AtomicCrimsonRush "Look at Yourself" features incredible heavy Hammond and guitar riffing excellence on one of Uriah Heep's most consistent albums. The front cover is a mirror that many who owned the vinyl would have spent hours watching the reflective surface shine patterns on the roof. The music on the album also reflects the band, the power of progressive symphonic meets heavy rock.

The title track, 'Look at Yourself' is a definitive rocker with trademark driving guitar and organ with a pounding bassline. Mick Box's lead break crunches with incredible staccato Hammond of Ken Hensley and phased guitar. The vocals of David Byron are excellent with a straight clean performance and vibrato. There are so many brilliant tracks on the album that many found their way to best of compilations and concerts. The first 3 are Uriah Heep at their best.

On 'I Wanna Be Free' the harmonies are terrific and the riff is patented crunching guitar blasts similar to 'Gypsy' and 'Lady In Black'. Another great track on the album.

'July Morning' is captivating with quiet passages of serenity and loud majestic music crescendos. The verses are a lighters-in-the-air sway-along melodic ballad, and this is balanced with an outbreak of Hensley's Hammond smashes and Box's vibrant lead guitar. Crunching staccato Hammond blasts and a memorable guitar motif make this a progressive classic.

The descending riff is awesome on the proggy 'Shadows of Grief'. Some excellent Hammond answers and trade offs leading to a vibrant lead break. The organ shimmers on this and the musicianship overall is some of the best from the band. The quiet ending sounds like Pink Floyd's Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun' as it is very psychedelic, building gradually with powerful high harmonies, very much like Deep Purple in some ways. The weird ending is the shimmering Hammond sound heard in the middle of 'Gypsy'.

'What Should Be Done' is next and we have a grand piano intro and Byron's very gentle vocals. This is the Heep ballad that is added to every album. It's okay but I prefer when they are in full flight and hammering hard. The wah-wah guitar break of Box is quite beautiful.

'Love Machine' ends the vinyl album on a powerful note. Tons of Hammond and a riff that motors along with a quick tempo are the dominant sounds. Byron's vocals are fantastic on this. It sounds a bit like Rainbow's 'Starstruck' in melody. The lead break is terrific and caps this album off on a high note.

The bonus tracks are great, a single edited hard rocking version of the title track, and 'What's Within My Heart'. This second track features some banter prior to the song by the band as they count in the sparse twin acoustic guitars. It is a forgettable soft ballad, with minimalist acoustics, and feels like a demo track. It is lovely the way the bass comes in though, and the vocals are well performed.

In conclusion, "Look at Yourself" is one of the best Heep albums without a doubt. It features some fabulous Hammond and is a real proto-metal rocker. The tracks are all excellent with a few patchy sections, and not as proggy as some others, but this album is still very consistent quality rock.

bonnek Look at Yourself is my ultimate Heep experience. After the symphonic experiments of Salisbury, they got their hard rock act together again and concentrated on heavy rock songs with an occasional proggy excursion. The album doesn't offer much that they hadn't done on the preceding albums but in many ways it perfected their earlier ambitions.

The title track is just perfect. Five minutes of sweeping organ, wahwah and inciting percussion. It’s the first Heep song that I have heard and it has always remained the yardstick to measure any other Heep song against. I Wanne be Free, Tears in My Eyes and Love Machine are all a outstanding hard rock songs and What Should be Done a mandatory but satisfactory ballad.

For prog metal fans July Morning and Shadows of Grief will probably be of major interest. Especially July Morning with its dramatic onset and crescendo structure, layering waves of Hammond organ and synths into a dramatic climax. It's one of Heep's finest moments. Shadows of Grief is particularly appealing for its gothic atmospheres.

Uriah Heep never managed to equal this album, let alone top it. It serves as a perfect introduction to the band and stands as the one essential Uriah Heep album in my collection.

poslednijat_colobar Incredible, masterpiece, unique and so on! Probably the best Uriah Heep album with so much energy. The next face of Uriah Heep's perfection. Salisbury was the prog face of the band, while Look at Yourself is the hard/heavy face of the band. That's real classic at the dawn of heavy metal music. Every moment follows completely the previous one. Despite made before the classic line-up and without Gary Thain and Lee Kerslake, it's rocks you terrific! All of the songs are landmarks of Uriah Heep career. Perfect songwriting and musicianship! The first song, Look at Yourself, is virtuous piece of hard rock with elements of frequent changes of the tempo. I Wanna Be Free is outburst of completely mastered energy. July Morning... I don't have any words about this song. In my country - Bulgaria - this song is a religion! We have a tradition and we celebrate on the beach on 1st of July. Sometimes, there are some of the heepsters with us - Ken Hensley or John Lawton! This is the only country to celebrate this tradition. July Morning is unique with its folk, hard and progressive sound. The song is constructed on some different levels. The beginning is slow and gradually the tempo goes faster and faster until it reach its peak at the end of the song, where the dramatical feelings are at the top of you. Exceptional song! Tears In My Eyes has big rock & roll influence with crazy guitar solos. Shadows of Grief is constructed in the same way like July Morning, with frequent tempo changes and theatrical style. What Should Be Done make some changes on the album because of its dark and slow blues style! The vocals preformed by David Byron reveal that he is one of the best rock vocals of all time! Love Machine carries the mood of Tears In My Eyes with cult guitar solos and hard rock & roll! Everywhere on the album you can feel dungeon keyboard sound, typical for Uriah Heep! 5 doubtless stars!