By the time of Uriah Heep's 21st studio album overall, 2008's Wake the Sleeper, guitarist Mick Box had been the sole remaining original member of the band for decades. But as evidenced by the aforementioned release, the group had rediscovered the recipe for re-creating tunes that sounded very similar to its "golden era" of the early to mid-'70s (especially singer Bernie Shaw, who sounds like a dead ringer for the late David Byron). And Uriah Heep could still deliver all the metallic bombast on the concert stage, as heard throughout Live at Sweden Rock Festival 2009. The track listing wisely sticks to the classics, as only two songs -- out of nine -- from Wake the Sleeper are performed. What you'll find are fine renditions of such vintage classic rockers as "Easy Livin'" and "Sunrise," and tracks that showcase the group's love of blaring organ ("Gypsy"). And the two newer tracks, "Ghost of the Ocean" and "Angels Walk with You," serve as respectable attempts to pen tunes that would sound sonically and stylistically similar to the material from the "Byron era." Perhaps a lengthier track listing would have caught the attention of more potential purchasers, but all nine tracks stand well on their own. While their first-ever concert set will forever be their finest (1973's appropriately titled Uriah Heep Live), Live at Sweden Rock Festival 2009 succeeds in proving the point that the group can still do a dandy job of kicking out the jams.
© Greg Prato /TiVo