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"I see you runnin' - don't know what you're runnin' from
Nobody's comin' - what'd you do that was so wrong?
Look back and turn back - look at yourself.
Don't be afraid just look at yourself"
Look At Yourself
Non finirò mai di ripeterlo, gli Uriah Heep sono stati da sempre un gruppo sottovalutato nella scena hard rock inglese anni 70; da sempre accostati al sound dei Purple, (pur non riuscendo, a mio avviso ad eguagliarne appieno i picchi tecnici) spinsero addirittura un critico della rivista Rolling Stone ad affermare che "se anche questo gruppo sfonderà..io mi suiciderò!" visti i risultati l'avrà poi fatto davvero??
Per fortuna le stroncature iniziali dei critici non fanno breccia nella band, gli Uriah non si pongono molti problemi: affascinati dall'hammond di Jon Lord (i Deep Purple suonavano nella sala a fianco!) reclutano l'ottimo organista Ken Hensley, il quale, da vero leader, rivuluzionerà totalmente il futuro gruppo: egli diventerà il maggior songwriter della band, basti pensare al successivo Salisbury del 1971 (Lady in Black, High Priestess, giusto per citare due canzoni totalmente sue..)
Sempre nello stesso anno viene dato alla luce LOOK AT YOURSELF: si tratta, a mio avviso, di un capolavoro hard rock (che molti confrontano con In Rock dei Purple) che tenterò di analizzare track-by-track:
Si parte con la mitica title-track, oltre 5 minuti di ottimo hard rock sparato a mille, una song con assoli e cantato impeccabili... davvero un inizio di fuoco che vede l'hammond di Hensley cavalcare la traccia come una furia, seguito costantemente dalla stupenda voce di Byron...
la seconda traccia, I Wanna Be Free ristora momentaneamente l'ascoltatore, proponendo riff e arpeggi chitarristici giustamente mixati con gli acuti di Byron e le tastiere di Hensley...
Segue July Morning, stupenda song da più di 10 minuti, che sfigura di poco con la mitica Child in Time dei Purple. Qui la voce di Byron commuove, e Hensley con il suo Hammond attenta al cuore del più duro degli ascoltatori. La canzone termina con delle chitarre probabilmente sovraincise... e con essa termina anche il primo lato del vinile: non c'è alcun dubbio, July Morning è l'apice compositivo del disco!
Girato l'LP ed eccoci ad un'altra traccia sorprendente: Tears In my Eyes! un riff iniziale così moderno che fa dimenticare l'anno di release del disco. Sorpresa nella sorpresa gli intervalli corali di Byron! La canzone sfuma e lascia posto ad un altro pezzo forte: Shadows Of Grief! un riff forse non molto originale apre le danze, poi però il brano si evolve ed è gran musica...Kinsley fa scintille... e il pezzo termina in modo inusuale, si rimane davvero stupefatti!
Segue What Should Be Done, forse il brano meno importante del disco, una ballad chitarra-pianoforte che regala un'atmosfera particolare.
Come ultimo brano troviamo Love Machine, altra cavalcata hard rock dal gusto deciso e scoppiettante (qui la voce di Byron è praticamente identica a quella di Gillan)
Il disco non poteva che chiudere con un pezzo così...
Consiglio vivamente a tutti quelli che non avessero mai ascoltato "Look At Yourself" di procurarsene una copia, non ne rimarrete per nulla delusi! Ovviamente ciò vale anche per chi non avesse mai sentito nulla degli Uriah Heep!!
Elenco tracce testi e samples
01 Look at Yourself (05:08)
I see you running, don't know what you're running from.
Nobody's comin', what'd you do that was so wrong.
Look back and turn back, look at yourself.
Don't be afraid, just look at yourself.
If you need assistance, or if all you need is love.
There's no point in hidin', tell me what you're frightened of.
You got a friend, just look at yourself.
Don't be afraid, just look at yourself.
03 July Morning (10:24)
Album: Look at Yourself
There I was on a July morning
Looking for love,
With the strength of a new day dawning
And the beautiful sun
At the sound of the first bird singing
I was leaving for home
With the storm and the night behind me
And a road of my own
With the day came the resolution
I'll be looking for you
La la la la...
I was looking for love in the strangest places
There wasn't a stone that I left unturned
I must have tried more than a thousand faces
But not one was aware of the fire that burned
In my heart, In my mind, In my soul
La la la la...
In my heart, In my mind, In my soul
La la la la... La la la la...
There I was on a July morning
Looking for love,
With the strength of a new day dawning
And the beautiful sun
At the sound of the first bird singing
I was leaving for home
With the storm and the night behind me
And a road of my own
With the day came the resolution
I'll be looking for you
La la la la...
04 Tears in My Eyes (04:58)
I thought noone could keep us from sharing the rest of our lives.
Like a fool I believed you were true and had no disguise.
There's a clear blue sky outside and the summer is fine,
but with tears in my eyes I'm no longer pretending you're mine.
It's the same ugly story of a woman abusing a man.
So I have to forget you though I'm not even sure if I can.
There's a clear blue sky outside and the summer is fine,
but with tears in my eyes I'm no longer pretending you're mine.
It's the same ugly story of a woman abusing a man.
So I have to forget you though I'm not even sure if I can.
There's a clear blue sky outside and the summer is fine,
but with tears in my eyes I'm no longer pretending you're mine.
05 Shadows of Grief (08:36)
You're looking at me like I must be mad,
but I've been through all this before.
You'll kick and kick until I'm down,
so don't think of comin' past my door.
Oh No!
You think love is such a pain.
So the more it hurts the more you laugh.
Just take it and shake it up and down,
till you think you've had enough.
But you won't get enough of my love.
If you want to carry on the same old way,
treatin' everyone like a piece of dirt.
Just take it and break it and throw it away.
There won't be anyone left to hurt.
North, south, east and west,
wherever you go you'll find the same.
And the only way you'll ever learn,
just realize that you're to blame.
06 What Should Be Done (04:11)
So you think you found a way of living
that prevents you losing any sleep.
Well, my friend, take this that I'm giving.
It's your piece of mind you aught to keep.
You'll run into trouble, for sure,
by living behind a locked door.
Well, you run the risk of being taunted
by doing what you want to do.
Or do you prefer to have your whole life haunted
by the ones who choose to care for you?
Where are their motives, my friend?
Take care your still there again.
Watch out for winter, it'll bite you with cold.
Black spirits trying hard to bribe you with gold.
Would you steal a nickel from a blind man?
Well right now, I do believe you would.
It's not the thought of you doing it that hurts me,
it's the mind behind it that's no good.
If this is your way, I don't want to know.
There's only so far I can go.
I won't go no further - not for you or anyone.
I have my own ideas of what should be done.
What should be done.
What should be done.
What should be done.
07 Love Machine (03:36)
Lovely little lady, you've got me on the run.
You're a love machine and you say that I'm your gun.
But I don't care, cause I've got to know...
You said you were a loser, the kind that came up rusted.
So I had to try hard to satisfy your thirst.
But I don't care, cause I've got to know...
The only time she's happy is when the bullets fly.
and she'll make you feel you're better than any other guy.
But I don't care, cause I've got to know...
Lovely little lady, you've got me on the run.
You're a love machine and I'm trying to be your gun.
Carico i commenti... con calma
Altre recensioni
Di BeatBoy
"Look At Yourself è una ruota che gira molto velcemente; tanto da lasciarci storditi e confusi al momento che ne siamo scesi."
"'July Morning' è il classico dei classici degli Heep e di tutta la musica in generale."
