Uriah Heep — Sweet Freedom (1973)

Uriah Heep worked on their sixth studio album in France: in June 1973 they went to Chateau D’Herouville Studios to start recording new songs. The album was released in September 1973 by Bronze Records (UK release) and Uriah Heep’s new label in America, Warner Brothers. “Sweet Freedom” charted both in the UK and the US, peaking at No. 18 and No. 33* correspondingly. The album was certified gold in March 1974.

Conceptually, “Sweet Freedom” was a deliberate attempt for the band to distance themselves from ‘magic’ and ‘mystery’ themes that their two previous albums were identified with by the fans. The reasons for such a move were simple: during the previous US tour the band experienced some unpleasant encounters with occultists who took their lyrics from “Demons And Wizards” and “The Magician’s Birthday” a bit too far. Therefore the band decided ‘to return to pure rock ‘n’ roll’ — i.e. to simpler songs and not-so-meaningful lyrics. Perhaps both the band and the producers did not realise at the time how important their ‘magic content’ was for the wider audience of their fans, not only to those who were into esoterics. As a result, “Sweet Freedom” marked the beginning of era when Uriah Heep’s popularity started to gradually fade away.

Track list:

1. Dreamer (Thain/Box) 3:41
2. Stealin’ (Hensley) 4:49
3. One Day (Hensley/Thain) 2:47
4. Sweet Freedom (Hensley) 6:37
5. If I Had The Time (Hensley) 5:43
6. Seven Stars (Hensley) 3:52
7. Circus (Thain/Box/Kerslake) 2:44
8. Pilgrim (Hensley/Byron) 7:10

Musicians:

• David Byron — vocals
• Ken Hensley — keyboards, guitars, vocals
• Mick Box — guitars
• Lee Kerslake — drums, percussion, vocals
• Gary Thain — bass guitar

Producer — Gerry Bron

Engineer — Peter Gallen

Bonus tracks on re-issue CDs:

1996:

• Sunshine (B-side to Stealin’ single)
• Stealin’ (edited version)
• Seven Stars (previously unreleased)

2004:

• Sunshine
• Seven Stars (extended version)
• Pilgrim (extended version)
• If I Had The Time (demo)
• Sweet Freedom (alternate live)
• Stealin’ (alternate live)

* Charts stats according to davidbyron.net.

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