The Heep have always been prolific. Over the course of their whole career, they have released an average of one album every two years. Living the Dream is their 25th studio album, released in their 49th year as a band. Anniversaries and milestones are queuing up, as they tend to do when you have been active as a band for half a centennial.
What makes this anniversary extra special for fans of the band is that they have just delivered one of their best latter-half-of-their-career albums. The previous album Outsider (2014) had some great moments, but overall I felt the album dipped below their usual standards. This matters less now that Living the Dream finds them back on track in excellent form.
It is hard to pinpoint the differences between their last two albums, but I think the answer lies in the band’s mindset and drive. I followed their pledge campaign for the new album, and was privy to continual studio updates from a very enthusiastic band. It really was quite joyful to see how smitten with the process they all were. Progress reports were shared with equal amounts of pride and enthusiasm, and the samples sounded phenomenal.
The band were all really gung-ho about making sure Living the Dream would be a Heep classic. That passion and drive clearly found its way into the music as well.
I also think that the last time around the band were still feeling down about the death of bass player Trevor Bolder. So were the fans – I totally get it. It may be only natural that the music on Outsider is more sombre than usual. The band continued, which was a victory at the time. The band showed determination. This time feels right to show enthusiasm and joy again as well.
The music on Living the Dream is clearly much more upbeat, more celebratory, and the band have written some phenomenal material that suits that mood. Add a magnificent production from Jay Ruston, and it all adds up to a project that was bound to please the fans.
The album starts with a jolt as Grazed By Heaven kicks in with a thunderous drum fill. The music is so unmistakably Heep that you can’t help but smile. To use a Tap-ism, the song is ‘none more Heep’ as it rocks solidly.
The song also lays out the album’s premise: no wheel has been reinvented here. The band sound like themselves, as usual, but there is an intensity in the performance – an extra spark, a tremendous energy, behind it all.
The music also benefits from a very contemporary sense of sonic heft. Those trademark five-way harmonies sparkle with freshness and verve, as the prog-fuelled guitars and keyboards mingle in Heep-ish harmony.
Living the Dream – the track which named the album – continues the stride. It is a more emotional rocker which conveys the feeling of gratefulness the guys in Heep must have that they can keep doing what they do.
Bernie Shaw sings “You give your all and you win; No second chance to begin” with a soulful roar, conveying the song’s emotions with casual authority. The breakdown in the middle continue to display a sense of musical wanderlust which we will see throughout the album.
Take Away My Soul is another solid song, even though it starts out in fairly typical fashion. At one point something happens, though. The mid-song breakdown takes it from the ordinary to the sublime. Rarely do I hear a transition lift a song to this extent.
I am not a person willing to buy into this
I’m a free man
I stand by my own decision I made long ago
I’m a free man
I am stronger and I go my own way
The lyrics in that mid-song breakdown punctuates quite lovely the song’s message about not allowing anyone else to make your choices for you. The song’s play-out section also manages to build some intensity, ultimately making this a song that finishes in better style than it begins.
Long-time fans of The Heep know of their long-standing tradition of including long, epic tracks – Salisbury, July Morning, Magicians Birthday, etc. They were perhaps more common in the earlier part of the band’s existence, but on Living the Dream we get another one.
Rocks In the Road is nearly eight and a half minutes long, containing several passages and sections. It starts almost like a straight rock moment, goes through atmospheric keyboards-and-vocal moments, groovy bass-driven sections, several musical themes, and an incredibly satisfying slow-burning transition where a section go from near-quiet until it climaxes in utter bombast. It ends by reshaping itself into the more straight rock song it started out as. An amazing tour-de-force, lump-in-the-throat moment for any fans of classic Heep!
There’s not much time to draw breath after that onslaught, as we move on to another personal album highlight. Heep always had an emotional side, with several amazing ballads and melodic gems to their name. Waters Flowin’ is another one.
It is impossible not to be taken with the sound of the full band harmonies on display here. This is a very effective and well-crafted song. The melody of the song is lovely, and benefits from a quiet, acoustic first half. Later on, the full electric bands quietly comes in and gently moves the song onward towards the finishing line.
The people would come from miles around
Just to listen to his sweet sound
But the only song that guitar would play
Was down by the waters flowin’
Bernie Shaw delivers one of his finest vocal performances on the album on this track. The song tells the tale of the man who sat by the waterfront and played every night. More and more people turned up every time, but one night something happened and the man was never seen again. The song hints at what happened, but I will let you listen and find the answer to that yourself.
The album is brimming with golden moments. Knocking At My Door is a nice mid-tempo rocker with yet more great vocal harmonies, and an overall mood befitting a song about hidden somethings lurking behind you in the darkness.
It’s All Been Said has a long, semi-prog intro with lots of trademark Heep organ and ultimately quite a driven tempo. Goodbye To Innocence brings up fond memories of the kind of up-tempo rockers they would rattle off during John Lawton’s Heep tenure in the latter half of the 1970s. All of these songs are both reassuringly classic and thrillingly fresh, with the band’s performances and upbeat energy ultimately being what makes the difference.
As we move into the end section of the album, Falling Under Your Spell is yet another song that tugs on the nostalgic heartstrings. This is a dead ringer for a rocker from the first half of the 1970s, with the mid-song vocal harmonies being so chillingly similar to those of the early days that it sounds like they brought back Ken Hensley, David Byron and Lee Kerslake from those days to sing them. Did they sample those or are they just that good? If you’re a long-time Heep fan, this song is nothing short of an utter delight.
The final track Dreams of Yesteryear brings us into the now, being a more modern Heep song. It ends the album on a more melancholy note, but ultimately very satisfyingly so. The song has good ebb and tide. The choruses providing a suitable ‘oomph’ as a contrast to the verses, which more wistfully recalls the dreams of yesteryear.
And so we hold on tightly to those songs that made us smile
Those distant feelings help me through the day
And thought I should know better, to live the past forever
It stays with us and never goes away.
While Bernie is a tremendous rock vocalist, he is more than able to deliver the emotional content in lyrics such as these.
Ending the album with a huge nod to the past, while reaffirming that we move forward with those memories by our side, is the perfect way to summarise how I feel about this album. This is Uriah Heep as they were in 2018. The past is always there, and the future is now. I am beyond impressed with the vitality they still bring to the music after 50 years.
Living The Dream has proven that these guys have so much gunpowder in their arsenal that not doing another album later on would be a shame. I hope it happens and can’t wait for it. Meanwhile, happy 50th!
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