KEN HENSLEY: Blood On The Highway

Cover	Release	Style
	2007-05	classic rock
	Label
	www.membran.net / www.cmm.w-rott.com
	Website
	www.ken-hensley.com
	Contact
	-
	Playing Time	Cat. N°
	52:20	231688
	Review by / Translated by	Rating
	Vera	8,5/10
nederlands	Review
When talking about the origin of hardrock/metal, Uriah Heep is one of the most influential bands we cannot ignore. Together with Black Sabbath, Deep Purple and Led Zeppelin they were “accused” – the press was not that enthusiastic – of making extremely heavy music for that time. The rebellious young rockfan did not give a damn about these critics and the popularity of Uriah Heep grew to immense proportions, while the band travelled the whole globe living the rock ‘n’ roll way of life with infamous excesses. Ken Hensley, keyboardist, guitarist and a pretty good vocalist as well, was the main composer of the notorious outfit of Birmingham. Look it up and read the credits of classic songs like ‘Gypsy’, ‘Easy Livin’’, July Morning’, ‘Sunrise’ or ‘Return To Fantasy’. Ken left Uriah Heep in the early eighties and made a number of solo albums with a more introvert character. He was Blackfoot’s keyboard player for a few years. Then he disappeared out of the spotlights for a decade. Until he returned to the scene in the nineties and later; with albums such as ‘Running Blind’ and ‘The Last Dance’ as eternal witnesses. Why such a long introduction of a musician everybody should know? Because exactly his turbulent life is the theme of his newest album ‘Blood On The Highway’. He wrote his biography earlier, but now this is transferred into twelve songs (and two short intermezzos) that all describe a certain period of his exciting life as musician. The difference with previous albums is that Ken engaged some eminent vocalists of the rock world to interpret his compositions. Ken himself sings on four tracks. The majority of vocals is selected for Jorn Lande. Of course he feels like a fish in the water executing these classic rock songs. Melancholy and catchiness are featured in these first tracks, with title track ‘Blood On The Highway’ as my personal favourite, due to its dark atmosphere and beautiful slide guitar. ‘You’ve Got It’ could be found on ‘Running Blind’ in a different, slower version. John Lawton, who used to be Uriah Heep’s vocalist in the ‘Firefly’ era, does a great job on ‘It Won’t Last’, while the vocal performance of Glenn Hughes on ‘What You Gonna Do’ immediately invokes his soulful, nearly nightclub character. Eve Gallagher moves me in the sensitive ‘Think Twice’. It is an album full of nostalgia. This is most of all showcased during the quiescent songs, sung by Ken. In the last songs we hear the Alicante Symphony Orchestra – Hensley lives in Spain now – so that the album occludes with proper grandeur with the eight minutes long ‘The Last Dance’. Being a Uriah Heep fan, it is very fetching to follow the eventful, yet recognizable lyrics; but also fans of AOR and classic rock will enjoy this musical biography of a man who – as no other – introduced keyboards and Hammond organ in the heavy rock music.
Musicians
Ken Hensley: lead vocals on 2,9,13, harmony vocals, electric, slide and acoustic guitars, Hammond B3 organ, synthesizers, dobro Jorn Lande: lead vocals on 1,2,3,4,10 Glenn Hughes: lead vocals on 11,14 John Lawton: lead vocals on 6 Eve Gallagher: lead vocals on 7 Juan Carlos Garcia, Tommy Lopez: drums Antonio Fidel, John Smithson: bass Rafa Raposo, Dani Saiz: guitars Ovidio Lopez: principle guitars Vicente Ruiz: piano Antonio Molto: alto sax The Alicante Symphony Orchestra
Tracklist
(This Is) Just The Beginning (4:43) We’re On Our Way (4:51) Blood On The Highway (3:55) You’ve Got It (The American Dream) (3:16) Doom (scene 1) (0:19) It Won’t Last (5:23) Think Twice (4:45) Doom (scene 2) (0:18) There Comes A Time (4:28) Okay (This House Is Down) (3:56) What You Gonna Do (3:31) Postscript (0:23) I Did It All (4:53) The Last Dance (8:26)
Discography


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