Uriah Heep — Fallen Angel (1978)

The twelfth studio album by Uriah Heep was recorded between April and August 1978 at Roundhouse Studios (with a break for the group’s American tour in May). «Fallen Angel» was released in September 1978 by Bronze (UK) and Chrysalis (U.S.). Like two previous albums, «Fallen Angel» did not chart in Britain. In the U.S. the situation was a bit better — it reached No. 186. In Germany Uriah Heep were at the peak of their success.

The album was produced by Gerry Bron and Ken Hensley. The song «Come Back to Me», co-written by Lee Kerslake and Ken Hensley, became a hit — but this success led to further disagreements in the band and later resulted in Lee’s dismissal. Moreover, there was a conflict between Ken Hensley and vocalist John Lawton, and for this reason «Fallen Angel» was the last album recorded with John.

The track order on the UK and U.S. releases was different.

The 1997 reissue CD included four bonus tracks, among them «Cheater», originally a B-side of «Come Back to Me» single, and «Gimme Love (Struttin’)», originally a B-side of «Love Or Nothing» single (European release).

Track list:

1. Woman of The Night (Box, Lawton, Kerslake) 4:07
2. Falling in Love (Hensley) 2:59
3. One More Night (Last Farewell) (Hensley) 3:35
4. Put Your Lovin’ on Me (Lawton) 4:08
5. Come Back to Me (Kerslake, Hensley) 4:22
6. Whad’ya Say (Hensley) 3:41
7. Save It (Bolder, Pete McDonald) 3:33
8. Love or Nothing (Hensley) 3:02
9. I’m Alive (Lawton) 4:18
10. Fallen Angel (Hensley) 4:51

Musicians:

• Mick Box — electric and acoustic guitars
• Trevor Bolder — bass guitar
• John Lawton — lead vocals, back-up vocals
• Ken Hensley — keyboards, synthesizer, slide and acoustic guitar, back-up vocals
• Lee Kerslake — drums, Syndrums, back-up vocals.

Tenor solo on “Save It” — Chris Mercer

Producers — Gerry Bron and Ken Hensley.
Engineer — Peter Gallen.
Assistants — John Gallen, Julian Cooper, Colin Bainbridge.

Sleeve design and artwork — Chess Creative Services
Cover illustration — Chris Achilleos.

Bonus tracks on reissue CDs:

1997:

1. Cheater (single B-side) (Hensley) 4:04
2. Gimme Love (Struttin’) (single B-side) (Box, Bolder, Kerslake, Lawton) 3:16
3. A Right To Live (previously unreleased) (Lawton) 3:37
4. Been Hurt (original version) (Hensley) 5:05

2004:

1. A Right To Live (out-take)
2. Cheater (single B-side)
3. Gimme Love (single B-side)
4. Last Farewell (alternate version of “One More Night”)
5. Street Lady (alternate version of “Woman Of The Night”)
6. Struttin’ (alternate version of “Gimme Love”)
7. Falling In Love (live)
8. Woman Of The Night (live)

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