{"id":19253,"date":"2014-06-10T00:00:15","date_gmt":"2014-06-10T00:00:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/?p=19253"},"modified":"2015-06-15T23:56:45","modified_gmt":"2015-06-15T23:56:45","slug":"feature-uriah-heep-06-14","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/feature-uriah-heep-06-14\/","title":{"rendered":"URIAH HEEP – Can\u2019t Take That Away (June 2014) | Features \/ Interviews @ Metal Forces Magazine"},"content":{"rendered":"

URIAH HEEP – Can\u2019t Take That Away<\/strong><\/span>
\nAnthony Morgan<\/span>
\nJune 2014<\/span><\/p>\n

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Uriah Heep (l-r): Dave Rimmer, Russell Gilbrook, Bernie Shaw, Mick Box and Phil
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Outsider<\/em> \u2013 the June 2014 effort from English rock outfit Uriah Heep, and 24th studio full-length overall \u2013 was cut in January at Liscombe Park Studios in Buckinghamshire, England. Naples, Italy-based classic rock label Frontiers issued the platter, following on from April 2011 Uriah Heep label debut Into The Wild<\/em>. Penning compositions for Outsider<\/em> wasn\u2019t an arduous process.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey came together really quickly, actually,\u201d Mick Box discloses, guitarist and founding member of Uriah Heep. \u201cPhil Lanzon (keyboards) and I wrote all of the songs. We had a couple of little ideas when we went into the studio, but most of them were formulated in the studio. Phil and myself are very in tune with each other lyrically and musically. We always have a number of ideas, so we can work very quickly together. This was exceptional though, to come out with an album like Outsider<\/em> on that sort of schedule.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt the start of the day, what we used to do is just play through some ideas, find what captures everyone\u2019s imagination, and then Phil and I would write the song. We\u2019d then rehearse it, record it, and then we\u2019d play it live. Then we\u2019d have the backing track down, and then Phil and I would go away and work on the lyrics, and then work on another song, and then come in the next day and do the same process. We kind of did 11 tracks in ten days, so it was very fast, but that was all of the backing tracks. Then we went on tour to Turkey and the UK, and came back in to finish off the vocals and any overdubs that were required, and solos. That was it. It was all very quick \u2013 clean and simple.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think we\u2019ve ever spent longer than three months making an album, and that\u2019s writing, recording, and mixing \u2013 pre-production, everything. This time around though, we did it in under a month. It\u2019s worked very well for us. We just go in there, play live, and capture the band all on one pulse. I think that\u2019s the way you get the right amount of excitement out of each track, and I think it shows in the grooves.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Uriah Heep composer doesn\u2019t suffer gladly groups who spend two to three years crafting records. \u201cMate, I\u2019d go in a mental hospital,\u201d he quips. \u201cIf you spent two weeks getting a snare drum sound, and I came back 14 days later, and you were still going \u2018Bang, bang,\u2019 I would walk out again. I\u2019d be in a hospital (laughs). That\u2019s not what music is about. It\u2019s just never been my… I don\u2019t have that work ethic. My work ethic is to capture something, and if it excites you and that\u2019s the one you\u2019ve accepted, then that\u2019s the way it should stay. You shouldn\u2019t then mess with it. I think you take a lot out of music by trying to perfect it. In other words, if you try to record something and you all choose that take, and you say \u2018That\u2019s brilliant,\u2019 but then the producer goes in and puts everything on the bass drum, you\u2019re taking away all of the magic that was there in the first place \u2013 the feel of it disappears. It becomes very sterile, so that\u2019s not my way of thinking and my way of wanting to hear our music being produced.\u201d<\/p>\n

Writer\u2019s block doesn\u2019t afflict Mick. \u201cNo, far from,\u201d he chuckles. \u201cNo, no, no. I don\u2019t believe in writer\u2019s block. I believe that there\u2019s so much out there to write about. You\u2019ve just gotta have your antenna out, and keep your eyes open and ears open. We\u2019ve played in at least 56 countries around the world, so if you can\u2019t be inspired by something then you better take the blinkers off (laughs).\u201d<\/p>\n

After 45 years even, writing material isn\u2019t difficult. \u201cIf we wrote an album in ten days, then yeah,\u201d the lyricist cites. \u201cIt\u2019s just always there. It\u2019s something we do as a matter of cause \u2013 it\u2019s not something that we do just when an album needs to be written. We write all of the time; we write something every day, and it\u2019s very important for me to be able to do that, whether it be a lyric or a chord sequence or a melody or something. I just have to write something every day, because then the day\u2019s worth living for. You then just collect all of those ideas, and when it\u2019s time to get a project together, you use all of those ideas. They\u2019re there for you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Retreading past numbers is an acute concern. \u201cWe\u2019re always aware of that,\u201d Mick acknowledges. \u201cWe try not to retread ground, but all you can do is just do what you do, and then just say \u2018Okay, well that\u2019s a bit close to that,\u2019 and avoid it and move on. There are plenty more other ideas. I think you can get bogged down with it, if you want to (laughs). If you have an open view on everything, then it\u2019ll all work out fine.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Uriah Heep 2011 (l-r): Russell Gilbrook, Phil Lanzon, Bernie Shaw, Mick Box and
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Lyrically speaking, the axeman defines Uriah Heep as \u2018storytellers\u2019. \u201cWe try to tell a story within the song; we try to make it interesting, and have an appeal to a lot of people hopefully, and that\u2019s all we can wish,\u201d he explains. \u201cWe just try to stay away from as many clich\u00e9s as we can, because clich\u00e9s are very easy to pop into a song. They always seem to fit, but we try to stay away from them and make the lyrical content interesting.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a song called \u2018Can\u2019t Take That Away\u2019 for example, which is about an actor who goes into crime. Actors, you never know when they\u2019re acting and when they\u2019re not. A good actor could actually be a good criminal, and we thought that was an interesting standpoint. Then he gets put in jail though, but what they can\u2019t take away is the smell of the perfume he has of his lady, and the reviews he had when he was on the straight and narrow, so there are many lyrical things you can go into.\u201d<\/p>\n

On May 21st, 2013, bassist Trevor Bolder succumbed to cancer at the age of 62. \u201cIt was dreadful,\u201d Mick recalls. \u201cIt couldn\u2019t have been a worse time for the band, because he was such a big part of what we do. He was a world class bass player, a world class singer, a world class writer, and a world class friend. It was an immense wrench for us and it was dreadfully sad, but while he was ill, Dave Rimmer \u2013 who is now our bass player \u2013 stepped in for Trevor on the basis that Trevor was coming back of course. Unfortunately that wasn\u2019t to be, and so Dave\u2019s there almost on Trevor\u2019s blessing. <\/p>\n

\u201cHe used to play in a tribute \/ covers band in Camden Town, London, and Russ our drummer used to go down to jam with him occasionally. Dave came along, and he fitted the criteria perfectly. He\u2019s a great bass player, and he\u2019s got a great image. He fitted into the chemistry of the band very well, because you can always get another great player to come into the band but they always come with baggage, which is not always the baggage that you want them to come with \u2013 if you know what I mean. Dave came in, though. He was a fan of the band \u2013 he loved to be there. He\u2019s playing great, looking great and he\u2019s got the same sort of sense of humour as us, so he kind of fits into all of the criteria. Plus it\u2019s with Trevor\u2019s blessing, so it couldn\u2019t be any better than that. We\u2019re not looking anywhere else, because we\u2019ve got the right guy. Trevor would want us to continue working, and so we will. By doing so, we keep the legacy of all of the great work that he\u2019s done over the years alive.\u201d<\/p>\n

Outsider<\/em> is the first Uriah Heep effort to be issued since Trevor\u2019s passing, but none of the compositions directly reference the late bassist\u2019s death. \u201cNone whatsoever, no,\u201d the guitarist confirms. \u201cWe wouldn\u2019t really go that route. That would be too painful, but if you listen closely to the album then you\u2019ll find subliminal references there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Production duties were handled by Mike Paxman. \u201cHe\u2019s done our last couple of studio albums,\u201d Mick informs. \u201cHe\u2019s a great producer, because he comes in and gets very involved in it. He\u2019s got a million ideas \u2013 he\u2019s very up. He doesn\u2019t sit in the control room, saying \u2018Next take,\u2019 \u2018Next take,\u2019 \u2018Next take.\u2019 He\u2019s actually in the room we\u2019re recording in with all of the racket going on \u2013 with headphones on \u2013 jumping up and down with excitement, and that gets the best out of us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Outsider<\/em>\u2019s cover artwork was designed by Igor Morski. \u201cWe were looking for a title for the album, and one of the tracks on the album is called \u2018Outsider\u2019,\u201d the Uriah Heep founder divulges. \u201cWe were looking for one word, but all of the one words we had weren\u2019t as strong as Outsider<\/em>. One word album titles are stronger, more immediate, more impactful, and more to the point. The other thing with outsider of course is if you bet on horses and an outsider wins, you earn more than the favourite, so it\u2019s more rewarding (laughs). That\u2019s an analogy I never thought of before, but that could be it.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe thought that Outsider<\/em> would be really good as an album title, and then I think Nathan Parsons (manager) at our office actually tracked down an artist in Poland. Igor, he sent over some stuff and immediately… It\u2019s very hard when you\u2019re doing artwork for a band, because it\u2019s a five-headed animal \u2013 not everyone\u2019s gonna agree a 100% on something. When we saw his artwork, everyone went \u2018That\u2019s the one.\u2019 It was just unanimous, so it worked very quickly. We got in touch with him, he sent over some more stuff, and it worked brilliantly. We think it\u2019s a great piece of artwork, and it depicts the \u2018outsider\u2019 thing very nicely with the guy in the umbrella, in the hoop.\u201d<\/p>\n

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A hierarchy arguably exists within Uriah Heep, albeit rarely exercised. \u201cI generally run the band where everyone has their own say, and I think that\u2019s very important,\u201d Mick stresses. \u201cIf four people are behind something and one is dragging behind the rest, then you\u2019re never gonna get the effort required to make it all work. I tend to run the band like that. If there are any major decisions or things to be done then I\u2019m the one who usually calls the shots, but I only do that based on everyone\u2019s opinion. So, it\u2019s kind of like that. I guess I could be considered the leader, but I run it very democratically.\u201d<\/p>\n

A one-off performance at Koko in Camden, London on March 4th was filmed for DVD purposes, the concert pencilled in for late 2014 \/ early 2015 release. \u201cThat was a bit of fun that was, yeah,\u201d the songwriter remembers. \u201cWe literally put two new songs into the set; \u2018One Minute\u2019 and \u2018Can\u2019t Take That Away\u2019. We had only finished mixing them two days before, so it was very hectic and a bit of a gamble to try it out, but it worked out very well. Yeah, the fans loved them. \u2018One Minute\u2019 seems to be having a great reaction on radio and with other people \u2013 a lot of people are picking up on it. So hey, you never know. You never know your luck in the big city.\u201d<\/p>\n

Uriah Heep\u2019s live setlist doesn\u2019t solely consist of older tunes. \u201cI think we\u2019re a band that\u2019s very proud of our history, but we like to move forward too,\u201d Mick emphasizes. \u201cWe\u2019re very aware that we\u2019ve had a lot of big numbers that have lasted the test of time \u2013 through life \u2013 that people still like to hear in the live arena, and so we will always do those. We\u2019re always aware that there\u2019s an element of the audience there for that, but also we like to intersperse it with some of the newer stuff and some of the older, older stuff. We\u2019re lucky that we\u2019ve got a catalogue that we can chop and change around, and still manage to do new material. <\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s important that we do that for the fans, and for ourselves. You don\u2019t ever want to be stuck in a rut, and that\u2019s the point. If you just go out to play all of the old songs all of the time, the life gets strangled out of it. If you put new stuff in, when you then get back to the old stuff again, it seems like it\u2019s new again \u2013 there\u2019s a new breath of fresh air in it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Several generations of music fans attend Uriah Heep concerts. \u201cThere\u2019s probably about four different generations, four decades,\u201d the wordsmith estimates. \u201cThere\u2019s an awful lot of young people down the front now, which is very rewarding, very good. There\u2019s a lot of people of course who just think that Into The Wild<\/em> \u2013 our last studio album \u2013 was our first album (laughs), but then they find out that there\u2019s another 23. Yes, it\u2019s changed all the time, yeah. A lot of young people are down the front, which is great. I think they\u2019re getting off on the passion and energy of the band; and they can feel it, and they become a part of it.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s quite simple, really. If you love what you do, then you\u2019ll always have the passion and energy for it. We love making new music, we love playing our music, we love touring, and we love being onstage, and I think that shows through in our live performance. We\u2019re not a band of shoe gazers (laughs). I think that\u2019s the term (laughs).\u201d<\/p>\n

Should Uriah Heep remain active until 2019, the group would celebrate its 50th anniversary. Whether this milestone comes to pass remains to be seen. \u201cWho knows?,\u201d Mick ponders. \u201cWe celebrated our 20th, we celebrated 25… I don\u2019t know how far you can go, really (laughs). I\u2019m sure there\u2019ll be something along the way, but right now, our heads are going into the release of Outsider<\/em> and the forthcoming tours around the world. If we\u2019ve still got our health and still believe in it, then we\u2019ll be out there. We\u2019re looking to do a new album, so we\u2019re not resting on our laurels at all. It\u2019s very important for us, you see. It\u2019s a big part of what we do.\u201d<\/p>\n

Although Uriah Heep intends to continue recording full-lengths, other veteran rock acts claim they no longer record simply because album sales are a fraction of what they once were. \u201cI don\u2019t think you do anything to sell nowadays,\u201d the axeman shares. \u201cYou do it for your artistic satisfaction, surely. That\u2019s the way I look at it. I never did anything for money; I never released albums for money. I released albums because I was over the moon that I had written these songs, and they were being put on a platter (laughs). <\/p>\n

\u201cIt was never about writing because it makes money. That would be silly, so I can\u2019t see where their thought waves are. If you\u2019re gonna do things for money in the beginning, then you\u2019re barking up the wrong tree. You have to put all of your energy into what you do, namely your art, your craft, and everything else \u2013 your writing abilities, your performing abilities, your recording abilities \u2013 and then if money comes, great, but if it don\u2019t, great. You\u2019re still doing something you love, and that\u2019s more than most people can say in their life.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Uriah Heep (l-r): Bernie Shaw, Dave Rimmer, Phil Lanzon, Mick Box and Russell
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An autobiography is a possibility. \u201cI keep starting one mate, but I keep getting bored talking about myself,\u201d Mick laughs. \u201cI\u2019m just writing it all myself, and then will eventually give it to a publisher. Then they\u2019ll get an editor involved, and it\u2019ll sort of generally grow from there. No, there are many, many stories. I\u2019ll tell you what I want to do. I\u2019ve read a lot of autobiographies, and I find that I get very bored with them \u2013 where they all get involved with drugs, and then they find God, and then everything\u2019s forgiven. I find that\u2019s terrible, because in their drug life they\u2019ve crushed so many other people\u2019s lives on the way, and yet that\u2019s not even mentioned. I find those very boring books, so if I write a book at all, it\u2019ll be about the fun, the touring, and the things that happened in that regard. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019ll be more light-hearted than a lot of the others that are around today. Now that\u2019s not me knocking \u2019em, because that\u2019s their thing to do \u2013 to get it off of their chest, or whatever \u2013 but it\u2019s not my ideal. So yeah, I will write one, but it\u2019s just trying to find the right angle, because you know what? When you get in touch with the publishers, the first thing they want is all of the drama. They want all of that stuff written about, because to them it sells books. To be honest, there\u2019s a lot of stuff that I don\u2019t even want my family to know. There\u2019s a lot of stuff that \u2013 if written \u2013 you could see in law courts (laughs). You\u2019ve just gotta find a balance there where readers experience a lot of fun and a good read, but the book doesn\u2019t hit on those areas.\u201d<\/p>\n

Self-publication is arguably a viable option. \u201cI guess that\u2019s an option, but I\u2019ll see where it goes from here,\u201d the guitarist muses. \u201cI\u2019ve had a lot of interest from other people, so we\u2019ll see, but I just don\u2019t wanna go that typical route that lots have gone.\u201d<\/p>\n

Generally speaking, Mick hasn\u2019t read other Uriah Heep biographies currently in publication. \u201cI think I read Dave Ling\u2019s one (Wizards And Demons: The Uriah Heep Story<\/em>, November 2002) ages and ages ago and that was quite a good read, but generally, no,\u201d he tells. \u201cI never bother. The thing is, what we don\u2019t realise is that we pack into two weeks what most people pack into two years, and that\u2019s the difference.\u201d<\/p>\n

Outsider<\/em> was released on June 6th, 2014 in Europe (excluding the United Kingdom), on the 9th in the United Kingdom, and subsequently on the 10th in North America, all via Frontiers Music Srl.<\/p>\n

Interview published in June 2014.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

URIAH HEEP – Can\u2019t Take That Away Anthony Morgan June 2014 Uriah Heep (l-r): Dave Rimmer, Russell Gilbrook, Bernie Shaw, Mick Box and Phil Lanzon Outsider \u2013 the June 2014 effort from English rock outfit Uriah Heep, and 24th studio full-length overall \u2013 was cut in January at Liscombe Park Studios in Buckinghamshire, England. Naples, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23,1257],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19253","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-features","category-uriah-heep"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19253","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19253"}],"version-history":[{"count":20,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19253\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19481,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19253\/revisions\/19481"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19253"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19253"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19253"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}