Head First (Uriah Heep album)

Head First
Studio album by
Uriah Heep
ReleasedMay 1983[1]
RecordedJanuary–March 1983
Studio
Genre
Length37:21
LabelBronze
ProducerAshley Howe
Uriah Heep chronology
Abominog
(1982) 		Head First
(1983) 		Equator
(1985)
Singles from Head First
  1. "Lonely Nights"
    Released: June 1983
  2. "Stay on Top"
    Released: August 1983[3]
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal8/10[4]
Uncut[5]

Head First is the fifteenth studio album by English rock band Uriah Heep. It was released in May 1983 by Bronze Records in the UK and Mercury Records in the US. It is Uriah Heep's last album released by Bronze Records.

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,[6] 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

[edit]
Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."The Other Side of Midnight"Mick Box, Bob Daisley, Peter Goalby, Lee Kerslake, John Sinclair3:55
2."Stay on Top"Tom Jackson3:35
3."Lonely Nights" (Bryan Adams cover)Bryan Adams, Jim Vallance4:07
4."Sweet Talk"Box, Daisley, Goalby, Kerslake, J. Sinclair, Linda Sinclair3:51
5."Love is Blind"Richie Zito, Joey Carbone3:38
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
6."Roll-Overture"Box, Daisley, Goalby, J. Sinclair2:18
7."Red Lights"Box, Daisley, Goalby, J. Sinclair2:57
8."Rollin' the Rock"Box, Daisley, Goalby, J. Sinclair5:31
9."Straight Through the Heart"Box, Daisley, Goalby, Kerslake, J. Sinclair3:39
10."Weekend Warriors"Box, Daisley, Goalby, Kerslake, J. Sinclair3:50
1997 remastered edition bonus tracks
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
11."Playing for Time" (B-side of the single "Stay on Top")Box, Daisley, Goalby, Kerslake, J. Sinclair4:27
12."Searching" (instrumental out-take)Box, Daisley, Goalby, Kerslake, J. Sinclair3:52
13."The Wizard" (live 1984)Mark Clarke, Ken Hensley4:52
Total length:50:32
2005 Deluxe Edition bonus tracks
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
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. Sinclair5:22
Total length:63:25

Personnel

[edit]
Uriah Heep
Additional musician
Production
  • Ashley Howe – producer, engineer, mixing
  • Nick Rogers – engineer, mixing on "Roll-Overture"
  • Keith Nixon – assistant engineer

Singles

[edit]
  • "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

[edit]
Chart (1983) Peak
position
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[7] 56
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[8] 19
UK Albums (OCC)[9] 46
US Billboard 200[10] 159

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Strong, Martin Charles (1995). The Great Rock Discography. p. 859. ISBN 9780862415419.
  2. ^ a b c Guarisco, Donald A. "Uriah Heep - Head First review". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved 20 May 2012. After rising from the ashes with 1982's impressive Abominog, Uriah Heep continued to pursue a similar combination of heavy metal firepower and AOR sleekness on Head First
  3. ^ Strong, Martin Charles (1995). The Great Rock Discography. p. 859. ISBN 9780862415419.
  4. ^ 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.
  5. ^ Knighton, Steve (December 1997). "Uriah Heep: Live at Shepperton / Conquest / Abominog / Head First". Uncut. No. 7. p. 94.
  6. ^ Head First (CD Booklet). Uriah Heep. UK: Sanctuary Records. 2004.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  7. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Uriah Heep – Head First" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved November 8, 2023.
  8. ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – Uriah Heep – Head First". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 8, 2023.
  9. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 8, 2023.
  10. ^ "Uriah Heep Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved November 8, 2023.
[edit]
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