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Head First (Uriah Heep album)

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Head First
Studio album by
Uriah Heep
ReleasedMay 1983
RecordedJanuary–March 1983
StudioThe Manor Studio, Oxfordshire, England; The Roundhouse, London
GenreHeavy metal, arena rock
Length37:21
LabelBronze
Mercury (North America)
ProducerAshley Howe
Uriah Heep chronology
Abominog
(1982) 		Head First
(1983) 		Equator
(1985)
Singles from Head First
  1. "Lonely Nights" / "Weekend Warriors"
    Released: May 1983
  2. "Stay on Top" / "Playing for Time"
    Released: August 1983
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal8/10[2]

Head First was the 15th studio album from British rock band Uriah Heep. It was released in 1983, on Gerry Bron's UK label 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,[3] 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

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

Uriah Heep
Additional musicians
Production
  • Ashley Howe – producer, engineer, mixing
  • Nick Rogers – engineer, mixing on "Roll–Overture"
  • Keith Nixon – assistant engineer

Singles

  • "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

Album

References

  1. ^ Guarisco, Donald A. "Uriah Heep - Head First review". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved 20 May 2012.
  2. ^ 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.
  3. ^ Head First (CD Booklet). Uriah Heep. UK: Sanctuary Records. 2004.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  4. ^ "Uriah Heep – Head First (Album)". Norwegiancharts.com. Media Control Charts. Retrieved 13 February 2019.
  5. ^ a b "Uriah Heep Official Charts". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 13 November 2018.
  6. ^ "Album – Uriah Heep, Head Firs". Charts.de (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 13 February 2019.
  7. ^ "Uriah Heep Chart History: Billboard 200". Billboard.com. Billboard. Retrieved 4 November 2018.
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