Label: Lemon Recordings (UK), CDLEM 189
Style: Hard Rock, Rock
Country: Epping, Essex, England (29 January 1947 - 28 February 1985)
Time: 50:39
Format: Flac Tracks 16/44,1 kHz
Size: 332 Mb
This
1975 album was the first solo outing for David Byron, the lead singer
for Uriah Heep. It isn't a big surprise that a good portion of the album
sounds a lot like the group that gave him his day job: sturdy
organ-driven hard-rockers like "Silver White Man" and "Hit Me With a
White One" would not be out of place on a typical Uriah Heep album from
this period. The fact that every then-current member of Uriah Heep makes
at least one appearance on this record further aids this deja vu
feeling. What is surprising about Take No Prisoners is how solid and
consistent it is for a between-albums solo venture. The album begins
powerfully with "Man Full of Yesterdays," a mid-tempo rocker with a
moody, dramatic arrangement that blends an emotional Mellotron-driven
sound with autobiographical lyrics. From there, Byron deftly blends his
Heep-styled rockers with a variety of roots rock and soul experiments
that blend in well with the other, more traditional material: "Steamin'
Along" tackles funk with surprising deftness while "Saturday Night" adds
a likable country-rock element to its amped-up rock & roll attack.
"Love Song" proves that Byron could do a straight ballad with surprising
sensitivity and further benefits from a lovely arrangement built on a
gentle harpsichord sound. Plenty of sharp rockers are interspersed
between these experimental tracks, the best being "Midnight Flyer," a
cleverly arranged rocker that alternates spooky, mid-tempo verses with a
scorching chorus to create an exciting burst of hard rock. Overall,
Take No Prisoners lacks a breakout single or the kind of genre-expanding
elements that will win over the casual listener, but it is a
well-crafted album that will definitely find favor with Uriah Heep fans.
(allmusic.com/album/take-no-prisoners-mw0000599761)
01. Man Full Of Yesterdays (05:38)
02. Sweet Rock 'N' Roll (02:50)
03. Steamin' Along (05:11)
04. Silver White Man (03:30)
05. Love Song (02:58)
06. Midnight Flyer (05:56)
07. Saturday Night (02:17)
08. Roller Coaster (04:00)
09. Stop (Think What You're Doing) (04:16)
10. Hit Me With A White One (03:56)
11. Steamin' Along (Single Edit) (03:22)
12. What's Going On (Outtake) (03:09)
13. Silver White Man (Alternative Version) (03:28)
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