Conquest (Uriah Heep album)
| Conquest | ||||
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| Studio album by Uriah Heep | ||||
| Released | February 1980 | |||
| Recorded | 1979 | |||
| Studio | The Roundhouse Recording Studios, London | |||
| Genre | Hard rock, pop rock, heavy metal | |||
| Length | 42:58 | |||
| Label | Bronze | |||
| Producer |
Gerry Bron Ken Hensley |
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| Uriah Heep chronology | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
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| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |    |
Conquest is the 13th album by British rock band Uriah Heep. It was released in 1980.
1979-80 was a period of change for Heep, with John Sloman taking over lead vocal duties, Lee Kerslake bowing out from behind the drumstool, and main songwriter Ken Hensley ultimately leaving the band. Taken together with the commercial rock sound of the album, this is the most contentious era of Uriah Heep's history, with many fans believing Conquest is the group's worst record. Despite this era being regarded in hindsight as something of a disaster by Hensley as well as Mick Box, the album did receive some positive reviews at the time, namely a five-star rating from Record Mirror and three-and-a-half stars from Geoff Barton in Sounds. It also sold well enough to crack the Top 40 of the UK album charts, whereas all three of the band's previous records with John Lawton had failed to chart in the UK at all.
The original UK release came in a single, matte LP sleeve, stickered with 'Special 10th Anniversary Price £3.99', with the liner being heavy-stock card, complete with lyrics. It credits Trevor Bolder with vocals on "It Ain't Easy" but it is, in fact, Sloman. The album was never issued in North America and was difficult to find there even as an import.
The cover photograph, taken by Martin Poole, is based on the famous image of the raising of the second flag at Iwo Jima.
Conquest was remastered and reissued in 1997 with several bonus tracks:
Originally "Been Hurt" was written for a fourth John Lawton-fronted album. This song was shelved after Lawton's departure. The original version with Lawton on vocals has been released on the remastered version of the Fallen Angel album.
When Conquest was re-issued again as a De-Luxe Edition in 2004 the bonus tracks remained much the same, but "My Joanna Needs Tuning" was dropped; added in its stead was a version of "Feelings" that had previously only ever appeared on a Bronze Records promotional VHS tape.
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