Label: Esoteric Recordings (UK), ECLEC2180
Style: Pop Rock, Hard Rock
Country: London, England (24 August 1945 - 4 November 2020)
Time: 39:13
Format: Flac Tracks 16/44,1 kHz
Size: 234 Mb
This
is the solo debut of Uriah Heep's resident keyboardist and top
songwriter, but it isn't the heavy metal epic one might expect. In fact,
Proud Words On A Dusty Shelf uses electric guitar sparingly and instead
goes for a moody soundscape built on acoustic guitar and piano. Songs
like "Black Hearted Lady" and "The Last Time" even evoke a bit of a
country and western feel, thanks to their use of mellow-sounding slide
guitar. This subtle sonic style puts Hensley's songwriting in the
spotlight and that is a good thing because each of the songs is
well-crafted and tuneful: a subtle combination of acoustic guitar and
synthesizer brings out the haunting, delicately crafted melody of "From
Time To Time" and "Black Hearted Lady" effectively evokes its mood of
heartbreak with a descending acoustic guitar riff. The album's subtlety
also highlights the strength of Ken Hensley's vocals, which often sound
close to his Uriah Heep bandmate David Byron. However, Proud Words On A
Dusty Shelf doesn't fully abandon the rock and roll muscle that made
Uriah Heep famous: "Fortune," is a mid-tempo rocker whose complex,
dramatic arrangement gets the closest to sounding like Uriah Heep and
"Cold Autumn Sunday," subtly deploys some heavy electric guitar and
pounding drums to convey its mood of churning emotions (note: this track
also became an FM radio favorite). The only song that feels like a
filler is a remake of Hensley's Uriah Heep track "Rain," a pleasant but
unnecessary addition that sounds too close to the original to make it
worth including. Otherwise, Proud Words On A Dusty Shelf is a solid,
likeable album that will definitely please Uriah Heep fans and may even
win over other classic rock fans with its combination of strong
songwriting and old-fashioned rock production values.
(allmusic.com/album/proud-words-on-a-dusty-shelf-mw0000605388)
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