track on the band's debut, Real Turned On. As well as having a bluesy rhythm, the cringeworthy lyrics have returned: 'Lovely little lady / You've got me on the run / You're a love machine / And you say that I'm your gun'. To be honest, I don't really understand the 'Love Machine' analogy because I cannot think of a machine that requires a gun. The lyric 'The only time she's happy / Is when the bullets fly' doesn't help. Rather than have a proper finale, this album groans to a halt at the end of this track, a peculiar way to finish.

Along with 'Salisbury' and 'Demons and Wizards' this is definitely one of the recommended Heep albums for beginners. Most Heep fans agree that the bands true sound started here, and with so many great moments, this is about as enjoyable as Heep gets!

The title track, 'Look at Yourself' is a definitive rocker with trademark driving guitar and organ with a pounding bassline. Mick Box's lead break crunches with incredible staccato Hammond of Ken Hensley and phased guitar. The vocals of David Byron are excellent with a straight clean performance and vibrato. There are so many brilliant tracks on the album that many found their way to best of compilations and concerts. The first 3 are Uriah Heep at their best.

On 'I Wanna Be Free' the harmonies are terrific and the riff is patented crunching guitar blasts similar to 'Gypsy' and 'Lady In Black'. Another great track on the album.

'July Morning' is captivating with quiet passages of serenity and loud majestic music crescendos. The verses are a lighters-in-the-air sway-along melodic ballad, and this is balanced with an outbreak of Hensley's Hammond smashes and Box's vibrant lead guitar. Crunching staccato Hammond blasts and a memorable guitar motif make this a progressive classic.

The descending riff is awesome on the proggy 'Shadows of Grief'. Some excellent Hammond answers and trade offs leading to a vibrant lead break. The organ shimmers on this and the musicianship overall is some of the best from the band. The quiet ending sounds like Pink Floyd's Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun' as it is very psychedelic, building gradually with powerful high harmonies, very much like Deep Purple in some ways. The weird ending is the shimmering Hammond sound heard in the middle of 'Gypsy'.

'What Should Be Done' is next and we have a grand piano intro and Byron's very gentle vocals. This is the Heep ballad that is added to every album. It's okay but I prefer when they are in full flight and hammering hard. The wah-wah guitar break of Box is quite beautiful.

'Love Machine' ends the vinyl album on a powerful note. Tons of Hammond and a riff that motors along with a quick tempo are the dominant sounds. Byron's vocals are fantastic on this. It sounds a bit like Rainbow's 'Starstruck' in melody. The lead break is terrific and caps this album off on a high note.

The bonus tracks are great, a single edited hard rocking version of the title track, and 'What's Within My Heart'. This second track features some banter prior to the song by the band as they count in the sparse twin acoustic guitars. It is a forgettable soft ballad, with minimalist acoustics, and feels like a demo track. It is lovely the way the bass comes in though, and the vocals are well performed.

In conclusion, "Look at Yourself" is one of the best Heep albums without a doubt. It features some fabulous Hammond and is a real proto-metal rocker. The tracks are all excellent with a few patchy sections, and not as proggy as some others, but this album is still very consistent quality rock.

Originally appeared in Feedback #62, May 01

No filler tracks and two highlights: the rapid pace title track with the guest appearance of the percussionist of OSIBISA and the immortal "July Morning" (UH's ultimate and melodic epic), with a memorable moog solo by MANFRED MANN and the unforgettable operatic vocals of David Byron.

Riffs, screams, keys, superb rhythm session, anger and sweetness. No negative remark except for the fact that it stands between two giant albums ("Salisbury" and "Demons and Wizards") so it may appear smaller in comparison. I was going to rate it with 4 stars but it would be unfair. It deserves at least a half star more, so I will give it the maximum scores.

David Byron is in great form; his operatic vocals sound as dynamic and dramatic as ever and he makes great use of his range, from a blues rock baritone to high pitched squealing and everything in between. Guitarist Mick Box delivers some of the best performances of his career, with headbanging heavy metal riffs on "I Wanna Be Free" and a blistering slide lead on "Tears In My Eyes". Ken Hensley backs the band very well on Hammond organ, contributing a very Blackmore-Lord kind of interplay.

Side one is absolute heavy prog perfection. All three songs are stand out tracks. The eponymous opener provides a driving start, climaxing to a percussion-heavy finale. "I Wanna Be Free" makes for an effective bridge to the album's epic, "July Morning", which is the album's standout masterpiece.

Side two is all that prevents "Look At Yourself" from a 5 star rating as it is generally less focused than side one. There are still strong moments, they're just further between. The tone of the album is more or less the same but with the progressive "Shadows Of Grief" and its chromatic melodies and the soft "What Should Be Done" offering slight changes of mood.

"Look At Yourself" is a prime introduction to Uriah Heep's style and is definitely a heavy prog album that almost any prog fan could appreciate.

While prog lovers salivated over "Salisbury," the rock world wasn't so keen upon this bizarre musical statement so early on and has to be relegated to classic status over time rather than having achieved instant success for URIAH HEEP. Seeing the writing on the wall, the band opted to pursue the more commercial approach of honing their chops into the less progressive arena rock which proved to be the right move financially speaking however on LOOK AT YOURSELF there are still plenty of progressive rock moments churning about despite no 16-minute closer with orchestral effects in sight. While the feisty guitar driven title track bursts onto the scene and sets the tone for the album as an organ driven heavy rock band that was in many ways similar to Deep Purple, the album's two most progressive moments shine on the two tracks over eight minutes in length, the sublime "July In Morning" and "the heavier "Shadows of Grief" which exercised lengthy excursions into psychedelic space rock.

The album is dominated by heavy guitar driven blues rock with organ bombast. The title track starts things off whereas the following "I Wanna Be Free" displays the bands hard rock dynamics of mixing heavier rock with softer passages. The other major heavy rocker is the arena rock friendly "Tears In My Eyes" which breaks out the slide guitar effects and purveyor of massive walls of wah-wah which is perhaps the most Led Zeppelin sounding track of the album. Once again the dynamics alternate between the heavy and intermissions of space rock with interesting vocal changes. Although Mick Box' guitar antics along with Hensley's organ prowess dominate the URIAH HEEP sound, David Byron's multi-octave vocal style also takes the music to higher levels than it could've achieved otherwise. The other heavy rocker is the closer "Love Machine" which pretty much portended the direction the band would continue for the rest of its career. The only track that doesn't do it for me is the piano ballad "What Should Be Done," which signifies the more commercial direction the band would settle upon.

For prog lovers, it doesn't get any better than the third track "July Morning" which found a cameo appearance of Manfred Mann creating bizarre calliope riffs on a Minimoog synthesizer. The track starts out slow and seductive with Byron's lyrics tenderly ratcheting up the tension as the track alternates between verses and chorus before erupting into a frenzy of virtuosic organ and guitar tradeoffs that make up the last four minutes of the track which continuously build up the tension until the track fades out. While it is absolutely phenomenal i find it odd that some of the lyrical content suddenly drops out in mid-verse only to be replaced by a series of la-la-la's. For true URIAH HEEP fans, this one has been deemed the equivalent to Led Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven" or Deep Purple's "Child in Time." The track was even the inspiration for a Bulgarian event called Julaya where participants gather on the Black Sea coast on the 1st of July to watch the sun rise over the waters.

While the other prog standout is the almost 9 minute long "What Should Be Done" it is primarily based on an organ driven heavy rock standard but deviates into the realms of psychedelia which ultimately find their way back to the main rock theme. Lots of interesting musical interaction on this one with strong riffing, call and response instrumental prowess and interesting dynamic shifts. LOOK AT YOURSELF is easily one of the best albums in the entire URIAH HEEP canon. While i find "Salisbury" to be just a wee bit more interesting, there is no doubt that LOOK AT YOURSELF is an outstandingly crafted example of early 70s hard rock with prog influences and most likely the album of choice for those who didn't appreciate the meandering nature of its predecessor. For my money, it plays it too safe at times but still offers an excellent tightrope act of progressive and hard rock with this album on the hard rock side of the fence. One thing is for sure. The year 1971 was when the band's musical mojo was at fully fueled. Two excellent albums in one year is no small task and this band dished them out in near perfection.

4.5 but rounded down